Prende

Prende (also Prenne, Prema, Premte, or Petka) is the dawn-goddess, goddess of love, beauty, fertility, and protector of women, in the Albanian pagan mythology.[2] She is also called Afërdita or Afrodita, a phrase meaning "come forth the day/dawn" in Albanian,[3] in reference to Hylli i Dritës, Afêrdita "the Star of Light, Afêrdita" (i.e. Venus, the morning star)[4] and to Ylli i Mbrëmjes, Afërdita (i.e. Venus, the evening star).[5] According to some Albanian traditions, Prende is the daughter of Zojz, the Albanian sky and lighning god.[6]

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

In Albanian folklore she is referred to as "Lady Prenne" or "Lady of Beauty" (Albanian: Zonja Prende or Zonja e Bukurisë, in Gheg Albanian: Zoja Prenne or Zoja e Bukuris). Her sacred day is Friday, named in Albanian after her: e premte.[7][8] Her name is though to be a cognate with the Ancient Greek Περσεφάττα Persephatta, a variant of Persephone.[9][3]

Thought to have been worshiped by the Illyrians in antiquity,[7][8] 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), 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

The variants of her name are Prende, Prenne, Prema, Premte, or Petka. She is also called Afërdita in reference to Hylli i Dritës, Afêrdita "the Star of Light, Afêrdita" (i.e. Venus, the morning star)[4] and Ylli i Mbrëmjes, Afërdita (i.e. Venus, the evening star). The evening star is referred to as Prëmë (definite Albanian form: Prëma) in some Albanian dialects.[5] The Albanian translation of "evening" is also rendered as πρέμε premë in the Albanian-Greek dictionary of Marko Boçari.[10]

The Albanian name of the goddess, Premtë or P(ë)rende, is thought to correspond regularly to the Ancient Greek counterpart Περσεφάττα (Persephatta), a variant of Περσεφόνη (Persephone).[9][3] The theonyms have been traced back to the Indo-European *pers-é-bʰ(h₂)n̥t-ih₂ ("she who brings the light through").[9]

The Albanian names Afërdita / Afrodita, which are associated to the goddess Prende as in reference to the planet Venus (morning and evening star),[4] correspond to the Albanian phrase afro dita 'come forth the day/dawn', tracing back to Proto-Albanian *apro dītā 'come forth brightness of the day/dawn', originally a Proto-Indo-European construction: *h₂epero déh₂itis.[11]

Role

In the Albanian pagan mythology Prende is the goddess of dawn, love, beauty and fertility.[12][4][8][9] She is considered the Albanian equivalent of the Roman Venus, Norse Freyja and Greek Aphrodite.[12][8] According to some Albanian traditions, Prende is the daughter of Zojz, the Albanian sky and lighning god.[6] Associated with the dawn goddess, the epithet "daughter of the sky-god" is commonly found in Indo-European traditions (cf. H₂éwsōs#Epithets).

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.

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".[4][1]

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" (Albanian: Shënepremte or Prende, known in Gheg dialect as Prenne, Perende or Petka).[13] 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.[8][14]

See also

References
  1. Elsie 2001, p. 258.
  2. Lambertz 1973, p. 509; Dunwich 2000, p. 151; Lurker 2005, p. 155; Hyllested & Joseph 2022, p. 235; Dedvukaj 2023, p. 1.
  3. Dedvukaj 2023, p. 1.
  4. Lambertz 1973, p. 509.
  5. Frashëri 1980, p. 294.
  6. Lambertz 1922, pp. 47, 143–144, 146–148.
  7. Dunwich 2000, p. 151.
  8. Lurker 2005, p. 155.
  9. Hyllested & Joseph 2022, p. 235.
  10. Yochalas 1980, pp. 143, 230.
  11. Dedvukaj 2023, p. 8.
  12. Treimer 1971.
  13. Elsie 2000, p. 43: "The third saint to be mentioned in connection with the Albanians is rather special because, strictly speaking, she does not really exist. Saint Veneranda, Albanian Shënepremte or Prende, known in Geg dialect as Prenne or Petka -- Greek Paraskevi, Ag. Paraskeuhv, Romanian Sfânta Paraschiva, was originally a pre-Christian deity and came to be identified by the Catholic Church with Saint Anne, mother of the Virgin Mary. In Albania, she is known at any rate as Saint Veneranda."
  14. Elsie 2001, p. 257.

Bibliography
  • Dedvukaj, Lindon (2023). "Linguistic evidence for the Indo-European and Albanian origin of Aphrodite". Proceedings of the Linguistic Society of America. Linguistic Society of America. 8 (1). doi:10.3765/plsa.v8i1.5500.
  • Dunwich, Gerina (2000). Wicca Love Spells. Kensington Publishing Corporation. ISBN 0-8065-1782-4.
  • Elsie, Robert (2001). A Dictionary of Albanian Religion, Mythology and Folk Culture. London: Hurst & Company. ISBN 1-85065-570-7.
  • Elsie, Robert (2000). "The Christian Saints of Albania". Balkanistica. American Association for South Slavic Studies. 13.
  • Frashëri, Naim (1980). Dhimitër S. Shuteriqi (ed.). Vepra të zgjedhura. Vol. 1. Akademia e Shkencave e RPSSH.
  • Hyllested, Adam; Joseph, Brian D. (2022). "Albanian". In Olander, Thomas (ed.). The Indo-European Language Family : A Phylogenetic Perspective. Cambridge University Press. pp. 223–245. doi:10.1017/9781108758666. ISBN 9781108758666. S2CID 161016819.
  • Lambertz, Maximilian (1922). Albanische Märchen (und andere Texte zur albanischen Volkskunde). Wien: A. Hölder.
  • Lambertz, Maximilian (1973). "Die Mythologie der Albaner". In Hans Wilhelm Haussig (ed.). Wörterbuch der Mythologie (in German). Vol. 2. pp. 455–509.
  • Lurker, Manfred (2005). The Routledge Dictionary of Gods and Goddesses, Devils and Demons. Routledge, Taylor & Francis. ISBN 0-203-64351-8.
  • Treimer, Karl (1971). "Zur Rückerschliessung der illyrischen Götterwelt und ihre Bedeutung für die südslawische Philologie". In Henrik Barić (ed.). Arhiv za Arbanasku starinu, jezik i etnologiju. Vol. I. R. Trofenik. pp. 27–33.
  • Yochalas, Titos (1980). Το Ελληνο-Αλβανικόν Λεξικόν του Μάρκου Μπότσαρη [The Greek-Albanian Dictionary of Markos Botsaris]. Academy of Greece.
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