Nëna e Diellit ("the Mother of the Sun" or "the Sun's Mother") is a mother goddess in Albanian folk beliefs. A sacred ritual called "the funeral of the Sun's Mother" was very widespread in southeastern Albania until the 20th century. [1] She has been described by scholars as a heaven goddess [2] and a goddess of agriculture, livestock, and earth fertility, as suggested by the sacred ritual dedicated to her. [3] Nëna e Diellit also features as a deity in Albanian folk tales. [4] [5] Nëna e Diellit represents a manifestation of the personification of the Sun in Albanian mythology. [6]
A sacred ritual called "funeral of the Sun's Mother" consisted in burying a female figure that probably personified a seasonal phase of the mother goddess. Occurring at the end of May, it was the last festival of the spring cycle, coinciding with the feast of Pentecost (Rusica). [7] It was very widespread in southeastern Albania until the 20th century. [8] During the custom the girls and young women gathered flowers, danced and sang, celebrating together with meals. After lunch or at the end of the day, they made a clay doll that they called Sun's Mother (Nëna e Diellit), put it on a tile and went outside the village to bury the female figure. [9] It was performed in silence and with all the appropriate seriousness of the death ceremony. [10] The girls and young women mourned the mother goddess, pronouncing the typical verses Nënë moj nënë, kuku / erdhi dielli e s'të gjeti "Mother oh Mother, Alas, / the Sun came and didn't find you". [11]
Nëna e Diellit features as a deity in several Albanian folk tales. One of them has been collected by Albanologist Maximilian Lambertz and published under the title "Bei der Sonnenmutter" ["At the Sun's Mother"] in the collection Die geflügelte Schwester und die Dunklen der Erde: Albanische Volksmärchen [The Winged Sister and the Dark Ones of the Earth: Albanian Folk Tales]. [12] Another has been collected by Albanologist Robert Elsie and published under the title " The Snake and the King's Daughter" in the collection Albanian Folktales and Legends. [13]
Nëna e Diellit ("the Mother of the Sun" or "the Sun's Mother") is a mother goddess in Albanian folk beliefs. A sacred ritual called "the funeral of the Sun's Mother" was very widespread in southeastern Albania until the 20th century. [1] She has been described by scholars as a heaven goddess [2] and a goddess of agriculture, livestock, and earth fertility, as suggested by the sacred ritual dedicated to her. [3] Nëna e Diellit also features as a deity in Albanian folk tales. [4] [5] Nëna e Diellit represents a manifestation of the personification of the Sun in Albanian mythology. [6]
A sacred ritual called "funeral of the Sun's Mother" consisted in burying a female figure that probably personified a seasonal phase of the mother goddess. Occurring at the end of May, it was the last festival of the spring cycle, coinciding with the feast of Pentecost (Rusica). [7] It was very widespread in southeastern Albania until the 20th century. [8] During the custom the girls and young women gathered flowers, danced and sang, celebrating together with meals. After lunch or at the end of the day, they made a clay doll that they called Sun's Mother (Nëna e Diellit), put it on a tile and went outside the village to bury the female figure. [9] It was performed in silence and with all the appropriate seriousness of the death ceremony. [10] The girls and young women mourned the mother goddess, pronouncing the typical verses Nënë moj nënë, kuku / erdhi dielli e s'të gjeti "Mother oh Mother, Alas, / the Sun came and didn't find you". [11]
Nëna e Diellit features as a deity in several Albanian folk tales. One of them has been collected by Albanologist Maximilian Lambertz and published under the title "Bei der Sonnenmutter" ["At the Sun's Mother"] in the collection Die geflügelte Schwester und die Dunklen der Erde: Albanische Volksmärchen [The Winged Sister and the Dark Ones of the Earth: Albanian Folk Tales]. [12] Another has been collected by Albanologist Robert Elsie and published under the title " The Snake and the King's Daughter" in the collection Albanian Folktales and Legends. [13]