E Bija e Hënës dhe e Diellit

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E Bija e Hënës dhe e Diellit ("the Daughter of the Moon and the Sun") is a character in Albanian mythology and folklore.[1] She is the lightning of the sky (Albanian: pika e qiellit) which falls everywhere from heaven on the mountains and the valleys and strikes pride and evil. In the legends she helps a hero winning a fight against a kulshedra.[2] Sometimes described with a star on her forehead and a moon on her chest, her victory over the kulshedra symbolizes the supremacy of the deity of the sky over that of the underworld.[3]

Mythology[edit]

In Albanian folk beliefs the sun (Dielli) and the moon (Hëna) are personified deities. In folk tales, myths and legends the sun appears as a male figure, and the moon as a female figure. In some traditions the sun and the moon are regarded as husband and wife, and in other traditions as brother and sister. In the case of E Bija e Hënës dhe e Diellit the sun is her father and the moon is her mother.[4][5] E Bija e Hënës dhe e Diellit is described as the lightning of the sky (Albanian: pika e qiellit) which falls everywhere from heaven on the mountains and the valleys and strikes pride and evil. In the legends she helps a hero in his fight against a kulshedra.[6] In a tradition she is described as bearing a star on her forehead and a moon on her chest. The supremacy of E Bija e Hënës dhe e Diellit over the kulshedra reflects the victory of the deity of the sky over that of the underworld, showing that the symbols of heaven win.[7]

In literature[edit]

The legend of E Bija e Hënës dhe e Diellit has also been narrated by the Albanian writer Mitrush Kuteli in the collection Tregime të moçme shqiptare ("Old Albanian tales"), published in 1965.[8]

References[edit]

Citations[edit]

  1. ^ Shuteriqi 1959, p. 66; Tirta 2004, pp. 72, 128; West 2007, p. 233; Dushi 2020, p. 21.
  2. ^ West 2007, p. 233; Tirta 2004, pp. 72, 128; Shuteriqi 1959, p. 66; Lambertz 1922, p. 77.
  3. ^ Tirta 2004, pp. 72, 128
  4. ^ Tirta 2004, pp. 72, 128
  5. ^ Dushi 2020, p. 21
  6. ^ West 2007, p. 233; Tirta 2004, pp. 72, 128; Shuteriqi 1959, p. 66; Lambertz 1922, p. 77.
  7. ^ Tirta 2004, pp. 72, 128
  8. ^ Kuteli 1965: "E Bija e Hënës dhe e Diellit"

Bibliography[edit]

  • Dushi, Arbnora (2020). "The Sister-Brother Recognition Motif in the Albanian Folk Ballad: Meaning and Contexts within the National Culture". Tautosakos Darbai. 59: 17–29. doi:10.51554/TD.2020.28363. S2CID 253540847.
  • Kuteli, Mitrush (1965). Tregime të Moçme Shqiptare. Tirana: Naim Frashëri.
  • Lambertz, Maximilian (1922). Albanische Märchen (und andere Texte zur albanischen Volkskunde). Wien: A. Hölder.
  • Shuteriqi, Dhimitër S. (1959). Historia e letërsisë shqipe. Vol. 1. Universiteti Shtetëror i Tiranës, Instituti i Historisë dhe Gjuhësisë.
  • Tirta, Mark (2004). Petrit Bezhani (ed.). Mitologjia ndër shqiptarë (in Albanian). Tirana: Mësonjëtorja. ISBN 99927-938-9-9.
  • West, Morris L. (2007). Indo-European Poetry and Myth. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0199280759.
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