Dheu
Dheu, the Earth, is the object of a special cult, important oaths, and curse formulas in Albanian paganism.
The Earth Mother Goddess or Great Mother is simply referred to as Dhé or Dheu in Albanian, and traces of her worship have been preserved in Albanian tradition. The Albanian noun Toka "The Earth" is also used to refer to the living Earth.
Zonja e Dheut is used in Albanian to refer to the Earth Goddess.
Name
Attestation
The Albanian theonyms Zonja e Dheut and Dheu are attested as early as 1635, in the Dictionarium latino-epiroticum '''' by Frang Bardhi, as the Albanian rendering of the Roman Earth Goddess Tellus, Dea and Mater Magna, respectively.The Albanian word for earth – dhé, in its Proto-Albanian form ðē, is considered to have been attested in antiquity: the Ancient Greek word δῆ that appears in the expression "δῆ · γῆ και σιωπᾷ", which was recorded in the lexicon compiled by Hesychius of Alexandria, is considered to be an ancient loanword from Proto-Albanian. Some of the Proto-Albanian glosses in Hesychius could date back as early as the 7th century BCE.
Etymology
Zonja e Dheut literally translates as "the Goddess of the Earth".In Albanian, capitalized Zonja or Zôja is used for "Goddess", "Lady", while uncapitalized zonja or zôja is used for "lady" or "mistress". It is similar to Zot "God", "Lord", zot "lord". The term is similarly used for Zôja Prende "Goddess/Lady Prende", also referred to as Zôja e Bukuris "Goddess/Lady of Beauty".
Albanian Dheu "The Earth" is the definite form of dhé "earth", ultimately stemming from Proto-Indo-European *dʰéǵʰōm "earth"; e Dheut is the Albanian definite genitive case of dhé.
Epithets
The Earth-goddess was represented with the epithet "mother" in most Indo-European traditions. In Albanian tradition mëmë-dheu is used for "mother earth" in sacred contexts. A common Indo-European mythological epithet for the earth is "dark", which is also reflected in the Albanian phrase dhé të zi "black earth", appearing in Albanian folk-songs.History
The absence of any single and specific theonymic root for the "earth" in the various branches of the Indo-European language family, might be due to the predominance held by earth mother goddess cults already extant and profoundly rooted among Pre-Indo-European-speaking peoples encountered by incoming Indo-European-speaking peoples.The confrontation between the belief systems of Pre-Indo-European populations—who favored "Mother Earth Cults" comprising earthly beliefs, female deities and priesthood—and of Indo-European populations who favored 'Father Heaven Cults' comprising celestial beliefs, male deities and priesthood, in the Albanian tradition might be reflected by the dichotomy of matriarchy and patriarchy that emerges from the two types of female warriors/active characters in Albanian epic poetry, in particular in the Kângë Kreshnikësh. Indeed, in Albanian epics there are on the one hand female characters who play an active role in the quest and the decisions that affect the whole tribe, on the other hand those who undergo a masculinization process as a condition to be able to participate actively in the fights according to the principles of the Kanun, the Albanian traditional customary law.
The fact that dhé "earth" is an Albanian inherited word from Proto-Indo-European, with ritualization in sacred contexts preserving its stability and density, highlights the important role of the earth in Albanian culture. Very serious Albanian oath swearings taken by earth, and many curse formulas based on the earth, also show the great significance of the earth cult in Albanian tradition.
Cult, practices and folk beliefs
Living Earth
According to old Albanian beliefs that have been preserved by the Arbëneshë of Zara, nxiri is a concept referring to all-seeing eyes that look at humans from the ground following their movements everywhere, and it is considered to be the sight of the living Earth. Some people believe that water is to the living Earth what blood is to the humans.Mother Earth
For the inhabitants of Kelmend, environment is of great importance, and they are deeply attached to their territory, considering it as Mother Earth. They venerate her and dedicate her deep homage at every moment and through every action, showing deep respect to both natural landscapes and animals. This balance involves material aspects as well as cultural and spiritual aspects.According to an old Albanian custom, when an Albanian migrates to a foreign land, he takes with him a bag of earth of the "mother earth", which in case the emigrant dies abroad, would be thrown on the grave, so that the earth would be light to the dead person.
Female ancestor and maternal breasts
A reflection of the worship of the earth mother goddess in Albanian folk beliefs is the cult of the maternal breasts. Considered as a symbol of fertility, breasts are reproduced on wooden or stone gates in Albanian houses. One of the heaviest type of oath swearing is taken by one's mother's breasts. A taboo forbids Albanians to hit the earth, because it would be like "hitting a dead mother's breasts". This expression is always said in such cases, regardless of the fact that people who pronounce it might have the mother alive or dead, which represents an analogy between the earth as the source of life for humans, and the mother likewise as the source of life for humans with childbirth and her breast. It also reflects the cult of the ancestors from the perspective of the milk or maternal line. When a woman with many children dies, northern Albanian tradition requires that her relatives kiss her naked breasts.In Albanian culture the original female ancestor of the kin group is referred to as the "mother of the home" representing the Great Mother, and she is often imagined as a serpent. The serpent is a sacred animal totem of the Albanians. Regarded as an earth-deity, the serpent is euphemistically called with names that are derived form the Albanian words for earth, dhé and tokë: Dhetokësi, Dheu, Përdhesi, Tokësi or Itokësi.
Maternal breasts, immurement and building
The cult of the earth is manifested in animal sacrifices for new buildings, a pagan practice widespread among Albanians. At the beginning of the construction of the new house, the foundation traditionally starts with prayers, in a 'lucky day', facing the Sun, starting after sunrise, during the growing Moon, and an animal is slaughtered as a sacrifice. The practice continues with variations depending on the Albanian ethnographic area. For instance in Opojë the sacrificed animal is placed on the foundation, with its head placed towards the east, where the Sun rises. In Brataj the blood of the sacrificed animal is poured during the slaughter in the corner that was on the east side, where the Sun rises; in order for the house to stand and for good luck, the owner of the house throws silver or golden coins in the same corner of the house; the lady of the house throws there unwashed wool. These things are to remain buried in the foundation of the house that is being built. The relatives of the house owner throw money on the foundation of the house as well, but that money is taken by the craftsman who builds the house. In Dibra a ram is slaughtered at the foundation, and the head of the ram is placed on the foundation. In the Lezha highlands a ram or a rooster is slaughered on the foundation and then their heads are buried there; the owners of the house throw coins as well as seeds of different plants on the foundation.The cult of the earth mother goddess is also reflected in the renowned Balkan motif of immurement, a practice that according to legend is required to ensure the accomplishment of the construction of a building by sacrificing the wife of the chief builder. This motif is documented in Albanian legends about the construction of the strongholds of Shkodër, Dibër, and Berat, but also in regions like Mirditë or Malësia e Madhe. In the Albanian legends, the woman who is to be immured in the building accepts to be sacrificed, but worried about her infant son, she makes the request to leave one of her breasts unwalled, so that she can nurse her son, the castle will stand and the son will enjoy it, becoming brave and winning battles in it. People regard the lime water that flows from the walls of these buildings as the milk of the immured woman, and it is utilized as medicine to apply to the breasts of the nursing women believing that this practise would increase their milk supply.
Spring, renewal of nature and soil fertility
Celebrated during the days around the spring equinox, the renewal of nature is associated with the cult of the Great Mother Goddess. Albanians celebrate it with several rites and customs, in particular wood or anything from vegetation cannot be cut, and the earth is considered to be "pregnant" and cannot be worked.On the occasion of the beginning of ploughing the wheat field, a chicken is slaughtered on the tail of the plough. The head of the chicken is mixed with the seed and the earth obtained from the first pass of the ploughing. Animal sacrifices are made for soil fertility and production, prosperity, health of the animals, etc.
According to an old Albanian custom practiced until recently in various villages in Tomorr, Mirdita, and perhaps also in other areas, from the middle of May families with a lot of cattle slaughtered young cattle as sacrifices in order to make the earth fertile, so that the cattle would not be harmed during the summer and would have abundant milk during the harvest time in the mountains. Such a ritual burial ceremony was also found among other Balkan peoples, and it has been interpreted as a trace of the cult of an agricultural deity, for it was a sacrifice that allowed the renewal of the products of the soil, giving force to the vegetation of the fields, trees and vines.
A sacred ritual called "funeral of the Sun's Mother" was dedicated to the Albanian mother goddess Nëna e Diellit. It 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. It was very widespread in southeastern Albania until the 20th century.