Perëndi

Perëndi is an old Illyrian word for God and the sky, especially invoked in incantations and songs praying for rain.[1] He was also an Illyrian god of thunder or storm-god. After the spreading of Christianity in Albania his name was and still is retained in Albanian as the ordinary designation for God.[2]

Etymology

The word might be derived from perëndoj "to set (of the sun)", which might be borrowed from Latin parentare "to bring a sacrifice (to the dead), to satisfy"[3] or Latin imperantem "ruling" (Alb. dielli perëndon "the sun sets", perhaps ultimately a calque on Greek ο ήλιος βασιλεύει "the sun sets", literally "the sun reigns").[4]

Others see a connection to Indo-European *per(-kwu)- "oak god" or "thunder god" by possible association (see Perkwunos for a discussion of the possible etymologies of these groups of gods, the Perën- element might be related to Slavic Perun, from *per "to strike" perhaps, and the -di to *dyeus e.g. Greek Zeus).[1] If this conjecture is correct, the word could have an "Illyro-Thracian" origin.[5] In Albanian mythology, he is the consort of Prende.[2]

See also

Sources

  1. 1 2 Gamkrelidze, Ivanov - Indo-European and the Indoeuropeans, p. 528, Mouton de Gruyter, 1995
  2. 1 2 Lurker, Manfred (1984). The Routledge Dictionary of Gods and Goddesses, Devils and Demons, Taylor & Francis e-Library. p.150
  3. ↑ If this view is correct, it might point to an albanian solar cult -- Orel Vladimir - A concise historical grammar of the albanian language, p. 263, Brill, 2000
  4. ↑ Orel Vladimir - Albanian etymological dictionary, pp. 315-316, Brill, 1998
  5. ↑ Dept. of Russian and Language Studies, University of Melbourne (2003). Australian Slavonic and East European Studies. 17-18: 18 http://books.google.com/books?id=Jw5KAAAAYAAJ&q=perendi+sky&dq=perendi+sky&hl=en&ei=NC42TKP4JdW6jAfG7qj-Aw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=10&ved=0CE8Q6AEwCQ. Retrieved 2010-07-09. Perëndi, Perëndija, a primitive Illyro-Thracian God of the Sky and Thunder invoked especially in songs praying for the rain Missing or empty |title= (help)


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