Cùra Earth

Photograph – Northern Kosovo

Modern Kosovo is a recognised as a new nation by many countries, especially in the West, but not all. Emerging from the violence and tensions of the 1990’s in the Balkans and assisted by international peacekeeping forces it has begun to forge a new place and identity in the world incorporating all its different cultures. In traditions and folklore however its roots are old and especially linked to the natural and animal worlds, often with connections to real creatures and landscapes.

Ljubi

Illustrations

In the Albanian tradition a female spirit born out of and embodied in the power of a storm at sea. Often referred to as a demon but also called ‘Mother Lubia’ Ljubi has a serpent’s form and multiple heads. As well as storms she can cause life giving waters to dry up and in return for sparing the world she demands a sacrifice, she is said to have a taste for human flesh.

Illustrations

Ljubi is the power of water in the natural world to threaten people through storms but also to take away their lives through drought. The ‘forces of nature’ shaped lives in all cultures from the earliest times. We live today in an era of more extreme weather and climate with both storms and droughts rising in severity and frequency. Perhaps we are all beginning to live in the shadow of Ljubi.

Illustrations

Vitorja (Vitore)

Every house should have a guardian and in some Albanian traditions this is a household serpent which is said to be the presence of the souls of ancestors. Whilst  very much of recent times with a snake silhouette appearing carved in the walls of many homes a similar belief linked to ancestors has been traced in the region back to prehistory. 

Illustration

Vitorja are thought to be small, horned and golden in colour and can be heard making hissing sounds to announce major events for the family. Vitorja dwell in the walls of the house and their absence or death, which is thought to be possible, represents a bad portent for the family which may not even survive intact.

There is a horned snake found in the wild in Kosovo. The Horned Viper is one of the most venomous snakes in Europe and clearly has a connection to the stories of Vitorja although the Viper only has one central horn just above the snout which is formed from scales like the rest of the snake’s skin. There is a Viper in the natural world with two horns but you have to travel much further South to the Sahara to find it.

Photograph – Horned or Long-nosed Viper, Vipera ammodytes

Photographs, text and illustrations ©Nick Sidle, all rights reserved