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]
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]
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]
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]
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]
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]