These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads. It goes without saying that because of its seemingly wicked character and powerful abilities lugat is seen as a dangerous and extremely violent creature that wishes to inflict violence and cruelty upon people. One of the early Albanian collectors of Albanian folklore from Albania proper was Zef Jubani. The eldest sister died first so the other two bricked up her sea facing window. I suppose it would be useful to know in what context Albanians use Lubias name, but I didnt come across any contextual use. Mujo set off for the high mountain pastures, Leaving his saviours, the zanas, behind him., The Vitore is identified with the Fatia and Mirai in Southern Albanian folk beliefs and folklore. This next creature can, in some way, count as a vampire, although its best-known as a witch. Mount Tomorr is a mountain range in central Albania. [2] British poet Lord Byron (17881824), describing the Albanian religious belief, reported that "The Greeks hardly regard them as Christians, or the Turks as Muslims; and in fact they are a mixture of both, and sometimes neither. She did not die and re-emerged on a different isle. Most commonly shtriga is described as a woman with intense and undeniable hate in her eyes. Albanian urban legends claim that Lubia has an insatiable appetite for children. Albanian scholars have published numerous collections of Albanian oral tradition, but only a small part of this material has been translated into other languages. New!! Depending on the culture, the appearance and abilities of the mythological creature may differ. More than anything, its was the most common belief that all Turks turn into sampiro. And its not afraid to show it. [2] Albert Doja refers to the studies of Maximilian Lambertz, revealing that the faces of the Oras change depending on the degree of happiness they bestow upon the newborn child. They usually live in hidden places in the forest and have supernatural powers. [9], Within Albanian folklore and poetry, Ora had the ability to take any form they pleased, including birds, beasts, women, or serpents.[10], In Northern Albania, Oras often appear as serpents. similarly to the Southern Albanian deity Vitore. As you now know, this lugat vampire is a tricky one. Anyway, lets end this part in the most fitting way for the occasion: how does one kill a vrykolakas? Our favourite is a tale of two love struck shepherds Vita and Lyulin. They brought forth his courser and put on its saddle. Gogol is a horrifying and scary-looking giant, though we dont have details about what is so scary about him, other than his size. Extract from Songs of the Frontier Warriors (Mujo and Behuri), translated by Robert Elsie . [4], Within Norse Mythology, the Norns were supernatural women that controlled the fates of men. He envisioned that for the monastery to be built successfully he had to incorporate someone into its walls. But her care and love for him was stronger than the storm, and she kept walking. [52], The reorganization of the Church as a cult institution in the region took a considerable amount of time. Thank you so much for sharing! [54] In 726 Leo III established de jure the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople over the Balkans, as the Church and the State established an institution. Baba is woken by his four eagles and makes sure Earthly Beauty is taken to safety before setting off to battle Shpirag. For a cover? What else do we know about it from the creepy urban legends? The Zana is a mythological figure within Northern Albanian Gheg folk beliefs and oral epics. The stories surrounding lugat vary quite a bit, especially when it comes to how dangerous it can be. In fact, it is said that women who submit to envy and for some reason dont bear children are the ones who turn into shtrigas. They could then be captured and killed at the threshold as they vainly attempted to pass. But yeah This one really gave me the creeps, even without a detailed description. The villagers of the mountain regions pass stories down to their children about how natural features of the land were created. They appear also on later funerary monuments, including the medieval tombstones (steci) in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the burial monuments used until recently in northern Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro, southern Serbia and northern North Macedonia. Indeed, the lack of Old Church Slavonic terms in Albanian Christian terminology shows that the missionary activities during the Christianization of the Slavs did not involve Albanian-speakers. Well, apparently vrykolakas can be pretty judgemental too. The bad news is that sampiro might be back for more eventually and if its a very hungry one, it could lead to death after many frequent visits. When feeding it simply bites like any human would and then sucks blood from the wound. She published sixteen Albanian folk-stories translated in English in her 1931 Kndime EnglishtShqip or AlbanianEnglish Reader. Albert Doja reveals beliefs about the protective house snake throughout Albanian culture and superstitions. After all, every region has its own version. Kind of like a drunk sexual predator. [45], Prehistoric Illyrian symbols used on funeral monuments of the pre-Roman period have been used also in Roman times and continued into late antiquity in the broad Illyrian territory. Abaia: A magical eel (Melanesian Mythology) 47. It is said that Lubia has many heads and regenerative abilities that can grow her heads back in case theyfall off in some way. I dont know, I just think that its wrong to suppress emotions like that. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. You wont be able to avoid it when you visit. Id just like to add that I cant justify trans people and homosexuals being on this list, its completely undeserved. I know very little about the Balkan countries and have never visited them before, so this was really informative, with some spooky insights! Can you see that Ora, standing at my bedside? Prepasti often manifested in places where the soldier had lost a body part. A well of clear water, named after Manole, is believed to mark the spot where Manole himself fell. The German physician Karl H. Reinhold collected Albanian folklore material from Albanian sailors while he was serving as a doctor in the Greek navy and in 1855 he published Noctes Pelasgicae (Pelasgian Nights). This is really interesting! Dino himself published Valt e Detit (The Waves of the Sea), which, at the time of its publication in 1908, was the longest printed book in the Albanian language. The Shtriga appears in the Legends of Tomorrow episode "Wet Hot American Bummer." And yes, its a huge generalization once again, but in this particular case it also involves bad blood between Albania and the Turkish Ottoman Empire or the modern day Turkey. Although labeled as a vampiric witch, shtriga has a lot of resemblance to a boogeyman. Now all you need to do is pick the one you like the best! Slavic warrior Paji Harambashis encounters three white oras, mystical creatures in the mountains who revel and frolic as he searches for Mujo. [8] Fire worship is associated with the cult of the Sun, the cult of the hearth and the cult of fertility in agriculture and animal husbandry. Anyway, whenever I talk about local boogeymen from different countries, I always add a reminder, so here goes. The same motifs were kept with identical cultural-religious symbolism on various monuments of the early medieval culture of the Albanians. For the Realm of the Christians hes long since departed, But come over here, young man, in my direction. [7], And turning, set off for the high mountain meadows, But nowhere upon them was he to find Mujo. They catch men to eat and women to fan the flies away. God bestowed it upon me to come to my assistance., Within Albanian folklore it was believed every person was assigned an Ora at birth, for there were as many Ora as there were humans. Apparently, these two factors make them evil and the word shtriga itself is used to describe someone as evil. Or it eats their food? Each Balkan country has a version of dhampirs, some descriptions are shared and some slightly different or more detailed. Other than that, it seems that lugat, unlike sampiro, is not one to stand out and its appearance cant really be framed. It starts as an illness and it begins to progress, eventually ending with death. The Drekavac really gives me the creeps! After that, all youll need to do is throw the salt into direct flames while also saying syt i dalin syt i plain. And thats something we need to know in case we come across the creature! How can you fight back? As a matter of fact, there is only one way and it is by using a wolf, as it is the only creature that can do harm to lugat. They bound all his wounds and healed all of his ailments. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". [10] A widespread folk symbol is the serpent, a totem of the Albanians associated with earth, water, sun, hearth and ancestor cults, as well as destiny, good fortune and fertility. Edith Durham recorded several methods traditionally considered effective for defending oneself from shtriga. Drop a comment in the box, wed love to hear from you! Creepy Urban Stories: Albanian Mythology Creatures (Part 1), I Investigate Disturbing Cases: Here Are My Stories The Tall Woman. This is a method that, according to Albanian urban legends, can protect you from the evil eye of shtriga. I know that if I was a kid and saw a giant, Id do the opposite. She might be able to do it in different ways too, but for now, spitting is the only way that is mentioned. Prince Radu the Black dreamed of building the most striking monastery in Romania. They can live either in caves or mountain tops, and are particularly intelligent. While its true that theyre not motivated by blood the way vampires are and theyre not really categorized as either good or evil, they *can* develop or even inherit evil intentions as well as the power to do harm. Other descriptions have him as an undead child, who was unbaptised, that has returned to haunt its parents. Thats right, the one that lugat feeds from can become tainted by its own desire to feed off other people. [59] Since its founding in 1912, Albania has been a secular state, becoming atheist during the Communist regime, and returning secular after the fall of the regime. People who develop their blood thirst after an encounter with lugat are called sanguinarians. And did I mention that this strategy can only be implemented on Easter Sunday? Varieties of the symbols of the Sun that Christian orders brought in the region found in the Albanian highlands sympathetic supporters, enriching the body of their symbols with new material. The Ora ( Albanian: or, definite form: ora, pl. Not that you should suspect your yoga instructor and professional dancers of being dhampirs, but still an interesting thought. Very long! So thats all we know about the physical appearance. A shtriga ( Albanian: shtrig) is a vampiric witch in Albanian mythology and folklore that sucks the blood of infants at night while they sleep, and then turns into a flying insect (traditionally a moth, fly or bee ). 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