Drangue

The dragùa, drangue, or drangoni, in Albanian mythology, is a semi-human winged warrior. The goal of the drangue is to defeat the kulshedras and the enemies of the Albanian people.

Forms

Common (standard Albanian) form of the name is dragúa (def. dragói),[1][2][3]; in Gheg it is drangue.[1] Durham recorded the form drangoni.[4]

Origins

In the earliest conception, found in the earliest writings in Albanian, the dragùa was conceived as a dragon or hydra-like monster, such as found in Roman mythology and known in the Balkans.[5] The conception of the dragùa as a hero battling the kulshedra developed later, and is attested in the 17th century in the Dictionarium Latino-Epiroticum by Frang Bardhi[6]

Birth

Babies destined to become dragùa are born "wearing shirts" and qeleshes, with two or four wings under their arms. This notion that the predestined hero are born "in a chemise" does not refer to them literally wearing articles of clothing; rather, these are babies born with their heads covered in caul, or amniotic membrane.[7][8]

In some regions (such as Celza parish), it is said that dragùa babies are only born to parents whose lineage have not committed adultery for three generations, or from mothers who were kulshedras.[9][3][10]

Appearance and attributes

The drangues are semi-human warriors with extraordinary strength, giving them the ability to tear trees out of the ground and throw large boulders at their enemies. They can also cast lighting bolts and meteors, or whole houses.[8][2]

The wings and arms of a dragùa are thought to be the source of his power and if their bodies are dissected, a golden heart with a jewel in the middle of it will be found.[9][3]

As warrior fighting the kulshedra, he is armed with the "beam of the plow and the plow-share",[11] or a "pitchfork and the post from the threshing floor, and with the big millstones".[12] He also employs his cradle is used as shield to parry blows from the kushedra.[13]

These heroes may live unnoticed among humans and are thought to be "invulnerable, untouchable, and undefeatable".[14] They have "supernatural powers which become apparent while they are still babies in their cradles. When thunder and lightning strike Dragùas assemble with their cradles at the Dragùa gathering place".[3]

In southeastern Albanian regions of Pogradec and Korça, the dragùa is "envisaged.. as a beautiful strong horse with wings, who defends civilization and mankind".[3]

"Male animals can also be born as dragùas. Black rams will attack a Kulshedra with their horns, and black roosters will furiously pick out its eyes. Only billy goats can never be dragùas".[3]

Battle with kulshedra

Thunderstorms are conceived as battles between the drangues and the kulshedras, the roll of thunder taken to be the sounds of their weapons clashing.[8][2] This shares many similarities with chaoskampf, a mythological trope of the Proto-Indo-European religion, where a Storm God battles a many-headed Sea Serpent. Drangues are believed to perpetually battle with the kulshedra (Albanian: kulçedra, kuçedra; Croatian: kulšedra[15]). Or he is said to have slain her for good, having knocked her unconscious by throwing trees and boulders at her, and afterwards drowning her in the Shkumbin River, according to the localized lore of central Albania.[8][2]

Highland lute

In the Lahuta e Malcis (English: Highland Lute) -- one of the most important heroic epics of Albania—the drangues are presented as the personification of the Albanian Highlands heroes, and are the central figures of the 16th and the 17th canto.[16] In the 16th canto a kulshedra escapes from a cave in Shalë to take revenge on Vocerr Bala, a drangue.[16] A force of drangues gather and defeat the kulshedra. After the battle they are invited by oras, female protective spirits, to celebrate their victory.[16]

In the 17th canto the central figures are two drangues named Rrustem Uka and Xhem Sadrija.[16] After preparing for a wedding ceremony, they travel to Qafë Hardhi (English: Grapevine Pass) to rest. While cleaning their weapons and smoking, they discover that eight Montenegrin battalions, consisting of three hundred soldiers led by Mark Milani, are marching against Plava and Gucia.[16] The two drangues with the help of local shepherds manage to defend Qafë Hardhi and defeat the Montenegrin troops which retreat at Sutjeska.[16]

Modern beliefs

The belief that a dragùa can be born every day has persisted among Albanian mountain folk until recently, and there are still elderly people alive who espouse the belief.[2][10]

In Malësia, a region in northern Albania and southern Montenegro inhabited mostly by Albanians, the locals believe that the drangues exist and live among them.[17]

See also

Sources

Citations
  1. 1 2 Fishta, Elsie & Mathie-Heck (2005), p. 415.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Doja (2005), p. 451.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Elsie, Robert (2001a), A Dictionary of Albanian Religion, Mythology, and Folk Culture, pp. 74–76.
  4. ↑ Durham, M. Edith (1910), "High Albania and its Customs in 1908", The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, 40: 456 (453–472) . doi:10.2307/2843266. 
  5. ↑ Çabej, Eqrem (1987) Studime etimologjike ne fushë të shqipes - Etudes d'étymologie albanaise, 3 (C-D), pp. 300- 302, cited by Doja (2005), p. 451.
  6. ↑ Roques, Mario, ed. (1932), Le dictionnaire albanais, cited by Doja (2005), p. 451
  7. ↑ Doja (2005), pp. 449–451.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Lowie, Robert H. (2007). An Introduction to Cultural Anthropology. READ BOOKS. p. 523. ISBN 1-4067-1765-7.
  9. 1 2 Lambertz (1922), p. 12.
  10. 1 2 Röhrich, Lutz (1991), Folktales and Reality, Indiana University Press, p. 153, ISBN 025335028X
  11. ↑ Nopcsa, Franzs (1923) Albanien. Religiöse Anschauungen, Sitten und Gebräuche, cited by Doja (2005), p. 451
  12. ↑ Shkurti, Spiro (1989), Légendes et rites païens concernant la charrue (in French), cited by Doja (2005), p. 451
  13. ↑ Doja (2005), pp. 451–452.
  14. ↑ Doja (2005), p. 452.
  15. ↑ Ujević, Mate (1945). "Drangue". Hrvatska enciklopedija. V. Konzorcija Hrvatske enciklopedije. p. 244.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Fishta, Gjergj; Elsie, Robert; Mathie-Heck, Janice (2005). The highland lute: (Lahuta e malcís) : the Albanian national epic. Centre for Albanian Studies (London, England). I.B.Tauris. pp. 2, 133, 148.
  17. ↑ Röhrich, Lutz (1964). Märchen und Wirklichkeit: eine volkskundliche Untersuchung (in German). F. Steiner. p. 172. ISBN 3-89676-380-6.
Bibliography

  • Doja, Albert (2005), "Mythology and Destiny", Anthropos, 100 (2): 449–462 . JSTOR 40466549
  • Fishta, Gjergj; Elsie, Robert; Mathie-Heck, Janice (2005). The highland lute: (Lahuta e malcís) : the Albanian national epic. Centre for Albanian Studies (London, England). I.B.Tauris. ISBN 1-84511-118-4.
  • Lambertz, Maximilian (1922). Albanische Märchen und andere Texte zur albanischen Volkskunde. Wien: Alfred Hölder.
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