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and Albert Doja

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Albert Doja. Mythology and Destiny. Anthropos -Freiburg-, Richarz Publikations-service GMBH, 2005, 100 (2), pp.449-462. ￿10.5771/0257-9774-2005-2-449￿. ￿halshs-00425170￿

HAL Id: halshs-00425170 https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-00425170 Submitted on 1 May 2012

HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et and research in or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. H anthropos 100.2005:449-462 1^2

Mythologyand Destiny

AlbertDoja

Abstract.- In Albaniantradition, the essential attributes of larlyassociated with the person's spirit, with their the mythologicalfigures of destinyseem to be symbolic lifeand death,their health, their future , interchangeablerepresentations of birth itself. Their mythical theirsuccesses and setbacks. the combatis butthe symbolic representation of the cyclic return Theysymbolize in thewatery and chthonianworld of death,leading, like the person'sproperties, are thespiritual condensation vegetation,tothe cosmic revival of a newbirth. Both protective of theirqualities. They have suchclose mystical anddestructive positions of theattributes of birth,symbolized tieswith the person that merely the way they are by the amnioticmembranes, the caul, and othersingular dealtwith or theaim are ascribeddetermines ofmaternal they markers,or by the means of the water, theindividual's own and fate. wouldbe onlytwo antinomic oppositions, two complementary aptitudes and interchangeableterms of the mythopoeicopposition of Althoughthey are separatedfrom the child's the immanenceof universalregeneration. The ambivalent body,these pieces are regardedas stillbeing per- representationsofsoul and destiny are not isolated in Albanian manentlyconnected with the individual.Indeed .There are especially those which have also a function continueto withthem some of thelife ofassistance to closeto Greek ofthe they carry childbirth, representations individual.From the destiny,personified there by theMoirai, in Scandinavianand principlesthat structure each Germanictraditions by and in theAlbanian tradition by standpointof metonymy,they are effectivelyan otherlocal figures.[, birth, , destiny] integralpart of thatperson. That is whyAlbanian traditionbelieves that they can be usedin various AlbertDoja, doctoratein SocialAnthropology (EHESS, directed theowner. Care 1993),postdoctoral degree habilitation (Sorbonne, Paris 2004). magicalpractices against He was a researchfellow at theInstitute of FolkCulture, The is takentherefore that these separated pieces are Academyof theSciences of Albania(), and at CNRS notexposed to misappropriation,that they do not in Franceas well as a lecturerin Social Anthropologyat fall intothe hands of spitefulpeople who might theUniversity of Paris8, theUniversity of Aix--Provence,use themto aboutthe downfallor of Hull. he is SeniorResearch bring person's and theUniversity Currently to for Fellowat the University of Limerickand at University College death.Were the umbilical cord be burned, London. example,or throwninto the water,or eatenby someanimal, it was believedthat the same would happento thechild. The Markerof Singularity These pieces oftencarry heavy overtones,which can easilybe used forwicked Albaniansattach a good deal of importanceto ends.This is almostalways the case of magical omensand predictionsconnected with the pla- powers,which can be used for eithergood or centa,the umbilical cord, the caul, as laterwith evil.All sacredthings are dangerous. Because they baby teeth,locks of hair fromthe firsthaircut, are chargedwith a stronglyambivalent symbolic amongChristian groups, or thecircumcised fore- value,the pieces of bodyseparated when the cord skin,among , to nail clippings,etc. Gen- is cut and theplacenta delivered are alwayssub- erallyspeaking, these bodily elements all carrya jectedto ritualprocesses of symbolicdestruction strongpolyvalent symbolic value. They are regu- or conservationdesigned to protectthe individ-

http://www.jstor.org/stable/40466549; http://eprints.ucl.ac.uk/18364/; http://hal.ccsd.cnrs.fr/halshs-00425170 450 AlbertDoja uai fromthe many possible dangers. The pieces capableof representingthe protection the mother are oftenplaced, buried, or discardedin symbolic mustafford her child even afterbirth. However, spots,which capture the cosmicenergy: ancient sincethis tie must be severedat birth, the umbilical ,ancestors' graves, the threshold or the roof of cordrepresents at thesame the independence thehouse, crossroads, flowing water, etc. In every thechild must acquire in orderto become an adult. case theyunfailingly undergo a specificoperation, These elementsare not merelyuseful when whichconsists of excluding them from the habitual separatedfrom the child's body. They are also secularcircuit of exchange. partof the individual'sorganic identity at birth In differentparts of Albania,the placentais andbelong to thehistory of his or herperson. The regularlyburied in theground, under the threshold caul,a pieceof amniotic sack that can adhere to the or in theinner courtyard of thehouse, or at the childfor a numberof reasons, is a specialcase. The base of a fruittree or a veryold .Because Albanianterms for the caul are related,like those one of themodels for fertility is plant growth and of theGermanic and Slaviczones, to termsfor an theother is gestation,the placenta is thusplaced itemof , in particulara garment worn next in relationwith plant fertility after having been in to thebody, këmisha, chemise, undershirt, shift. It relationwith or at least animalfertility.1 is alwaysregarded as a good .It bringsthe If the placentawas not expelledand buried,it childluck, good fortune, and happiness throughout was believedthat the baby was not fullyborn. life.The proverbial expression, lindur me këmishë, No doubt,with respect to the fertilizingpowers "born in a chemise,"is used in particularto of theearth, only such practices could markthe describepeople who are alwayslucky. The child completionof theritual. "bornin a chemise"succeeds in everything.By The relationshipof theplacenta and the umbil- analogy,the same favorsare oftenattributed to ical cord withthe motheris an ambivalentone. childrenborn with a lockof hairon theforehead. Beingconnected with the baby's growth and with AmongAlbanians as amongsouthern , the thefertility that they transmit to the woman,as caul is oftenkept and sewninto a pouchthat the theyare withthe fertilityof the earthand the childwears around his neckas a luckycharm. It fruittree under which they are buried,they have is hisfatum, his companion spirit. The rarefact of fertilizingpowers. They are used by sterile women beingborn with a caulcreates a durableinteraction in differentconception rites, or by new mothers betweenthe child and the maternalmembrane and moregenerally young mothers in connection thateffectively surrounded and protectedit in the withlactation. Use of the placentaensures that womb.It was thusbelieved that the caul actually thewoman will have enough milk and that it will offeredprotection, especially against . notdry up, which would spell death for the child. Amongthe supernatural powers at- In theregion of Korça,in southeasternAlbania, tributeto the caul are the giftsof seeing and forinstance, a sterilewoman is supposedto stand healing,the qualitiesof dexterityand cunning, overthe still warm placenta of a newlyborn baby etc., whichare also foundamong other groups (Frashëri1936: 29). in .But it is especiallythe immunityit Justas theyprovided nourishment to the foetus gives fromdying by water,by fireor froma in the womb,so the placentaand the umbilical woundthat seems to be its fundamentalpower. cordensure the same function at thesymbolic lev- In herbook "Les signesde la naissance"(1971), . But thefunctions the placenta fulfilled for the Nicole Belmontanalyses this threefold immunity childare cancelled after the birth precisely because in detail,with emphasis, in regardto the child, theyare alwaysseparated at themoment of birth. on the beliefthat the caul gives immunityfrom Alternatively,Albanians keep theumbilical cord drowning.Before its birth, the amniotic membrane and thecaul, and conservethem with care. They enabledthe child to livein water,while after birth are attachedto thechild and he or she mayeven thecaul can protectit fromdying in water.This wearthem as a luckycharm throughout life. Given ,found in theAlbanian tradition, is one of thatthe umbilical cord once really linked the moth- the rareinstances in mythologywhere the caul er and herchild, it was believedthat it was still givesrise to the myth, in particular, by its power to protectagainst storm demons, also presentin the Hebrewtradition. This is presentedin themyth of 1 A complementarymetaphorical relationship is introduced thedragua, which, to myknowledge, is notfound by meansof egg symbolism.Sometimes, as in theregion in thesame terms in other ofDevoll in southeasternAlbania, it is thecustom to bury any group. theshell of an egg thathas beendipped in thebaby's first In Albaniantradition, the cases of children born bathwater(Sheshori 1944: 16). witha caul, or "in a chemise,"to whichother

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http://www.jstor.org/stable/40466549; http://eprints.ucl.ac.uk/18364/; http://hal.ccsd.cnrs.fr/halshs-00425170 Mythologyand Destiny 45 1 cases of singularbirth can be compared,such as breaststhat hang down to theground, a longtale birthmarkson theshoulder, under the arm, on the and nineheads with lolling tongues, fire spewing chest,or elsewhere,are regardedas thesign that fromthe gapingmaws and the head and body supernaturalprotective powers intend to preside coveredwith long red hair.When she is in the overthe social status of these individuals through- vicinity,the weather turns foul, black clouds gather outtheir life. By thisattribute, they are assigned to and big stormsbreak. It is said thatsmall storms fulfillcertain cultural functions. It is thereplace- are the workof her offspring.According to the mentof the real maternal protection by a symbolic collectiverepresentations in , she protectionthat makes the child into a culturehero, livesin springsand fountains.She oftendries up passingunscathed through the adversities and the rivers,blocking the watersand causingdrought, exploitsof his life,like the childprotected dur- butalso bad weather,or flooding,or othernatural ingits intrauterinelife. The splittingoff from the disasters,which can only be endedby human sacri- real motherof a symbolicmother represented by fices.In theSouth, I notedin thevillages of Uraka, thecaul or otherrelated signs, which substitutes Kotodesh, and in Katjelin lowerMokra in south- forthe real mother, guarantees constant protection eastern Albania, that she is representedas a big preciselybecause she moves to thesymbolic level femaleserpent who encirclesthe world with her (Belmont1971:80-89). mouthtouching her tail. "If she wereever to take In Albanianmythological tradition, individuals hertail in herteeth, she woulddestroy the whole born"in a chemise,"but also withtwo and some- world.For acceptingto postponethe , timesfour little wings under the arm, are predes- she requiresdaily human " (Doja 1986). tinedto changeinto dragua, obliged to fightand Here the beliefsare clearlymixed with the An- vanquishthe .2 Çabej calls attentionto dromedatheme. Other mythic representations, too, thetwo semantic sides of thefigure of thedragua areembodied in thekulshedra figure. In traditional in Albaniantradition. The earliestauthors writing Albaniantales of the supernatural,for example, inAlbanian represent the dragua as a ,like she is also contaminatedby theCirce or Sphinx theRoman and Balkandragon or hydra.The oc- themes. currencesfurnished by dialectology and toponomy Only the dragùa is capable of saving hu- showthat this belief is also transmittedin the oral mankindfrom the monster. He setsupon the kul- tradition.However, there is anothersemantic sense shedrawith the beam of theplow and theplow- fairlywidespread in collectivebeliefs whereby the share(Nopcsa 1923), withthe pitchfork and the dragùais presentedas themale conquerorof the post fromthe threshingfloor, and withthe big femalemonster kulshedra, whom he mustfight millstones(Shkurti 1989). He also hurlslightning to death.This representation is already attested in bolts,meteors, tall trees from the forest, boulders, workswritten in Albanianas earlyas theseven- and wholehouses torn from their foundations. It teenthcentury, for example, in the 1635 "Dictiona- used to be believedthat the thunder that growled riumLatino-Epiroticum" ofFrang Bardhi (Roques on darkwinter nights was thesound of their clash- 1932).But, Lambertz stresses, the dragùa are not ingweapons. The dragùa' s impressivebattles with onlyfabled beings of yore.As everymountain thekulshedra took place, for instance, in theGreat Albanianfirmly believed until recently, - and there NorthernMountains in thebend of the river Drini, are old women,like the one I came across in nearthe Vizier's Bridge. There, at the place known thesouthern Albanian region of Permet,who still as Rana-e-Hedhme,the huge boulders strewing the believe- dragùacan be bornevery day. bed andbanks of theriver tell of thiseternal, nev- In collectivebeliefs, the kulshedrais repre- er-endingbattle between enemy forces that clash sentedas thedemon of storms,a hugefrightful, so terrifyinglyduring a storm.Sometimes, in order disgusting,horrible being, a femalebeing with big thatshe perishesforever, the dragùa must drown thekulshedra, otherwise she mightcome back to life. In the ÇermenikaMountains near , are 2 Most data concerningthe dragùa and the kulshedra in centralAlbania, for example, it was believed takenfrom Lambertz (1922). Later authors repeat, use, or in thebest of cases confirm the same . For a recent that,having knocked the kulshedra senseless, the accountsee (Tirta2004: 121-132). The wordsdesignating dragùa had been able to destroyher onlyafter the dragùa and the kulshedraare foundthroughout the havingdrowned her in the Shkumbini, the big river Albanianzone, with dialectal variants that, in thefirst case, runningfrom east to westthrough central Albania. derivefrom the draco and, in thesecond, the Latin Another detailis thatthe fends fromthe cersudroi, "a kindof important dragùa chersydrus, blowsfor the most serpentthat lives in wateror on land"(Çabej 1987:300- offhis enemy's partby using 302). hiscradle as a shield.Curiously, the main weapons

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http://www.jstor.org/stable/40466549; http://eprints.ucl.ac.uk/18364/; http://hal.ccsd.cnrs.fr/halshs-00425170 452 AlbertDoja usedby the kulshedra in thefight are her urine and birth,is reproduced,but this reiterated conjunction, thepoisonous milk from her breasts. in particularbecause it is reiterated,brings death. These heroesmay live unnoticedamong hu- This is somethingnew, as Nicole Belmont mans.The giftsheralded at birthby thecaul or (1971:62 f.) observesfor, until now, the docu- otherspecial signs can appearat anyage, and in mentsoften specified that the caul mustbe care- mostcases go unremarked.As in thecase ofother fullypreserved by thechild or by theperson who heroesof Europeanmythology, the giftis often hoped to acquiresome advantagefrom it. Here displayedby the baby while still in the cradle, we have an interestingposition between a caul hencethe role of the cradleas the primaryde- inherentlycapable of engenderingprotection from fensiveattribute. Whenever there was thunderand birthand thesame protecting caul also inherently lightning,people believed the dragua were going capableof destruction.The caul's symbolicpro- withtheir cradles to the place where all thedragua tectingfunction can be expressedin two ways: met.In Albanian,the worddragua is relatedto metaphoricallyor metonymically. Metaphorically, dränge,drëngë, drëngëzë, "a smallfresh- water fish whenit is said thatthe child born with a caul will thatdoes notgrow very big", and to dränge,"kit- be fortunatethroughout life, due to thefact that ten,puppy, bear cub, in generala usuallywild ba- he was bornwith a caul. Metonymically,when it by animal"(Çabej 1987:302). Dragua are never- is believedthat such good fortune accompanies an thelessconsidered to be invulnerable,untouchable, individual who wears a caulon his person. The two andundefeatable. If someoneis a dragua,only his levelsare rarely mixed. Usually, as thedocuments motherand, it must be noted, cantell. As soon show,the metaphoric level is notfound together as a childis born,the mother hides the caul with withthe métonymie level. whichhe was bornso as to keepit safe,for no one Nevertheless,this separation should not be at- mustlearn his identity, or he willimmediately die. tributedto a diminishedunderstanding of the be- The dragua9s invulnerabilityfits with every- liefs.In thisprojection of the metaphoric axis onto thingwe knowabout them from beliefs. themétonymie axis, I wouldinstead be tempted It flowsfrom the fact that the dragùa is bornwith to see thepoetic function of themythic message, a caul or is singledout by his unusualbirth, but about whichRoman Jakobson (1981) wrote,or paradoxicallythis may also cause his death.This ratherthe mythopoeic function par excellence.The phenomenoncan be comparedwith similar themes two basic modesof arrangementused in verbal in Irishmythology (Belmont 1971: 61-69, 92-95, behavior,as in mythicthinking, are selectionand 190-192). The heroesof one Irishepic, the three combination.Selection is carriedout on thebasis brothersFionn were all bornwith a caul. They of equivalence,similarity and dissimilarity,- havea sisterwho was takencaptive by an aquatic onymyand antonymy;while combination,con- monster.They sometimes appear as childrenin a structionof thesequence, is based on contiguity. cradleand die as soon as theyare shownthe caul The poeticfunction projects the equivalence rule withwhich they were born. In thiscase it is the of the selectionaxis ontothe combinationaxis. conjunctionwith their caul thatmust bring about Equivalenceis thusraised to therank of a con- theirdeath, in otherwords their encounter with stituentprocedure of sequenceproduction (Jakob- somethingthat was alreadyjoined to themwhen son 1981). In poetryas in myth,any sequence theywere born but which should not have been. of semanticunits tends to constructan equation. This meansthat the abnormal, or rather,unusual I concludefrom this that it is thesuperposition of conjunctionat birthentails a fatalconsequence if it similarity,the projection of thecaul's metaphoric shouldbe repeated.The firstconjunction is good, protectiononto continuity, the métonymie protec- itsreiteration makes it bad. In anotherIrish myth, tionthat gives thismyth, and poetryin general, one of the heroes,in orderto kill the monster, its thoroughlysymbolic, complex, and polysémie sendshis magiclance directlyinto its navel,in character.This explains how the mythic sequence otherwords, into the mark left by its birth.This becomesa comparison.The métonymieprotection bringsabout a counter-birth,since now it is a dead- is hereshort-circuited by a metaphoricmeaning ly substitutefor the umbilical cord that is inserted or dimension,which in turnis fullyrealized in intothe navel. Another figure in thesame cycle, the métonymiesequence. One of the laws of whosefate was decidedthis time by thename he mythicthinking, confirmed once moreby Lévi- was given,also perishesbecause of theviolation Strauss(1962: 141),is thatthe transformation of a of the name . The procedureis the same: metaphoralways yields a metonymy. a conjunctionoriginally present at birthor at the The kulshedrafurther retains our attentionby name-giving,which is anotherway of marking the hervery . She is theopposite of everything

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http://www.jstor.org/stable/40466549; http://eprints.ucl.ac.uk/18364/; http://hal.ccsd.cnrs.fr/halshs-00425170 Mythologyand Destiny 453 thathuman and social development, as wellas the junctionproduced at his birthis repeatedonce family,kin, and territorial groups' economic, agri- again. cultural,and patriarchaldevelopment, stand for. Theiressential attributes would thus be inter- Mightit, therefore, not be possibleto see in this changeablesymbolic representations of birth, the femaledemon what Françoise Héritier (1996: 87- amnioticmembrane or thefluid itself. Their final 132),analyzing essentially African documents, re- confrontationwould be the symbolicrepresenta- portsas a symbolicconstant, which she identi- tionof thecyclic return to theaquatic and chtho- fiesin thecollective patterns of representationas nian worldof deathin order,like plantlife, to naturalill-feelings on thepart of femalestowards accomplishthe cosmic renewal of rebirth. The pro- the transmissionof life, a hostilitythat needs tectingand destroying positions of the attributes of to be overcomeby appropriateritual and social the newborn,represented by the amnioticmem- techniques,with the intent of mysticallygaining braneand othersingular marks, or by the sym- the good will of the geneticpowers peculiar to bolismof themother's waters, would simply be womenand obtaining their favors. In thisvein, we the two antinomic,opposing forces involved in couldmention the fact that, in Albaniantradition, the strugglebetween , the two in- in somesouthern regions, the mother of thenew terchangeable,complementary terms of themyth- mothermust not come to see the baby in the ic and poeticopposition between and firsttwo days forfear of vexingthe three universalregeneration. (Sheshori1944: 10). It mustbe recalledthat one Giventhe present state of thesebeliefs, then, ofthe kulshedra' s weapons is herpoisonous breast shouldwe not considerthe dissociationof the milk.And she to do battlewith a cradlethat metaphoricfrom the métonymie axis notas a case servesas a shield. of diminishedunderstanding, as Nicole Belmont The draguaon theother hand has becomethe believed,but rather as an "euphemization"of the protectinghero who symbolicallyrepresents the meaningof thebeliefs?3 This musthave thenre- communityof family,kin, and territory.He stops sultedin expressingonly the univalent side of the the stormswhich spoil the crops,he slays the representations,thereconciliation of theunleashed kulshedra,he deliversvictims, he unleashesthe antinomicforces, as theonly way to ensureand watersand givesthem to .He appearsas guaranteesome protection in theopen perspective a symbolof warand victory,a culturalchampion of humandestiny. forhumankind. The plow,the pitchfork, the post, and themillstones are his attributes,representing economicdevelopment through agriculture, just SymbolicAmbivalence as the cradle is his attributerepresenting the developmentof thelineage through new births. The Albanianmyth relating the struggle between The kulshedrais essentiallya stormdemon. thedragùa and thekulshedra represents yet one Her otherfunctions, as theyappear in Albanian morerelation between the caul, or singularbirth- form mythsand tales, are secondary.The dragua is marks,and thegift of metamorphosisin the relatedto herinasmuch as he, too, is in essence of a "second skin,"that bears similaritieswith a stormdemon. His mainfunction and his raison certainrepresentations in Germanicand Slavic d'êtreare to fightthe kulshedra, and one of his mythology.In particular,Slavic beliefshold that visibleattributes is the lightningbolt. He is the thechild born with a caul will turninto a were- the positiveprinciple opposing the negative principle. wolf.This person'sspirit can leave sleeping In the interestsof humankind,he takes on the bodyand perform feats of by wolf. taskof protectinghumans from storms, whereas assumingthe shape of an animal,usually a thekulshedra represents the harmful, destructive The internalrelationship between being born with one's as it powerof the storm.Yet the deathof one and a caul and theability to change shape, the otheris represented,in Albanianmytholo- appearsin both Slavic and Nordic , could In a workon gy, as a symbolicreturn to the womb whence notescape someonelike Jakobson. between theycame. Justas the dragùa opposesthe kul- the"Vseslav Epos," he drewan equation shedra,the essentialattributes of the one and thethemes of theserpent father, the caul, and the the otherare opposed in relationsof substitu- As an tionand complementarity. aquaticmonster, thisidea to André who it to me in 3 I owe Burgière, suggested the kulshedramust definitively perish water, duringa discussionfollowing a paperI presentedto the just as the dragùa, a made invulnerable Seminaron ComparativeHistory and Anthropologyat the 1993. by his birth,can die only if the singularcon- École des HautesÉtudes in Paris,26 November

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http://www.jstor.org/stable/40466549; http://eprints.ucl.ac.uk/18364/; http://hal.ccsd.cnrs.fr/halshs-00425170 454 AlbertDoja werewolf.In Serbian,kosulja, "chemise," means region,in northwesternAlbania, the both"caul" and "snakeskin."The ,able to youngkulshedra is also representedas an eel that shed its skin,engenders a son endowedat birth livesin thedepths of springswhere, in thespace witha secondskin and thelycanthropic ability to of a few years,it growsso big that,if it wants changeskins (Jakobson 1966). to leave its hole, it is obligedto scrapeoff its In Albaniantradition, the dragua is mainly skinand so loses a greatquantity of blood.It is representedas a normalman, but he can also noteworthythat, in Slavictradition, Prince Vseslav have werewolffeatures and appearin the shape is conceivedthrough a miraclethat is reminiscent of an animal,which is alwaysmale - a ram,ox, of relatedconceptions: his motheris struckon the bird,rooster, etc. Likewise, in Slavictradition, the thighby thetail of a snake(Jakobson 1966). werewolfprince often appears as a falcon,a wolf, In Albanian,the epithetdragùa is the very a wild ox, a pike,etc. Withthe approachof a imageof heroism.As in Byzantineheroic poet- storm,the dragua leaves the company of the other ry,where the heroes are namedDracoi, Albanian menon thepretext of retiring for the night, and no heroicsongs also give theirheroes the honorable one excepthis motherknows the real reasonfor epithetof trimdragùa, "dragùa hero." Alterna- his departure.He goes to bed,but his leaves tively,the common term of praisefor hisbody to join theother dragùa. His place in the in theancient texts is "theKulshedra of Albania," bed is occupiedby a log,as thereal dragùa is far a metaphorshowing the terror he spreadamong the away.The dragùacan also takeon theaspect of Ottomanranks in thefifteenth century. According a serpent(Tirta 2004: 121-132). Albaniandragùa to an old ,transmitted byMarin Barletius in are oftenmen with three or sevenhearts, or who a workwritten in Latinand published in Romebe- havesnakes in theirbelly. tween1508 and 1510,in otherwords relayed by a Sometimesthe kulshedracan also appearin learnedtradition, the day Skanderbeg was born, his theshape of an ordinarywoman, in theregion of motheris reportedto havedreamed of a kulshedra Dukagjini,for example, as Sokol Konditold me. whosebody covered the entire territory ofAlbania. She also appearsas an eel, a frog,a tortoiseor Its head reachedto the borderof the Ottoman a lizard,all of themalways female. Information Turkish lands, where it devouredall enemieswith attestedfrom at least the beginningof the last its bloodymouth, while its twistedtail plunged century(Durham 1910) relatesthat the kulshedra intothe depths of the (Barletius1508- is usuallyrepresented as a serpent.In thesouthern 1510:64 f.). Alternatively,in , Skan- regionof Lower Mokra, she is notablyrepresented derbeg was bornlike thedragùa in thetales and as thegreat serpent that encircles the world with collectivebeliefs (Haxhihasani 1967: 24 f.): itsmouth touching its tail (Doja 1986).In Tirana, it was believed thatthe newly born kulshedra hid Ates'e zinteplumi, s'e pritteshpata, se ka pasë le me in a darkhole where,at the end of six months, kmishë,sic lejnëdrangojt. Ka le mefleté nën sjetull, sikur theyturned into snakes,and it was only after lejnëdrangojt. Ka le me ni shej shpaten'krah dhe me anothersix monthsthat the snakes could be called fletènan sqetëll. kulshedraand beganto takeup theiractivity as He was invulnerable:neither bullet nor swordcould such.In theKosova town of Prishtina, itis toldthat piercehim, for he was bornwith a caul,"in a chemise," thekulshedra is calledbolla, "a kindof serpent," as all dragùaare born.He was bornwith wings in his aftertwelve years. However, the representations of armpit,as all dragùaare born.He was bornwith the thekulshedra9 s development in theGreat Northern mark of a swordon his arm and with wings in his armpit. Mountainsare no doubtthe most interesting. When a to serpentmanages livefifty years without being He is sometimeseven portrayedas doing battle noticedby anyone,it becomesa bullar,a reptile withthe kulshedra(Haxhihasani 1967: 116): thatprovides the venomous snakes with their poi- son themits milk.If it lives another by giving Kurkishte ardhë herene kishte without it becomesan er- Skënderbegjunji Bulqizë, fiftyyears beingseen, dale me katundit. e vet, kishin a that itself gjue atyafër Langojt qi shaj, reptile wraps aroundpeople and hikepërpara, i gjettu u zanë me ni ata into kulçcdër.Ngre plunges theirchest to eattheir heart. When an gurëtë mdhejSkënderbgju, ja fugjkulçedrës dhe e le ershajlives anotherhundred years without being topne vent.Gurët gjinden te Rrasa e Doriçetdhe quhen seen, it finallybecomes a kulshedra(Lambertz Gurëte Skënderbeut. The words 1922). bolla,bullar, ershaj effectively While Skanderbeg was in Bulqiza,he wenthunting near mean"serpent or snake" in Albanian or, depending thevillage. His dogs had runahead; when he reached on theregion, a particularkind of snake.In the themhe foundthem struggling with a kulshedra.So

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Skanderbegpicked up theseboulders, and hurledthem The question of reciprocalinfluences between at thekulshedra, which he killedoutright. The boulders Slavic and Nordic mythologies,as between Al- canbe foundat theplace known as Rrasae Doriçet,and banian and Slavic mythologies,remains highly arecalled s Boulders. Skanderbeg' controversial.The heroic role of the dragua, for instance,which is completelyantinomic to thatof Lambertz was the firstto point out the internal themonster, may be an ancient,surely pre-Roman, relationbetween being born with a caul and the layer of Albanian mythology(Çabej 1987: 300- giftsof invulnerabilityand metamorphosisas they 302). The borrowingsfrom Latin or Greek would, appear in the Slavic and Nordic traditions,and in therefore,be of a purelylinguistic nature, an in- the Albanian mythof the dragùalkulshedra.He terpretatiograeca and an interpretadolatina, with also establisheda relationbetween these represen- thefigures of thedragua and thekulshedra having tationsand thoseof the Slavo-Germaniewerewolf subsequentlymerged with the Roman represen- and the Nordic (Lambertz 1922: Il- tations.Lambertz stressedthe fact thatthe main io), fierce,animal-like warriors that take the shape functionof the Albanian dragùa, which is the of werewolvesor bear-menin theOld Norse essence of his figure,is not,or at least no longer, of the thirteenthand fourteenthcenturies. The in- foundin the representationsof the Greek dracoi. terpretationsof the Nordic berserksgangrinclude And yet the similaritiesbetween the dracoi and thepersonal or collectivegifts of tranceand lycan- theancient snake-footed brings the Albanian thropy.The mythsassociate theberserkers primar- dragua closer to theGreek dracoi in thesense that ily withthe god (Lindow 1987). One explicit "the Albanian dragua bear a closer resemblance descriptionof the Odin berserksgangrfrom the in theiressence than the Greek dracoi do to the seventhSaga of Yngling is strangelyreminiscent ancient Giants, those titanicfighters who would of theAlbanian dragua: "If Odin wantedto change stack whole mountainsone upon the other and, shape,his body would thereas thoughhe were assault the heavens with flamingtree trunksand sleeping or dead, but he himselfwas a bird or a huge boulders.The belief thatevery storm repro- wild animal, a fishor a snake. He could thus go duced the battlebetween draguas and kulshedras, in a twinklingto the mostremote lands" (Lindow, thatbattle of the earthlyheroes against the quoted in Belmont 1971: 54). of heaven concealed in the clouds, was merelythe The symbolicrepresentations of thedragùalkul- reminiscenceof the ancientgigantomachia, or war shedra mythalso lend themselvesto comparison of the Giants,in otherwords the mythrelating the with Icelandic figuressuch as thefylgja and the frightfulclash of the forcesof natureas it occurs ,both of whichare interpretedas ambiva- in thestorm" (Lambertz 1922: 16).4 More recently, lent representationsof the amnioticsack and the otherscholars have ralliedto theidea of comparing mother'swaters (Belmont 1971: 52-60). The caul the dragua with the prehistoricPelasgian giants is termedfylgja in Icelandic,and it is thedwelling- mentionedin ancientGreek mythology(Stadtmül- place of the child's guardianspirit, which is part ler 1954). of the soul or one of the child's . The way It would also be interestingto consider the more thisspirit or soul is used dependson whatis done factthat, in anotherIndo-European tradition, withthe caul. If it is burned,the fylgja will show specificallyin the Lithuanianstory of the flood, itselfas a light;if it is throwninto running water, the myththat tells how humankindarose fromthe Giants thefylgja will be a ;on the otherhand, if it is union betweenthe last descendantsof the of eatenby an animal,the fylgja will embodyitself in and the Earth, is also linked to the the same animal (Bartels 1900). The hamingja is good fortunecalled Laima (Greimas 1985: 172- close in conceptionto thefylgja. However, more 187). I personallythink that it is perhapsenough than a guardianspirit, it is a force. The hamingjaimplies the possibilityof metamor- 4 "Denn die albanischen Drangues haben ihrerseitswie- im Wesen mit dem den The soul can takethe shape of an animal,in der große Ähnlichkeit Giganten, phosis. starken den Himmel, die Berge auf- the formof which it moves about and acts, while Kämpfern gegen einander türmenund gegen den Himmel mit glühenden the body inert.The caul may, therefore,be Baumstämmenund Felsstückenanrennen. Der Glaube an seen as both the dwelling-placeof the outer soul den bei jedem Gewitterwiederkehrenden Kampf der Dran- and the of the innersoul. It is thistype of goi mitder Kulschedra,der irdischenGewitterdämonen mit support des thatis oftendescribed in theEddie den in den Wolken einherjagendenWettergottheiten metamorphosis Himmelswäre nichtsanderes als die Reminiszenzan die al- whichone for the ,in sees, example, god- te Gigantomachie,bzw. diese der Mythosvom furchtbaren dess or the god Odin change theirhuman Zusammenprallder Naturgewaltenim Gewitter"(Lambertz appearanceor slip into the skin of an animal. 1922: 16).

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to notethat the ambivalent representations of the apparitionsare called Fatat,or Fatitë,from the soul and fateor destiny,as theyappear in the Latinfatum, or Miratas a reminderof theGreek draguafigure, as inmost Indo-European traditions, , who madetheir way intoAlbanian myth arenot isolated in theAlbanian tradition either. In througha popularetymology with mire, "good," particular,those entities whose functionit is to sincethere is theexpression fata mire,"the good assistwomen in childbirthshould be compared ,"but also fatmirë,literally "of good fate." withthe Greekconceptions of fate personifiedThey give thebaby their blessing and determine hereby theMoirai, in theNordic and Germanic his or herdestiny. Even thesouthern Albanians' traditionsby the Norns, in theLithuanian tradition fatalisticcommiseration with any eventis often by theLaima andin theAlbanian tradition by the expressed,as oftenin the case ofthe Greek Moirai, Fatat,Fatitë or Mirat, and by the Ora andthe by thesaying Kështu e kanëshkruar fatitë "that's or by the Vitore.These are birthgoddesses par whatthe Fates decided," literally "wrote," for peo- excellence,not only because they attend the birth ple believedthat the old womenwrote their deci- of each humanbeing and foretelltheir future, but sion on theforehead of theirnew protégé.Like- also becausethey organize the appearance of all wise,they lidhin, "attach," or presiti, "cut out," the humankind.These cosmological and anthropolog-baby's fate. Often in Albaniantales the following ical activitiesare analogousand parallel, and their predictioncancels out thepreceding, so thatthe divinestatus can no longerbe identified,as some youngestof thethree ' prediction is theone folkloristswould probably argue, with the image thatcomes true, in spiteof all theobstacles that, as ofthe "good fairy" of fairy-tale fame. They appear in ancientGreek tragedy, expedite the fulfillment amongthe ranks of theearliest generation of gods of thefateful prediction. who,as in Scandinavianand , are In Camelia,an Albanianzone in thenorthern contemporariesof the race of Giants. Greekregion of , the role of these figures is playedby the Vitore (Pedersen 1898: 205), a word analyzedas meaning"a spinster,a womanwho The spins":vejtore > vektore> vek/vegj,"loom" (Çabej 1968),like theGreek Moirai: one, Klotho,holds On the thirdnight after the child's birth,at the thedistaff and spins out the destiny of each person timeof the principalceremonies celebrating the at the timeof theirbirth; the second,Lachesis, birth:purificatory bath, symbolic cutting of the turnsthe spindle and windson thethread of life, umbilicalcord, naming, dressing, circumambula- and the third,Átropos, cuts the threadand de- tionof thefireplace, laying before the fireplace or terminesthe momentof death.The threeyoung on thekneading trough, laying in thecradle, and womenalso appearin othersoutheastern European whenthe family and kingroup gave ventto their groups.Rumanians call themUrsite, Ursitoare, joy as neverat othertimes, with feasting, gifts, probablyderived from urzi, "to weave" by way joyfulsinging, and dancing,it was believedthat of thevulgar Latin ordire. The confusionbetween threeinvisible old womendrew near the cradle and thetwo verbs, uszi "to weave,"and ursi,"to pre- determinedthe baby's destiny (Doja 1991:105): destine,"is probablydue to a popularetymology, especiallyas the same goddessesare knownby Sonteështë e tretanate, the Serbs and the Croatsas Sucije, a wordthat që ndahen-onafakatë, correspondsto suci,sukati, "to twist,spin." The ja vezir,ja kushullatë, questionof whetherthe Greek Moirai or theRo- ja si gjyshlerëte pare, manFates live on in thesemythological figures of dhe ngababaj mi lartèì thepresent-day peoples of southeasternEurope is Todaywill be thethird night, stillopen. In any event,nothing we knowabout inwhich destiny will be spoken, theGreek suggests that the representation likea grandvizier or grand dame, of the Moirai,in the guise of Klotho,Lachesis, orlike the ancestors of old, and out humandestinies, was and thanthe father! Átroposspinning greater anythingbut a poeticfigure elaborated and trans- mittedaccording to thecanons of learnedculture Thatday thedogs are keptout of thecourtyard, (Cuisenier 1994: 166-180). thedoors are leftajar, threeplaces are with The notionof turningis foundin thefigure of silverware,a cup of honeywith three almonds, severalgods who preside over the birth and fate of andthree pieces of bread for the three Fates (Hahn humans.But, whereas turning usually refers to the 1854:162). In differentparts of the South,these techniqueof spinning,in it was relatedto

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theturning of the child in the womb before birth. It fromthe Latin Diana, as does theRumanian Zïna was Carmentiswho was responsiblefor this turn- (Jokl1911:98). ing.The legendof the origin of Romehas colored In northernAlbania, the task of thesewomen thisfigure, and thatis where,no doubtunder the whodetermine the child's fate at birthis effective- influenceof Greek sources, the power of her name lyperformed by the known to the moun- becameassociated with . But at thetime taingroups as Oraand Zana. The inhabitants ofthe of the ,Carmentis interested people, in DukagjiniMountains distinguish three categories particularwomen, for another power: she attend- of Fates:e ,"the White One," who brings ed to births.More precisely, according to certain goodluck and wishes humans well; e Verdha,"the Latinauthors, Carmentis is a Moira,a goddessof YellowOne," who brings bad luckand castes evil fate,who presidesover birth. From this specific spells; and e Zeza, "theBlack One," who deals interest,easily accorded with her value as prophet- out death.When determining the baby's destiny, ess, Carmentiswent on to moretechnical inter- themany ora congregatein thenight to distribute ventions,and sometexts even make her an actual theirfavors. The principalora, who is beautiful, midwife.But thisis a debatethat, in thepresent witheyes that shine like precious stones, presides stateof ourknowledge, cannot be concluded.The fromatop a big rockover the meeting of the three one thingwe knowfor certain is thatthe god- hundredora. Theirfaces change according to the dess had twoopposing cognomens, which caused degreeof happiness they mete out to the new baby. severalauthors to createtwo more Carmentes, her If theyreprimand someone, it meansthey have companions:Postvorta and Antevorta(or Prorsa alreadycut the thread of the person's happiness or and Porrima);other authors attribute these two life(Lambertz 1922: 33-38). Todaysuch a person adjectivesto thetwo extreme presentations of the is stillcalled or-prem, "by the ora cut." childto be born:turned the right way around, that It was believedthat there were as manyora as is to say thatthe baby turns around before birth, therewere humans, for each personhas his own whichthen proceeds normally, head first; or turned ora,who is givenhim at birthas a guardianangel. thewrong way around, that is to saythat the baby The natureof each ora is suitedto theindividual does notturn around before birth, which is then to whomshe belongs, even her appearance match- abnormal,feet first (Dumézil 1987: 397). es thatperson's character. A decent,courageous, Diana, too,who mustbe regardedas a hardworkingor fortunateperson has a beautiful sinceshe was assimilatedto therigorous , whiteora', a personwho is shiftless,cowardly or had powerover the procreation and birthof chil- unfortunate,has an ora who is black and ugly. dren.Archaeological excavations have unearthed Herewe are dealingwith a componentof theper- numerousex- votos that leave no doubtas to their son,which acts as a protectingspirit and is givento meaning:these are imagesof male and female theindividual at birth,comparable to theIcelandic genitalia,statuettes of mothersnursing their baby, fylgja,which is formednot specificallyfrom the or womenclothed but with the front of theirbody caul butfrom the combination of theplacenta and laid open.On herfeast day, the Ides of August, theamniotic sack, so thatevery human being may womenwould go in processionto herwood car- havea protectingspirit, whereas only very few are ryingtorches in signof gratitudefor her services. bornwith a caul (Bartels1900: 70 f.). In Lithua- In thiswood was a springwhere there lived a sort nianmythology, dalia is nota simpletheological ofnymph, Egeria, whose name refers to childbirthnotion either; comparable to theAlbanian ora, she (e-gerere)and to whom, in effect, pregnant women is a sortof personalgoddess who belongs to only wouldmake sacrifices to ensurean easy delivery one individual.In Lithuaniantales, one effectively (Dumézil1987: 410). seesheroes who get their wife because of their own It is perhapsnot uninterestingto recall the dalis, thepart of fatehanded out to each person exceptionalfrequency of inscriptionsdedicated to at birthby Laima or by thethree laima, as well thecult of Diana, in Albaniaand throughoutthe as heroeswho happento finda dalia whomthey Balkan Peninsula,dating from antiquity (Patsch marry(Greimas 1985: 166). 1922). This particularfrequency attests that this Like thefylgja in Icelandictradition, Ora as is probablymore an interpretadolatina of a local well as Vitoreoften appear as serpents.For in- pre-Romangoddess (Çabej 1941).In thisperspec- stance,in theAlbanian zone, Vitore is widelyrep- tive,it has beenestablished that Zana, themytho- resentedas a serpentwith golden horns who brings logicalgoddess familiar to Albaniansof the North- gold; in otherregions, she appearsas a largeor ernMountains, whose morphological and semantic smallsnake who protects the house and brings the counterpartin theSouth is Zëra,derives directly familyluck (Çabej 1968).In theSouth, the epithet

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Vitore-snakeis givento a womanwho is clever, herebqj notneper ujna e det; pretty,fertile, and brings her family good fortune, kurm'ishojnë andrrat as can be seen in thissong of praise(Komnino m'Ishojnë dhimbat. 1955:326): Njikyuk, qi mfrri te kamët, mekalue kërkend nukasht tue lane. / hoqekyçet e mezit, si trimiarmët e brezit, Can yousee thatOra, emrine keshegrua, standingat mybedside? overme and pò je shetrim efajkua; She holdsvigil day night. to them. vërjepëqin ndër , Thisserpent slithers over my wounds heal mbajepunën me erz. God bestowedit uponme O Vitorejandë mur, to cometo myassistance. tekrrije lëshoje nur, It has ninetypes of medication gjithëjetën me nder, underthat tongue. tëburon goja sheqer. Threetimes a day it washes wounds. You removedthe from waistband my keys your Whenthe pain causes me to tire, as weaponsfrom the of a warrior. the then to You wereknown as a serpent begins sing. lady, All mannerof songs andwere heroic as a falcon. whichI havenever heard before! You tuckedyour hem in yourbelt, I andfall into delirium. did choreswith honour. forgetmy pain you your Andrave that I am outhunting, Oh Vitore,house snake in thewall, andrave that I am takingmy noonday rest, while lived, us you yougave grace, sometimestaking my goat herds up themountain, andyou lived your life in honour, sometimes in therivers and the sea. from camebut words.5 swimming you sugar-sweet Whenmy dreams leave me, thepain leaves me, too. In the mythologicalcycle recountingthe deeds Thatwolf resting at myfeet, of Muyi, it was Ora who, in the formof a snake, letsno one pass and enter. gave the hero his supernaturalpowers (Haxhi- hasani 1955: 302 f.). In othersituations, when the Beliefs about protectingserpents, whether it herois badlywounded in a battlewith his enemies, is Ora, Vitore,or the "house snake," are found she stays at his bedside to keep watch over him, throughoutthe Albanian culturezone. Many Al- has a snake lick his woundsand places wild beasts banians believe thatone mustnot disturba snake at his feetto preventhis soul fromescaping into even when one findsit in the baby's cradle, be- the (Haxhihasani 1955: 191): cause it is the ora thatbelongs to the house and the baby. The originalfemale ancestorof the kin Apo e shefketore, group,called the "motherof the home," who is in qu m'rrike kryet? realitymerely another representation of theMagna Natee ditenjikshtu m 'rúen. Mater,is also representedas a serpent.Everywhere Për ndimët'madhe amongAlbanian populations, snakes are theobject Zotima ka dhanë, ' of differentrituals of propitiation,fertility, and nan soj barnash fecundity,and even the children's për nangjuhë m' i ka, development trihere n 'dite and education, for instance, in designed to children tanèvarrei po m'i lan. help learnto talk.Similar representa- Kurdhimbat tepër m'lodhin, tionscan also be foundin Albanianoral literature atherënisë gjarpni me këndue, andtraditional . Many researchers consider that these stemfrom a nji soj kangësh,' representations paleo-Balkan qi kurrkunds ndi, ,probably Illyrian (Tirta 2004). Othersanalyze harrojdhimbat e bi n'kllapi; thearchaeological, anthropological, linguistic, and m'duketvetja tuj çetue, historicaldata, which the functional features m'duket vetjatuj mrizue, of this cult to be an extensionof the Illyrian- hereme dhi marr çetat përpjet, Albaniantradition.

5 Unless otherwiseindicated, all translationsfrom the Alba- nian have been made by RobertElsie, in collaborationwith the author.

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Ideology her actionand theensuing upheaval are imbued withsomething of themajesty of theabsent god Whateverthe case maybe, giventhe ambivalence (Dumézil 1986:239). Likewise,the divisionof of theirsymbolic representations as they appear rolesbetween the goddess of birth and fate, Laima, throughoutthe Indo-Europeanzone, the figures whodoes thepredicting, and Perkunas, who keeps of the soul and of fatemust be veryold gods, watchand carries out the predictions, is confirmed probablyof Orientalorigin, and, at leastin Greek inthe Lithuanian semicultural context. Her activity mythology,linked with the elements of the natural is so importantthat other variants attribute it to cycleof regeneration and destruction, ofbirth and Prakorimashimself. The twodivine figures cover death.As such,they arouse ambivalent feelings thesame space, except that, as thesovereign and attitudes:They are both loved and hated, god,Prakorimas tends to stayin thebackground, desirableand awe-inspiring.They personifythe whileLaima intervenes more readily in the outside ironlaw of the extinctionof the individualon world,as his messengerand heraldof his will behalfof thegroup. Every individual comes from (Greimas1985: 152, 157, 180). an extrahumanpower, identified on thethird day Yetbecause they determine a given mass of life, afterthe birth, and every birth is thusproof of the theseforces do notoperate at thelevel of theac- tolerancefor human life shown by theforces that tionsand roles that differentiate individuals. They are naturallyhostile to it. do notforeordain anything and do notdetermine The structuralmethod presupposes the exis- a person'sdestiny. They merely give voice to the tenceof an emptyslot that the gods of fateought fatethat awaits the new baby. Their role as heralds tooccupy by their appearance and activity. Indeed, is conceivableonly on conditionthat they know if,from the anthropological standpoint, these are thisfate. It is, therefore,the knowledgeand not the goddesseswho determinethe life and death thepower to decidethat is theiressential attribute of eachperson, from the cosmological standpoint, (Greimas 1985: 145). So iftheir principal function havinghad a rolein thebirth of humankind,they is to announcethis knowledge, it is clearthat fate shouldalso manifestthemselves wherever a threat itselflies elsewhere. of deathhangs over the human race. Theirplace In theoral tradition of the supernatural tale, fate in thiscatastrophe is assurednot only because this is depictedas theinexorable unfolding of time, like positionis securedby theinternal consistency of a motionlessbackdrop behind a conditionedflow thesphere of their divine but also becauseit of events.If a givenact occurs,a givenseries of is implicitlyattested by theethnographic sources. eventsmust ensue. The onlycharacteristic of this Justas, in thefirst section of thischapter, I dis- timeis its divisioninto alternating favorable and cussedthe ambivalenceof the dragùalkulshedraunfavorable periods. The successiveperiods can myth,figures that are clearlyconnected with the be givendifferent figurative formulations. One day otherAlbanian gods of fate,who presideover can be consideredto be lucky,another unlucky. If birthand death, so, too, in the Lithuanian tradition, a manis bornat a certainhour, he will be rich, Greimasnormally introduces into the sphere of the at another,poor. The childborn before cockcrow Laima, goddessof life and death,her functions will be a thief,born after, a priest.Nevertheless as bearerof the plague,regarded as threateningthe periodization of durationand the difference in collectivedeath (1985: 184-187). thelength of theperiods is secondaryand cannot Yet the predictionsmade the thirdday after concealthe fundamental conception of fate.The thebirth by thegoddesses of destinymerely con- timein whichhuman life is imbeddedis good firmone of theiressential functions: namely to or bad, and holds withinitself the principlesof maintainthe orderof the universeand enforce fortuneand misfortune. its laws. The supremegod himselfonly carries The knowledgedisplayed by thegoddesses of out whathas been foreordained.However great destinygives them a fairlyspecific function. They isolatedevents his power,it is no morethan an executivepow- establisha relationshipbetween er. In Romanmythology, is at the same and the modulatedflow of time.Even as they timea cosmicpower and theabsolute master of connectchance events, such as birth,to timecon- each person'sfate. However he sharesthis latter ceivedas an immutableframework ofthe universe, a propertywith Fortuna, or at least withthe god theygive humanlife a meaning.Establishing cancels andgoddess presented as herequivalents, although relationshipbetween chance and necessity theirconnection is not always explicitlystated. outchance, as it were,by thevery fact that it be- ofthe universe. While At the openingof one of Horace's "Odes," for comesinscribed in the order example,Fortuna is alone, withoutJupiter, but time,through its uninterruptedunfolding, engen-

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The "trueman" periodsalready constitutes the organization of du- is someonewho triumphs over death and fate, not rationthat founds the cosmic order. by avoidingthem but on thecontrary, by accept- Justas the gods who presideat the child's ingboth risk and necessity.The "trueman" lives birthestablish the eventby givinglife as a sta- withoutfear, with the aim of personalizinghis ble,definitive state, according to anotherAlbanian passageand turning his biological life into a social mythfrom the Albanian and Indo-Europeantra- biography.In thisway these purely death-bringing, dition,the first cuckoo call, like a frozenimage, awe-inspiring,destructive figures become deter- freezeshuman activity by changingit intofate. In mining,giving, liberating, and emancipating. They Albaniantradition, someone who happens to hear createthe space in whicheach person can develop the firstcuckoo call shouldnote the numberof his freedom,activity, and future. cuckoos.They indicate the number of years he has leftto live.Whereas the Lithuanian tradition tells Javezir, ja kushullatë! thatsomeone who happens to hearthe first cuckoo Grandvizier or grand dame! whileworking will have to workall yearlong, whilesomeone at restwill be lazy,someone who This valorizationis groundedin theaesthetic and is hungrywill sufferfrom hunger and someone mythic,or rathermythopoetic, principle of ideal- withmoney in his pocketwill be rich(Greimas ization,which concerns not the individual'sad- 1985:147). In eithercase, whether it is thebirth of vancementalong the extratemporal vertical axis to a humanor thebirth of the world, the intervention the top levels of thesocial pyramid and immortal- of fatechanges chance into necessity. ity,but the forward movement of the whole group In Romantradition, the notion of fors indicated alongthe horizontal axis of social equalitiesand theoccurrence of an eventthat could neitherbe historicaltime. In thehistorical dimension, human predictednor explained afterwards through reason- lifeacquires meaning only when placed within the ing (even as an of a god) nor,consequently, framework of cosmictime. Once theirpersonal prevented,controlled, or modified.It is an exper- workis finished,the individual will age and die, imentalnotion, suggested by all thesituations in butthe collective body and soul,nurtured by the whicha personis at once takenby surpriseand worldof ancestraltraditions, will be constantly powerless.Romans would, therefore, turn not to renewedand continueits uninterruptedadvance Forsbut to Fortuna.The essenceof thisgoddess, in the path of historicalprogress. When it has as theformation of hername indicates is thatshe recourseto thesymbolic forms and collective rep- is the "mistressof fors'' thatshe has a no less resentationssurrounding the celebrationof birth, mysteriousguiding power over the irrational and, the social groupdoes not ask forimmortality of consequently,the power to turnit aroundto serve thesoul outsidethe body, nor for the promotion humanbeings (Dumézil 1986: 243-245). Fromthe ofthe individual outside the group, but for an alto- standpointof their action, necessitas and fors cover getherdifferent kind of immortality,an altogether thesame domain: everything over which humans differentadvancement, connected with the body arepowerless. However, the concepts are in radical andearthly life, and accessibleto collectiveexpe- oppositionas faras understandingthem goes. That rience.The group asks for immortality ofthe name whichis due to chancecannot be understood,cal- and of culturalactions. Through the symbolic culatedor foreseen,whereas that which is neces- traditionssurrounding birth and socialization,the saryimplies a flawlesslogical articulation, even if worthyman, at theend of his life, hopes to see his thechain of cause and effect is notapparent to our person,his old age, and his decliningstrength re- limitedintelligence. The coincidingfields and the generated,rejuvenated, and flourishingin the new oppositionof values means that necessitas and fors youthof his sons,grandsons, and great-grandsons. cannotexist at thesame time on thesame plane. In thesetraditions, biology is inseparablefrom Althoughthese are forcesof fate,fatum, this socialhistory and . The agedfather and his does not implyinevitability. They determine the ascendantsare notpresent to thesame degreein limitswithin which human will can acteffectively, the sons and grandsons but to a different,new, and butthey do notdetermine this will. They set limits higherdegree. In beingregenerated, life is notre- on freedombut theydo notprevent freedom. In peated,it is improvedand perfected. The imageof thisconception of fate,an individualis freenot old age regeneratedin newyouth takes on a histor- onlyto accepthis role and tryto makethe best ical,cultural, and social dimension. This regenera- use of it, in the knowledgethat, when his hour tionand rejuvenation are notthose of thebiologi-

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