Dhampir

In Balkans folklore, dhampirs (sometimes spelled dhampyres, dhamphirs, or dhampyrs) are creatures that are the result of a union between a vampire and a human. This union was usually between male vampires and female humans, with stories of female vampires mating with male humans being rare.[1]

Dhampir
GroupingLegendary creature
Sub groupingUndead
CountryBalkans
RegionBalkans, the Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa

Etymology

Vladimir Orel points out the similarity between Proto-Albanian *pīja and the Proto-Slavic cognate *pijǫ.[9]

  • It is also claimed that the word for vampire descends from Slavic “упирь” or “ǫpyrь”.[10][11][12] However, one of Petar Skok's hypotheses is that the slavic word itself derived from a northern Turkic language (“ubyr/ubyrly”, meaning “witch”). This hypothesis lacks an explanation for the sense development (vampire/witch).[13]

Nomenclature

The word "dhampir" is associated with Balkan folklore, as described by T. P. Vukanović. In the rest of the region, terms such as Serbian vampirović, vampijerović, vampirić (thus, Bosnian lampijerović, etc.) literally meaning "vampire's son", are used.[14][15]

In other regions the child is named "Vampir" if a boy and "Vampirica" if a girl, or "Dhampir" if a boy and "Dhampirica" if a girl. In Bulgarian folklore, numerous terms such as glog (lit. "hawthorn"), vampirdzhiya ("vampire" + nomen agentis suffix), vampirar ("vampire" + nomen agentis suffix), dzhadadzhiya and svetocher are used to refer to vampire children and descendants, as well as to other specialized vampire hunters.[16] Dhampiraj is also an Albanian surname.

Origin

In the Balkans it was believed that male vampires have a great desire for women, so a vampire will return to have intercourse with his wife or with a woman he was attracted to in life.[14] In one case, a Serbian widow tried to blame her pregnancy on her late husband, who had supposedly become a vampire,[15] and there were cases of Serbian men pretending to be vampires in order to reach the women they desired.[17] In Bulgarian folklore, vampires were sometimes said to deflower virgins as well.[14] The sexual activity of the vampire seems to be a peculiarity of South Slavic vampire belief as opposed to other Slavs,[14] although a similar motif also occurs in Belarusian legends.[18]

Powers

Legends state that dhampirs were, for the most part, normal members of the community. But dhampirs, especially male, of paternal vampire descent could see invisible vampires and practice sorcery, often starting careers as vampire hunters, which would be practiced for generations from father to son.[19][20][21] According to the legend, dhampyres are really similar to vampires. They have both the powers of a human and vampire. They can sense a supernatural creature within a specified distance, have acute sense of sight and hearing, have regenerating abilities, walk in sunlight, also eat like a human, dhampyres can also control animals and can be used to destroy vampires.[22]

Features

Some traditions specify signs by which the children of a vampire can be recognized. Albanian legends state they have untamed dark or black hair and lack a shadow.[15] In Bulgarian folklore, possible indications include being "very dirty", having a soft body, no nails and bones (the latter physical peculiarity is also ascribed to the vampire itself), and "a deep mark on the back, like a tail." In contrast, a pronounced nose was often a sign, as were larger than normal ears, teeth or eyes. According to J. Gordon Melton, from his book, The Vampire Book: The Encyclopedia of the Undead, in some areas, a true dhampir possessed a "slippery, jelly-like body and lived only a short life—a belief ... that vampires have no bones."[23]

gollark: This is almost but not quite valid Lua.
gollark: ↓ isomorphic to all members
gollark: So it appears that my indexer is actually bottlenecked by database I/O or something. This is fairly troubling!
gollark: OH BEE concurrency.
gollark: They're not weird magic, they are consistent.

See also

References
  1. "Vampires Through the Ages: Lore & Legends of the World's Most Notorious Blood Drinkers" "These vampires then, usually male, but in some rare stories female as well, traveled to another village where they were unknown to the inhabitants and married, producing offspring."
  2. Fialuur i voghel Sccyp e ltinisct (Small Dictionary of Albanian and Latin), page 26, by P. Jak Junkut, 1895, Sckoder
  3. "dhëmb/dhëmbi" in "Fjalor Shqip" (Engl.: 'Albanian Dictionary')
  4. "pirë (pírë)" in "Fjalor Shqip" (Engl.: 'Albanian Dictionary')
  5. "pi" in "Fjalor Shqip" (Albanian Dictionary)
  6. "dhampir" in "Marrëdhëniet gjuhësore shqiptaro-serbe" (Engl.: 'the albano-serbian linguistical relationship'), by Anila Omari, Tirana (Albania), Year 2012, Page 133-134
  7. “dhampir” in "Fjalor Etimologjik i Gjuhës Shqipe" (Engl.: 'Etymological Dictionary of the Albanian language'), by Kolec Topalli, Durrës (Albania), Year 2017, Page 1544
  8. "Albanian Etymological Dictionary", by Vladimir Orel, Page 82
  9. "Albanian Etymological Dictionary", by Vladimir Orel, Page 324-325
  10. From Demons to Dracula: The Creation of the Modern Vampire Myth by Matthew Beresford, ISBN 1861894031, 2008, p. 8.
  11. Deutsches Wörterbuch von Jacob Grimm und Wilhelm Grimm. 16 Bde. (in 32 Teilbänden). Leipzig: S. Hirzel 1854–1960.
  12. "Vampire". Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
  13. "Etimologijski rječnik hrvatskoga ili srpskoga jezika" (Engl.: 'Etymological dictionary of the croatian or serbian language'),by Petar Skok, Zagreb (Croatia), Year 1973, Page 564
  14. Levkievskaja, E.E. La mythologie slave : problèmes de répartition dialectale (une étude de cas : le vampire). Cahiers slaves n°1 (septembre 1997). Online (French). Archived 2008-01-12 at the Wayback Machine
  15. Петровић, Сретен. 2000. Основи демонологије. In: Систем српске митологије. Просвета, Ниш 2000. Online (Serbian) Archived 2009-03-31 at the Wayback Machine
  16. Димитрова, Иваничка. 1983. Българска народна митология. Online article (Bulgarian) reproducing text from Ivanichka Dimitrova. Bulgarian folk mythology. С.1983.стр. 153- 159
  17. Laković, Aleksandar. 2001. Vampiri kolo vode. In: Glas javnosti, 20-12-2001. Online (Serbian)
  18. Міфы Бацькаўшчыны. Вупыр (Вупар). Online (Belarusian)
  19. The Vampire Book: The Encyclopedia of the Undead
  20. T. P. Vukanović. 1957-1959. "The Vampire." Journal of the Gypsy Lore Society, 3rd ser. Part 1: 36(3-4): 125-133; Part 2: 37(1-2): 21-31; Part 3: 37(3-4): 111-118; Part 4: 39(1-2): 44-55. Reprinted in Vampires of the Slavs, ed. Jan Perkowski (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Slavica, 1976), 201-234. The reprint lacks footnotes. Most material on dhampirs is in part 4, under the heading "Dhampir as the Chief Magician for the Destruction of Vampires."
  21. Vampires of the Slavs by Jan Louis Perkowski "The practice of sorcery for the destruction of vampires is carried on in the house of Dhampir's descendants from father to son, throughout the generations."
  22. "Dhampyre - Child of Vampire" – via https://vampireunderworld.com.
  23. J. Gordon Melton (2010). The Vampire Book: The Encyclopedia of the Undead. Visible Ink Press. p. 201. slippery, jelly-like body and lived only a short life.
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