Zojz (deity)

Zojz (definite Albanian form: Zojzi) is a sky and lightning god in Albanian pagan mythology.[1][2] An epithet considered to be associated with him is "father", thought to be contained in an Albanian name for the Supreme Being: Zot, analyzed as Sky Father.[3][4][5] In some of his attributes, Zojz could be related to Perëndi, to the weather gods Shurdh and Verbt, and to the mythological demigod drangue.

Etymology

Zojz is the Albanian continuation of *Dyḗus, the name of the Proto-Indo-European daylight-sky-god.[1] Cognates stemming from the root *Dyḗus with a similar phonological developement are the Messapic Zis and Greek Zeus. Other cognates are the Rigvedic Dyáuṣ and Latin Jovis. This root is found also in the second element (dí/día/dei) of the name Perëndi, used in Albanian to refer to the Supreme Being.[6][7]

Epithet

The zero grade radical of *di̯ēus and the epithet "father" are thought to be contained in an Albanian term for the Supreme Being: Zot, which is considered to be derived from Proto-Albanian *dźie̅u ̊ a(t)t-, an old compound for "heavenly father", from PIE *dyew- ("sky, heaven, bright") + *átta ("father"), thus a cognate with PIE *Dyḗus ph₂tḗr and with its descendants: Illyrian Dei-pátrous, Sanskrit द्यौष्पितृ (Dyáuṣ Pitṛ́), Proto-Italic *djous patēr (whence Latin Iuppiter), Ancient Greek Ζεῦ πάτερ (Zeû páter).[3][4][5] Some linguists have also proposed the Proto-Albanian etymology *dzwâpt (<*w(i)tš- pati-, "lord of the house"; ultimately from PIE *wiḱ-potis, "leader of the clan").[8][9]

Mythology

In Albanian mythology, Zojz resides on the peak of mountains such as Mount Tomorr,[2] the highest and most inaccessible mountain of central Albania, considered the home of the deities. This tradition has been preserved in folk beliefs until recent times.[2][10][11]

See also

• Albanian mythology
• Drangue
• En (deity)
• Perëndi
• Shurdh
• Verbt

Sources

Citations

1. Mann 1952, p. 32.
2. Feizi 1929, p. 82.
3. Demiraj 1997, pp. 431-432.
4. Mann 1977, p. 72.
5. Treimer 1971, p. 32.
6. West 2007, pp. 167, 242-244.
7. Jakobson 1985, pp. 6, 19-21.
8. Mallory & Adams 1997, p. 348.
9. Orel 1998, p. 526.
10. Elsie 2001, pp. 252–254.
11. West 2007, p. 151.

Bibliography

• Demiraj, Bardhyl (1997). Albanische Etymologien: Untersuchungen zum albanischen Erbwortschatz. Leiden Studies in Indo-European (in German). 7. Amsterdam, Atlanta: Rodopi.
• Elsie, Robert (2001). A Dictionary of Albanian Religion, Mythology and Folk Culture. London: Hurst & Company. ISBN 1-85065-570-7.
• Feizi, Abidin (1929). Grammatica della lingua albanese. Pubblicazione del R. Istituto orientale di Napoli. Napoli: Achille Cimmaruta.
• Jakobson, Roman (1985). "Linguistic Evidence in Comparative Mythology". In Stephen Rudy (ed.). Roman Jakobson: Selected Writings. VII: Contributions to Comparative Mythology: Studies in Linguistics and Philology, 1972-1982. Walter de Gruyter. ISBN 9783110855463.
• Mallory, James P.; Adams, Douglas Q. (1997), Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture, London: Routledge, ISBN 978-1-884964-98-5
• Mann, Stuart E. (1952). "The Indo-European Consonants in Albanian". Language. Linguistic Society of America. 28 (1): 31–40. doi:10.2307/409988. JSTOR 409988.
• Mann, Stuart E (1977). An Albanian Historical Grammar. Hamburg: Helmut Buske Verlag. ISBN 9783871182624.
• Orel, Vladimir E. (1998). Albanian Etymological Dictionary. Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-11024-3.
• Treimer, Karl (1971). "Zur Rückerschliessung der illyrischen Götterwelt und ihre Bedeutung für die südslawische Philologie". In Henrik Barić (ed.). Arhiv za Arbanasku starinu, jezik i etnologiju. I. R. Trofenik. pp. 27–33.
• West, M. L. (2007). Indo-European Poetry and Myth. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-928075-9.