Rainbow in Northern Albania. In Albanian folk beliefs the rainbow is regarded as "Lady Prende's Belt".[1]

Prende or Premte[note 1] is the goddess of dawn, love, beauty, fertility, health and protector of women, in the Albanian pagan mythology.[4] She is also called Afër-dita,[5] an Albanian phrase meaning "near day", "the day is near", or "dawn",[6][note 2] in association with the cult of the planet Venus, the morning and evening star.[10][note 3] Her sacred day is Friday, named in Albanian after her: e premte, premtja (Gheg Albanian: e prende, prendja[12]).[13] In Albanian mythology Prende appears as the daughter of Zojz, the Albanian sky and lightning god.[14]

Thought to have been worshiped by the Illyrians in antiquity,[15] Prende is identified with the cult of Venus and she was worshipped in northern Albania, especially by the Albanian women, until recent times. Originally a pre-Christian deity, she was called "Saint Veneranda" (ShënePremte[1] or Shën Prende[16]), identified by the Catholic Church as Saint Anne, mother of Virgin Mary. She was so popular in Albania that over one in eight of the Catholic churches existing in the late 16th and the early 17th centuries were named after her. Many other historical Catholic and Orthodox churches were dedicated to her in the 18th and 19th centuries.[1]

Name

Variants

Dialectal variants include: Gheg Albanian P(ë)rende (def. P(ë)renda), Pren(n)e (def. Pren(n)a); Tosk Albanian: Premte (def. Premtja), Preme (def. Prema).

Prende is also called Afërdita[17] (Afêrdita in Gheg Albanian[9]) in association with the cult of the planet Venus, the morning and evening star, which in Albanian is referred to as (h)ylli i dritës, Afërdita "the Star of Light, Afërdita" (i.e. Venus, the morning star)[9] and (h)ylli i mbrëmjes, Afërdita (i.e. Venus, the evening star).[11] Afër-dita, an Albanian phrase meaning "near day", "the day is near", or "dawn",[18] is the native Albanian name of the planet Venus.[7][8] Afro-dita is its Albanian imperative form meaning "come forth the day/dawn".[19]

The Albanian translation of "evening" is also rendered as πρέμε premë in the Albanian-Greek dictionary of Marko Boçari.[20]

In northern Albania, Prende is referred to as Zoja Prenne or Zoja e Bukuris "Goddess/Lady Prenne" or "Goddess/Lady of Beauty".[1][21]

Etymology

The Albanian name Premtë or P(ë)rende is thought to correspond regularly to the Ancient Greek counterpart Περσεφάττα (Persephatta), a variant of Περσεφόνη (Persephone).[2][3] The theonyms have been traced back to the Indo-European *pers-é-bʰ(h₂)n̥t-ih₂ ("she who brings the light through").[2]

The Albanian phrase afro dita 'come forth the day/dawn' traces back to Proto-Albanian *apro dītā 'come forth brightness of the day/dawn', from Indo-European *h₂epero déh₂itis.[22] The theonym Aprodita is attested in Messapic inscriptions in Apulia.

Role

In the Albanian pagan mythology Prende is the goddess of dawn, love, beauty, fertility and health.[23][9][24][2] She is considered the Albanian equivalent of the Roman Venus, Norse Freyja and Greek Aphrodite.[23][24]

According to some Albanian traditions, Prende is the daughter of Zojz, the Albanian sky and lightning god.[14] Associated with the dawn goddess, the epithet "daughter of the sky-god" is commonly found in Indo-European traditions (cf. H₂éwsōs#Epithets).

According to folk beliefs, swallows, called Pulat e Zojës "the Lady's Birds", pull Prende across the sky in her chariot. Swallows are connected to the chariot by the rainbow (Ylberi), which the people also call Brezi or Shoka e Zojës "the Lady's Belt".[9][1]

The common Albanian name nepërkë for the venomous snake adder, viper appears in the Arbëresh variety of Calabria as nepromtja, probably based on Prende / Premte.[25]

Worship

Prende was worshipped in northern Albania, especially by the Albanian women until recent times. Prende's festival was celebrated on July 26 every year, and her devotees would don beautiful clothing and would set out a mortar and pestle as a representation of sexual union.[1] Rainbow is regarded in popular beliefs as Prende's belt, and oral legend has it that anyone who jumps over the rainbow changes his sex.[1] The goddess Prende is associated in Albanian folk beliefs with the cult of the planet Venus (Afërdita in Albanian).[9][17]

When Albania became Christianized in antiquity, Prende was identified by the Catholic Church as Saint Anne, mother of Virgin Mary, and was called "Saint Veneranda" (Tosk Albanian: ShënePremte[1] or Gheg Albanian: Shën Prende[16]), later also associated with Greek Paraskevi, Romanian Sfânta Paraschiva, South Slavic Petka.[26] Another Albanian Christian saint thought by some to have a non-Christian origin is Gjin.

Prende was so popular in Albania that of the some 275 Catholic churches recorded to have existed in Albania in the late 16th and the early 17th centuries, 33 were named after her, more than to any other saint except Virgin Mary and Saint Nicholas. Many other historical Catholic and Orthodox churches were dedicated to her in the 18th and 19th centuries. In the Kurbin valley pilgrimages to the church of Saint Veneranda were common among both Christians and Muslims. There people went also in the hope of a cure for mental illness.[1]

As is usual in many cultures, in Albania the day sacred to the goddess of love is Friday, named in the Albanian language after her: dita e premte, premtja (Gheg Albanian: dita e prende, prendja[12]).[24][1]

Prende, Pren(n)e and their masculine counterparts Prend, Preng, Prenk, Pren, etc., are Albanian given names, traditionally found among Albanian Catholics.[27]

"Prende Publishing", from the publishing house Histria Books, was named for the Albanian goddess Prende.[28]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Dialectal variants include: Gheg Albanian P(ë)rende (def. P(ë)renda), Pren(n)e (def. Pren(n)a); Tosk Albanian: Premte (def. Premtja), Preme (def. Prema). The Albanian name is though to be a cognate with the Ancient Greek Περσεφάττα Persephatta, a variant of Persephone, both from the Indo-European *pers-é-bʰ(h₂)n̥t-ih₂ ("she who brings the light through").[2][3]
  2. ↑ Afërdita[7][8] or Gheg Albanian: Afêrdita[9] is the native Albanian name of the planet Venus; Afro-dita is its Albanian imperative form meaning "come forth the day/dawn".[3]
  3. ↑ Albanian: (h)ylli i dritës, Afërdita "the Star of Light, Afërdita" (i.e. Venus, the morning star)[9] and (h)ylli i mbrëmjes, Afërdita (i.e. Venus, the evening star).[11]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Elsie 2001, p. 258.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Hyllested & Joseph 2022, p. 235.
  3. 1 2 3 Dedvukaj 2023, p. 1.
  4. ↑ Lambertz 1973, p. 509; Dunwich 2000, p. 151; Lurker 2005, p. 155; Hyllested & Joseph 2022, p. 235; Dedvukaj 2023, p. 1.
  5. ↑ Sedaj 1982, p. 78; Lambertz 1973, p. 509
  6. ↑ Dedvukaj 2023, pp. 1–2; Plangarica 2001, p. 46
  7. 1 2 Kostallari 1981, p. 377.
  8. 1 2 Thomaj 2002, p. 1488.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Lambertz 1973, p. 509.
  10. ↑ Sedaj 1982, p. 78; Lambertz 1973, p. 509
  11. 1 2 Frashëri 1980, p. 294.
  12. 1 2 Camaj & Fox 1984, p. 328.
  13. ↑ Dunwich 2000, p. 151; Lurker 2005, p. 155
  14. 1 2 Lambertz 1922, pp. 47, 143–144, 146–148.
  15. ↑ Dunwich 2000, p. 151; Lurker 2005, p. 155
  16. 1 2 Galaty et al. 2013, p. 43.
  17. 1 2 Sedaj 1982, p. 78.
  18. ↑ Dedvukaj 2023, pp. 1–2; Plangarica 2001, p. 46
  19. ↑ Dedvukaj 2023, pp. 1–2.
  20. ↑ Yochalas 1980, pp. 143, 230.
  21. ↑ Sedaj 1982, pp. 78, 457.
  22. ↑ Dedvukaj 2023, p. 8.
  23. 1 2 Treimer 1971.
  24. 1 2 3 Lurker 2005, p. 155.
  25. ↑ Çabej 2015, pp. 118–119.
  26. ↑ Elsie 2000, p. 43.
  27. ↑ Alpion 2021, p. 237.
  28. ↑ "Prende". histriabooks.com.

Bibliography

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