Enji (deity)

Enji (Albanian: [ɛɲi]) is the name of the fire god in the Albanian pagan mythology evidently contained in the week day name that was dedicated to him – e enjte – the Albanian word for Thursday. The theonym is considered to have been attested in antiquity in Illyrian theophoric names with the Latin spelling En(n)-. He was presumably worshiped by the Illyrians in antiquity and he may have been the most prominent god of the Albanian pantheon in Roman times by interpreting Jupiter, when week-day names were formed in the Albanian language.

The belief in a prominent fire and weather god, who was referred to as I Verbti ("the blind one"), and who was often regarded more powerful than the Christian God, survived in northern Albania until recent times. Under Christianization the god of fire was demonized and considered a false god, and it was spread about that anyone who invoked him would be blinded by fire.

In Albanian paganism fire (zjarri) plays a prominent role. It is considered a living, sacred or divine element used for rituals, sacrificial offerings and purification. Fire worship and rituals are associated with the cult of the Sun (Dielli), the cult of the Hearth (Vatër) and the cult of fertility in agriculture and animal husbandry. Calendar fires (zjarret e vitit) are associated with the cosmic cycle and the rhythms of agricultural and pastoral life. The Fire of the Hearth (Zjarri i Vatrës) is deified an regarded as the offspring of the Sun and the sustainer of the continuity between the world of the living and that of the dead, ensuring the continuity of the tribe (fis or farë) through generations. Albanian folk beliefs regard the lightning as the "fire of the sky" (zjarri i qiellit) and consider it as the "weapon of the deity". A widespread Albanian pagan belief and practice linking the lightning and the hearth consists in bringing outdoors a fireplace (vatër) during thunderstorms, in order to gain the favor of the deity so the thunders would not be harmful to the human community.

Name

Documentation

The root of the name of the Albanian deity is thought to be found in antiquity in the Pannonian-Illyrian area, as well as in Messapia/Iapygia in southern Italy such as Ennius, interpreted as a theophoric name: "the one dedicated to En". Other examples with the same root and with the suffix -c (-k) are Enica, Enicus, Enicenius, and with the suffix -n are Eninna, Ennenia, and the short forms Enna and Enno. Compounds of the divine name En are Enoclia "En, the famous", and Malennius containing the Albanian term mal "mountain", interpreted as "the one dedicated to En of/from the mountain".

In his work Speculum Confessionis (1621) Pjetër Budi recorded the Albanian term tegnietenee madhe for the observance of Maundy Thursday (S.C., 148, vv. 26, 89). In his Latin-Albanian dictionary (Dictionarium latino-epiroticum, 1635), Frang Bardhi recorded dita ehegnete as the Albanian translation of Latin dies Iovis. In 1820, the French scholar François Pouqueville recorded two old Albanian terms: e igniete and e en-gnitia. In 1879 Albanian scholar and language master Kostandin Kristoforidhi translated Zeus / Δία of the original Greek text with the Albanian Ἒνετε Enete, and Hermes / Ἑρμῆν with the Albanian Μερκούρ Merkur.

Modern dialectal variations of "Thursday" include: Gheg Albanian: e êjte, e ẽjtë; Tosk Albanian: e enjtë; Arbëreshë Albanian: e ègn'te, e énjite, e ente, e engjte, e ínjte.

Etymology

The names of week days in Albanian are calques of Latin names. Since enjte appears to be the Albanian translation of Latin Iovis diem ('Day of Jove'), the god Enj- or En(ni) of the early Albanian pantheon may have been seen as the equivalent of Roman Jupiter.

The Albanian term enjte ('Thursday') is considered to be a te-adjective presumably descending from the Proto-Albanian stem *agni-, ultimately from *h₁n̥gʷnis, the archaic Proto-Indo-European word for 'fire' as an active force. The PIE name is also continued in the name of the Vedic fire god Agni, who in Vedic religion is associated with the Sun in the heavens, with lightning in the clouds, and with both hearth and ritual fire on the earth among humans.

Historical reconstruction

According to Indo-Europeanist Karl Treimer, Illyrians worshiped a fire god named Enji, related to the Vedic fire god Agni, and descending from the stem *H₁n̥gʷnis, the Proto-Indo-European divinised fire. In the Illyrian pantheon the fire deity would have expanded his function considerably, therefore ousting the cosmic-heavenly deity, becoming the most distinguished Illyrian god in Roman times at the time when the weekday names were formed in the Albanian language. In this view the Latin Jovis dies was equated to the Illyrian fire god Enj rather than to the Illyrian Sky father, thought to have been Zot, from Proto-Albanian *dźie̅u ̊ *a(t)t (a cognate of PIE *Dyḗus ph₂tḗr). With the coming of Christianity, En would have been demoted to demonic status, although his name has been preserved in the Albanian language to refer to Thursday (enj-te).

Albanian fire worship, cult, and practices

See also: Dielli, I Verbti, and Vatër

The cult of the mystic fire and the fire ritual practices have played a prominent role in the lives of all the Albanian people until the 20th century, and in rural areas they continue to be important for Albanian traditional customs even in the present days. In Albanian tradition the fire worship and rituals are particularly related to the cult of the Sun (Dielli). Calendar fires (Albanian: zjarret e vitit) are associated with the cosmic cycle and the rhythms of agricultural and pastoral life. The practices associated with ritual fires among Albanians have been historically fought by the Christian clergy, without success.

The belief in a fire god, who was referred to as I Verbti ("the blind one"), survived in northern Albania until recent times. Under Christianization this deity was demonized and considered a false god, and it was spread about that anyone who invoked him would be blinded by fire. However, in folk beliefs the god I Verbti was often considered more powerful than the Christian God. The struggle between the old and the new god and the former predominant popularity of I Verbti among Albanians is expressed in a traditional tale narrated from a Christian point of view. The purifying power of fire underlies the popular idea according to which the god I Verbti is the enemy of uncleanliness and the opponent of filth.

In Albanian tradition the fire of the hearth (zjarri i vatrës) is deified, and it is regarded as the Sun's offspring (pjella e Diellit), which is symbolized by the fire hearth (vatra e zjarrit). The place of the ignition of fire is traditionally built in the center of the house and of circular shape representing the Sun. Traditionally the fire of the hearth, zjarri i vatrës, is identified with the existence of the family and its extinguishing is considered a bad omen for the family. The fire of the domestic hearth holds divine attributes in folk beliefs, being considered the sustainer of the continuity between the world of the living and that of the dead, and ensuring the continuity of the tribe (fis) from generation to generation.

Rose Wilder Lane (1923) provided the following description regarding the northern Albanian fire cult:

The bride carries with her from her home one invariable gift—a pair of fire tongs. When she arrives at her husband's house she takes a humble place in the corner, standing, her hands folded on her breast, her eyes downcast, and for three days and nights she is required to remain in that position... this custom remains from the old days when the father of each house was also the priestly guardian of the fire, and anyone coming to ask for a light from it stood reverently in that position, silent, before the hearth, until the father priest gave it to him. The bride, newcomer in the family, is a suppliant for the gift of fire, of life, of the mystery that continues the race.

The ritual collective fires (based on the house, kinship, or neighborhood) or bonfires in yards (especially on high places) lit to celebrate the main traditional Albanian festivities before sunrise are related to the cult of the Sun, and in particular they are practiced with the function to give strength to the Sun according to the old beliefs.

The old pagan cult of the mountain and mountain tops is widespread among Albanians. Pilgrimages to sacred mountains take place regularly during the year. This ancient practice is still preserved today, notably in Tomorr, Pashtrik, Lybeten, Gjallicë, Rumia, Koritnik, Shkëlzen, Mount Krujë, Shelbuem, Këndrevicë, Maja e Hekurave, Shëndelli and many others. In Albanian folk beliefs the mountain worship is strictly related to the cult of Nature in general, and the cult of the Sun in particular. Prayers to the Sun, ritual bonfires, and animal sacrifices have been common practices performed by Albanians during the ritual pilgrimage on mountain tops.

A typical ritual practiced before sunrise during major traditional festivities such as Dita e Verës (Verëza) or Shëngjergji consists in young people performing a dance on the "way of the Sun", in the east–west direction near the burning ritual fire, with which evil spirits, demons that endanger health, purification, prosperity, blessing and the beginning of the seasons are burned.

On the feast of Verëza, girls go from house to house early in the morning, and two by two they go near the fire of the hearth and stir it saying to the lady of the house: Oj e zonja shpisë a e qite renin e flisë. Meanwhile, the lady of the house gives them two chicken eggs. In the morning of Verëza and Shëngjergji, the old lady of the house ties knots to the chain of the hearth and says an incantation formula, then she lights the fire, which with all its power burns the demons and evil. Ashes are believed to have healing properties, especially when children have been taken by the evil eye they are washed on the ashes.

Albanian folk beliefs regard the lightning as the "fire of the sky" (zjarri i qiellit) and consider it as the "weapon of the deity". A widespread Albanian pagan belief and practice linking the lightning and the hearth consists in bringing outdoors a fireplace (vatër), in order to gain the favor of the deity so the thunders would not be harmful to the human community. The same belief and practice is documented by 6th century BCE plaques from Lake Shkodra, which belonged to the Illyrian tribal area of what was referred in historical sources to as the Labeatae in later times. Each of those plaques portray simultaneously sacred representations of the sky and the sun, and symbolism of lighning and fire, as well as the sacred tree and birds (eagles). In those plaques there is a mythological representation of a celestial deity, who throws lightning into a fire altar, which is held by two men (sometimes on two boats).

See also

• Albanian paganism
• Agni
• Atar
• Illyrian religion
• Nymphaion (fire sanctuary)
• Perëndi
• Prende
• Zojz (deity)

Sources

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