Prende

Prende or Premte is the dawn goddess, goddess of love, beauty, fertility, health and protector of women, in the Albanian pagan mythology. She is also called Afër-dita, an Albanian phrase meaning "near day", "the day is near", or "dawn", in association with the cult of the planet Venus, the morning and evening star. She is referred to as ''Zoja Prenne'' or ''Zoja e Bukuris'' ("Goddess/Lady Prenne" or "Goddess/Lady of Beauty"). Her sacred day is Friday, named in Albanian after her: ''e premte'', ''premtja'' (). She reflects features belonging to the original Indo-European dawn goddess. A remarkable reflection associated with the Indo-European dawn goddess is the Albanian tradition according to which Prende is the daughter of the sky god – Zojz.

Thought to have been worshiped by the Illyrians in antiquity, Prende is identified with the cult of Venus and she was worshipped in northern Albania, especially by the Albanian women, until recent times. She features attributes also belonging to Aphrodite, Iris, and Helen, as well as Persephone as shown by the etymology of her name. Describing a goddess of the underworld and at the same time a personification of springtime, the Albanian '' e Bukura e Dheut'' ("the Beauty of the Earth") is evidently an epithet of the Albanian equivalent of Persephone.

In Christian times she was called ''ShënePremte'' or ''Shën Prende'' ("Saint Veneranda"), 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.

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'' (''Afêrdita'' in Gheg Albanian) 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) and ''(h)ylli i mbrëmjes, Afërdita'' (i.e. Venus, the evening star). ''Afër-dita'', an Albanian phrase meaning "near day", "the day is near", or "dawn", is the native Albanian name of the planet Venus. ''Afro-dita'' is its Albanian imperative form meaning "come forth the day/dawn".

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

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

Etymology

The Albanian name or is thought to correspond regularly to the Ancient Greek counterpart (''Persephatta''), a variant of (''Persephone''). The theonyms have been traced back to the Indo-European ''*pers-é-bʰ(h₂)n̥t-ih₂'' ("she who brings the light through").

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''. The theonym ''Aprodita'' is attested in Messapic inscriptions in Apulia, which is considered to be a Messapic theonym of an Indo-European goddess.

Role

In the Albanian pagan mythology Prende is the dawn goddess, goddess of love, beauty, fertility and health. She is considered the Albanian equivalent of the Roman Venus, Norse Freyja and Greek Aphrodite. In mythological terms Prende has attributes that also belong to Aphrodite, Iris and Helen, and is considered to be etymologically related to Persephone. Describing a goddess of the underworld and at the same time a personification of springtime, the Albanian '' e Bukura e Dheut'' ("the Beauty of the Earth") is evidently an epithet of the Albanian equivalent of Persephone.

According to some Albanian traditions, Prende is the daughter of Zojz, the Albanian sky and lightning god. 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".

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''.

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. Rainbow is regarded in popular beliefs as Prende's belt, and oral legend has it that anyone who jumps over the rainbow changes their sex. The goddess Prende is associated in Albanian folk beliefs with the cult of the planet Venus (''Afërdita'' in Albanian).

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" ( or ), later also associated with Greek ''Paraskevi'', Romanian ''Sfânta Paraschiva'', South Slavic ''Petka''. 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.

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'' ().

In popular culture

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

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

See also

* Albanian mythology
* Illyrian religion
* En
* Perëndi
* Venus
* Freyja

Notes

References

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Prende
Albanian paganism
Albanian mythology
Illyrian goddesses
Dawn goddesses
Light goddesses
Stellar goddesses
Love and lust goddesses
European goddesses
Beauty goddesses
Paleo-Balkan mythology
Rainbow deities