Shtriga
Encyclopedia
The Shtriga in Albania
n folklore
, was a vampiric
witch that would suck the blood of infants at night while they slept, and would then turn into a flying insect
(traditionally a moth
, fly
or bee
). Only the shtriga herself could cure those she had drained (often by spitting in their mouths), and those who were not cured inevitably sickened and died. Also means just a witch, a person that uses magic. The male noun for shtriga is shtrigu or shtrigan.
These names are often used to express that a person is evil. In northern Albania they say a women is not born a witch; she becomes one, often because she can't have babies or they die and the envy makes her evil.
Albanians think that only a strong belief in God can make you immune to a witch and God will protect them against this kind of people there's a saying, Na ruan Zoti (God protects us).
Usually witches are described like old or middle-aged women with grey or pale green or pale blue eyes called white eyes or washed out colour eyes (sybardha) and crocked nose. They stare you in a way that makes you uncomfortable. Do not stare them back; avoid looking them directly in the eyes because they have the evil eye. Some people take some salt in their fingers and with the fingers touch the eyes (closed eyes), the mouth, the heart and the opposite part of the heart and the pit of the stomach and then throw the salt in direct flames saying "syt i dalçin syt i plaçin" or just repeat 3-6 times under voice "syt i dalçin syt i plaçin".
Against evil eye in some regions of Albania people uses garlic (hudhër) or when they build a new house they place there a puppet so it will catch the evil.
Newborns or children or beautiful girls can catch evil eye more easily so in some albanian regions is used to say "marshalla" and touch their nose when they look them for the first time, especially newborns, so the evil eye will not catch them and to express that they are benevolent.
Edith Durham
recorded several methods traditionally considered effective for defending oneself from shtriga. A cross made of pig bone could be placed at the entrance of a church on Easter Sunday, rendering any shtriga inside unable to leave. They could then be captured and killed at the threshold as they vainly attempted to pass. She further recorded the story that after draining blood from a victim, the shtriga would generally go off into the woods and regurgitate it. If a silver coin were to be soaked in that blood and wrapped in cloth, it would become an amulet offering permanent protection from any shtriga.
The Shtriga is often pictured as a woman with hateful stare (sometimes wearing a cape) and a horribly disfigured face.
The television show Supernatural
had an episode on a Shtriga who Dean believes attacked Sam during their childhood. The Shtriga could only be killed by an iron round while feeding, and it feeds on "Spiritus Vitae". Its Latin translates to "Breath of life," not blood. The shtriga was pictured as a (male) doctor from the town hospital.
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
n folklore
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
, was a vampiric
Vampire
Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person...
witch that would suck the blood of infants at night while they slept, and would then turn into a flying insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
(traditionally a moth
Moth
A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...
, fly
Fly
True flies are insects of the order Diptera . They possess a pair of wings on the mesothorax and a pair of halteres, derived from the hind wings, on the metathorax...
or bee
Bee
Bees are flying insects closely related to wasps and ants, and are known for their role in pollination and for producing honey and beeswax. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamily Apoidea, presently classified by the unranked taxon name Anthophila...
). Only the shtriga herself could cure those she had drained (often by spitting in their mouths), and those who were not cured inevitably sickened and died. Also means just a witch, a person that uses magic. The male noun for shtriga is shtrigu or shtrigan.
These names are often used to express that a person is evil. In northern Albania they say a women is not born a witch; she becomes one, often because she can't have babies or they die and the envy makes her evil.
Albanians think that only a strong belief in God can make you immune to a witch and God will protect them against this kind of people there's a saying, Na ruan Zoti (God protects us).
Usually witches are described like old or middle-aged women with grey or pale green or pale blue eyes called white eyes or washed out colour eyes (sybardha) and crocked nose. They stare you in a way that makes you uncomfortable. Do not stare them back; avoid looking them directly in the eyes because they have the evil eye. Some people take some salt in their fingers and with the fingers touch the eyes (closed eyes), the mouth, the heart and the opposite part of the heart and the pit of the stomach and then throw the salt in direct flames saying "syt i dalçin syt i plaçin" or just repeat 3-6 times under voice "syt i dalçin syt i plaçin".
Against evil eye in some regions of Albania people uses garlic (hudhër) or when they build a new house they place there a puppet so it will catch the evil.
Newborns or children or beautiful girls can catch evil eye more easily so in some albanian regions is used to say "marshalla" and touch their nose when they look them for the first time, especially newborns, so the evil eye will not catch them and to express that they are benevolent.
Edith Durham
Edith Durham
Mary Edith Durham was a British traveller, artist and writer who became famous for her anthropological accounts of life in Albania in the early 20th century.-Early life:...
recorded several methods traditionally considered effective for defending oneself from shtriga. A cross made of pig bone could be placed at the entrance of a church on Easter Sunday, rendering any shtriga inside unable to leave. They could then be captured and killed at the threshold as they vainly attempted to pass. She further recorded the story that after draining blood from a victim, the shtriga would generally go off into the woods and regurgitate it. If a silver coin were to be soaked in that blood and wrapped in cloth, it would become an amulet offering permanent protection from any shtriga.
The Shtriga is often pictured as a woman with hateful stare (sometimes wearing a cape) and a horribly disfigured face.
The television show Supernatural
Supernatural (TV series)
Supernatural is an American supernatural and horror television series created by Eric Kripke, which debuted on September 13, 2005 on The WB, and is now part of The CW's lineup. Starring Jared Padalecki as Sam Winchester and Jensen Ackles as Dean Winchester, the series follows the brothers as they...
had an episode on a Shtriga who Dean believes attacked Sam during their childhood. The Shtriga could only be killed by an iron round while feeding, and it feeds on "Spiritus Vitae". Its Latin translates to "Breath of life," not blood. The shtriga was pictured as a (male) doctor from the town hospital.
See also
- Albanian mythology
- ChonchonChonchonFor other uses, see Chonchon The Chonchon is a mythical bird from Mapuche religion also present in Chilean and southern Argentinan folk myth.-Legend:...
- SoucouyantSoucouyantThe soucouyant or soucriant in Dominica, Trinidadian and Guadeloupean folklore , is a kind of witch vampire.-Legend:...
- StrigoiStrigoiIn Romanian mythology, strigoi are the troubled souls of the dead rising from the grave. Some strigoi can be living people with certain magical properties. Some of the properties of the strigoi include: the ability to transform into an animal, invisibility, and the propensity to drain the vitality...
- Vampires in popular culture#Shtriga