Perëndi

In Albanian, Perëndi is a word for God and the sky, especially invoked in incantations and songs praying for rain.[1] It 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"[2] 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").[3]

Others see a connection to Indo-European *per(-kwu)- "oak god" or "thunder god" by possible association (as the god that smites the oak with thunder? 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. [4] In Albanian mythology, he is the consort of Prende.

See also

Albanian mythology

Sources

  1. ^ a b Gamkrelidze, Ivanov - Indo-European and the Indoeuropeans, p. 528, Mouton de Gruyter, 1995
  2. ^ 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
  3. ^ Orel Vladimir - Albanian etymological dictionary, pp. 315-316, Brill, 1998
  4. ^ Dept. of Russian and Language Studies, University of Melbourne (2003). Australian Slavonic and East European studies: journal of the Australian and New Zealand Slavists' Association and of the Australasian Association for Study of the Socialist Countries 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"