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Albanian Paganism
Albanian paganism comprises the pagan customs, beliefs, rituals, myths and legends of the Albanian people. The elements of Albanian mythology are of ancient Paleo-Balkanic origin and almost all of them are pagan. Ancient paganism persisted among Albanians, and especially within the inaccessible and deep interior – where Albanian folklore evolved over the centuries in a relatively isolated tribal culture and society – it has continued to persist, or at most it was partially transformed by the Christian, Muslim and Marxist beliefs that were either to be introduced by choice or imposed by force.; ; ; . The Albanian traditional customary law ( Kanun) has held a sacred – although secular – longstanding, unwavering and unchallenged authority with a cross-religious effectiveness over the Albanians, which is attributed to an earlier pagan code common to all the Albanian tribes. Indeed, the Kanun contains several customary concepts that clearly have their origins in pagan beliefs, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Albania
Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, North Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south. With an area of , it has a varied range of climatic, geological, hydrological and morphological conditions. Albania's landscapes range from rugged snow-capped mountains in the Accursed Mountains, Albanian Alps and the Korab, Central Mountain Range, Albania#Skanderbeg Mountains, Skanderbeg, Pindus and Ceraunian Mountains, to fertile lowland plains extending from the Albanian Adriatic Sea Coast, Adriatic and Albanian Ionian Sea Coast, Ionian seacoasts. Tirana is the capital and largest city in the country, followed by Durrës, Vlorë, and Shkodër. Albania was inhabited by several List of Illyrian peoples and tribes, Illyrian tribes, among them the A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Swastika
The swastika (卐 or 卍, ) is a symbol used in various Eurasian religions and cultures, as well as a few Indigenous peoples of Africa, African and Indigenous peoples of the Americas, American cultures. In the Western world, it is widely recognized as a symbol of the German Nazi Party who Cultural appropriation, appropriated it for their party insignia starting in the early 20th century. The appropriation continues with its use by Neo-Nazism, neo-Nazis around the world. The swastika was and continues to be used as a symbol of divinity and spirituality in Indian religions, including Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. It generally takes the form of a cross, the arms of which are of equal length and perpendicular to the adjacent arms, each bent midway at a right angle. The word ''swastika'' comes from , meaning 'conducive to well-being'. In Hinduism, the right-facing symbol (clockwise) () is called , symbolizing ('sun'), prosperity and good luck, while the left-facing symbol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hëna (Albanian Paganism)
Hëna (Albanian indefinite form Hënë; Gheg: Hana, indef. Hanë), the Moon, holds a prominent position in Albanian pagan customs, beliefs, rituals, myths, and legends. In Albanian traditions the Moon's cyclical phases have regulated many aspects of life, defining agricultural and livestock activities, various crafts, and human body. Albanians were firstly described in written sources as worshippers of the Sun and the Moon by German humanist Sebastian Franck in 1534, but the Sun and the Moon have been preserved as sacred elements of Albanian tradition since antiquity. The symbolization of the crescent Moon, often combined with the Sun, is commonly found in a variety of contexts of Albanian folk art, including traditional tattooing, grave art, jewellery, embroidery, and house carvings. In Albanian pagan beliefs and mythology the Moon is animistically personified as a female deity. The Sun () is her male counterpart. In some folk tales, myths and legends the Moon and the Sun are r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dielli (Albanian Paganism)
Dielli ( Albanian indefinite form Diell), the Sun, holds the primary role in Albanian pagan customs, beliefs, rituals, myths, and legends. Albanian major traditional festivities and calendar rites are based on the Sun, worshiped as the god of light, sky and weather, giver of life, health and energy, and all-seeing eye. In Albanian tradition the fire – '' zjarri'', evidently also called with the theonym Enji – worship and rituals are particularly related to the cult of the Sun. Ritual calendar fires or bonfires are traditionally kindled before sunrise in order to give strength to the Sun and to ward off evil. Many rituals are practiced before and during sunrise, honoring this moment of the day as it is believed to give energy and health to the body. As the wide set of cultic traditions dedicated to him indicates, the Albanian Sun-god appears to be an expression of the Proto-Indo-European Sky-god ( Zot or Zojz in Albanian). Albanians were firstly described in written source ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Albanian Traditional Tattoo
Tattooing among Albanians is a long-standing tradition that has been practiced since Illyrian times, kept alive in the mountainous areas of the western Balkans. Traditional tattooing has also been practiced by Catholics in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Dalmatia ( Sicanje), and by women of some Vlach communities (in the western Balkans). History Based on the writings of ancient authors such as Herodotus (5th century BC), Cicero and Strabo (1st century BC), whose statements are also confirmed by archaeological findings, ethnographic studies have concluded that the practice of tattooing among the peoples of the Balkan peninsula was known since ancient times. This practice was found among the Illyrian and Thracian tribes, who used tattooing to distinguish tribal origins. Long bronze needles with wooden handles found in Glasinac and Donja Dolina are considered to have been tools for practicing tattoos. Early figurative representations of this ancient Balkan tradition are found in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Croatia
Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro to the southeast, and shares a maritime border with Italy to the west. Its capital and largest city, Zagreb, forms one of the country's Administrative divisions of Croatia, primary subdivisions, with Counties of Croatia, twenty counties. Other major urban centers include Split, Croatia, Split, Rijeka and Osijek. The country spans , and has a population of nearly 3.9 million. The Croats arrived in modern-day Croatia, then part of Illyria, Roman Illyria, in the late 6th century. By the 7th century, they had organized the territory into Duchy of Croatia, two duchies. Croatia was first internationally recognized as independent on 7 June 879 during the reign of Duke Branimir of Croatia, Branimir. Tomislav of Croatia, Tomis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arbanasi People
Arbanasi ( Arbanasi: ) is an ethnic community in and around the city of Zadar in the northern Dalmatia region of Croatia, who are of Albanian ethnic origin. They are traditional speakers of the Arbanasi dialect of Gheg Albanian. Their name is an obsolete way to say ''Albanians'' in Croatian and is the toponymy of the first Arbanasi settlement in the region, which today is a suburb of Zadar. In Albanian literature, they are known as "Albanians of Zadar" (). Distribution Today, the community is spread across Croatia. Their original settlements were Arbanasi of Zadar and some villages around Zadar, namely Zemunik, Gračac, Dračevac, Crno, Ploča, etc. The former village derived its name from its founders, the Albanians. The Arbanasi are known to have settled the area during two different periods of migration; the first in 1655 and the second in 1726–33. History 18th century migration and resettlement ''Arbanasi'' () is the old ethnonym that the South Slavs used to deno ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Greece
Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to the east. The Aegean Sea lies to the east of the Geography of Greece, mainland, the Ionian Sea to the west, and the Sea of Crete and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. Greece has the longest coastline on the Mediterranean Basin, spanning List of islands of Greece, thousands of islands and nine Geographic regions of Greece, traditional geographic regions. It has a population of over 10 million. Athens is the nation's capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city, followed by Thessaloniki and Patras. Greece is considered the cradle of Western culture, Western civilisation and the birthplace of Athenian democracy, democracy, Western philosophy, Western literature, historiography, political science, major History of science in cl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arvanites
Arvanites (; Arvanitika: , or , ; Greek: , ) are a population group in Greece of Albanian origin. They are bilingual, traditionally speaking Arvanitika, an Albanian language variety, along with Greek. Their ancestors were first recorded as settlers who came to what is today southern Greece in the late 13th and early 14th century. They were the dominant population element in parts of the Peloponnese, Attica and Boeotia until the 19th century.Trudgill (2000: 255). They call themselves Arvanites (in Greek) and Arbëror (in their language). Arvanites today self-identify as Greeks as a result of a process of cultural assimilation,GHM (1995). and do not consider themselves Albanian.Trudgill/Tzavaras (1977). Arvanitika is in a state of attrition due to language shift towards Greek and large-scale internal migration to the cities and subsequent intermingling of the population during the 20th century. Names The name Arvanites and its equivalents are today used both in Greek (, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land border, as well as List of islands of Italy, nearly 800 islands, notably Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares land borders with France to the west; Switzerland and Austria to the north; Slovenia to the east; and the two enclaves of Vatican City and San Marino. It is the List of European countries by area, tenth-largest country in Europe by area, covering , and the third-most populous member state of the European Union, with nearly 59 million inhabitants. Italy's capital and List of cities in Italy, largest city is Rome; other major cities include Milan, Naples, Turin, Palermo, Bologna, Florence, Genoa, and Venice. The history of Italy goes back to numerous List of ancient peoples of Italy, Italic peoples—notably including the ancient Romans, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arbëreshë People
The Arbëreshë (; ; ), also known as Albanians of Italy or Italo-Albanians, are an Albanians, Albanian ethnolinguistic group minority historically settled in Southern Italy, Southern and Insular Italy (in the regions of Abruzzo, Apulia, Basilicata, Campania, and Molise, but mostly concentrated in the regions of Calabria and Sicily). They are the descendants of Albanian refugees settled in the Kingdom of Naples and Kingdom of Sicily, Sicily who fled from Principality of Albania (medieval), Albania, Epirus, and later some from the numerous Arvanites, Albanian communities of Attica and Morea, between the 14th and the 18th centuries following the death of Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg and the gradual conquest of the Balkans by the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman Turks. Their culture is determined by the main features that are found in Arbëresh language, language, Byzantine Rite, religious rite, traditional costume, art and gastronomy, still zealously preserved, with the awareness of belongi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
