The elements of Albanian mythology are of Paleo-Balkanic origin and almost all of them are pagan.[1] One of the sources from which Albanian folk beliefs evolved is the ancient Illyrian mythology,[5][6][7] showing also similarities with other Indo-European branches of the neighbouring traditions, such as the oral epics with the South Slavs and the folk tales with the Greeks.[8]
Albanian folk tales were first recorded in the middle of the nineteenth century by European scholars such as Johann Georg von Hahn, the Austrian consul in Janina (Ioannina), Karl H. Reinhold and Giuseppe Pitrè. The next generation of scholars to take an interest in the collection of Albanian folk tales were primarily philologists, among them well-known Indo-European linguists concerned with recording and analysing a hitherto little known European language: Auguste Dozon, Jan Jarnik [cs], Gustav Meyer, Holger Pedersen, Gustav Weigand and August Leskien.
The nationalist movement in Albania in the second half of the nineteenth century, the Rilindja, gave rise to native collections of folklore material such as the 'Albanian Bee' (Albanike melissa/Belietta shqiptarë) by Thimi Mitko, the 'Albanian Spelling Book' (Albanikon alfavetarion/Avabatar arbëror) by the ArvaniteAnastas Kullurioti and the 'Waves of the Sea' (Valët e Detit) by Spiro Dine. In the last thirty years, much field work has been done by the Institute of Folk Culture in Tirana and by the Institute of Albanian Studies in Prishtinë, which have published numerous collections of folk tales and legends. Unfortunately, very little of this substantial material has been translated into other languages.
Dita e Verës (Verëza): "The Summer Day", an Albanian spring festival celebrated on March 1 of the Julian calendar (March 14 of the Gregorian calendar). In the old Albanian calendar it corresponds to the first day of the new year (Albanian: Kryeviti, Kryet e Motmotit, Motmoti i Ri, Nata e Mojit) and marks the end of the winter season (the second half of the year) and the beginning of the summer season (the first half of the year) on the spring equinox. Another festival of the spring equinox is Nowruz (Albanian: Dita e Sulltan Nevruzit) celebrated on March 21.
Nata e Buzmit: "Yule log's night" celebrated about the time of the winter solstice, between December 22 and January 6. In Albanian beliefs it marks the return of the sun for summer and the lengthening of the days.
Elsie, Robert (2007). "The Rediscovery of folk literature in Albania"(PDF). In Marcel Cornis-Pope; John Neubauer (eds.). History of the literary cultures of East-Central Europe: junctures and disjunctures in the 19th and 20th centuries. Vol. III. Amsterdam & Philadelphia: John Benjamins. pp. 335–338. ISBN978-90-272-3455-1. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
Lambertz, Maximilian (1973). "Die Mythologie der Albaner". In Hans Wilhelm Haussig (ed.). Wörterbuch der Mythologie (in German). Vol. 2. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
Sako, Zihni; et al. (Komisjoni i folklorit) (1954). Pralla popullore shqiptare (in Albanian). N.SH.B. Stabilimenti "Mihal Duri", Tiranë: Instituti i Shkencave. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
Tirta, Mark (2004). Petrit Bezhani (ed.). Mitologjia ndër shqiptarë (in Albanian). Tirana: Mësonjëtorja. ISBN99927-938-9-9. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
