Tomor
Tomor or Tomorr is the father of gods and humans in Albanian mythology. He was also referred to as Baba Tomor ("Father Tomor").[1]
Etymology
The Albanian Tomor(r) derives from the Illyrian name of mountain Tómaros, from Proto-Indo-European *tómhxes-, "dark", akin to Latin tenebrae "darkness", temere "blindly, by chance", Old Irish temel "darkness", Middle Irish teimen "dark grey", Old High German demar "darkness", dinstar "dark", Old Church Slavonic tǐma "darkness", tǐmǐnǔ "dark".[2]
Appearance
Baba Tomor is seen as an old man with a long white beard flowing down to his belt. According to some scholars deity of Tomor has precedents in the Illyrian times.[1] He is accompanied by two female eagles and the winds are his servants.[1] His consort was a mysterious goddess referred to as Bukura e dheut. He is also the most beautiful man ever.
Legacy
The cult of Tomor has been linked to romantic nationalism by many Rilindas.[3] In 1902, Andon Zako Çajupi, a notable Albanian rilindas, published in Cairo an anthology called Baba-Tomorri ("Father Tomorr"). Even today, Albanian people swear by him.[1]
References
- Lurker, Manfred (2004). The Routledge dictionary of gods and goddesses, devils and demons. Routledge. p. 186. ISBN 0-415-34018-7.
- Mallory, J.P.; Adams, D.Q. (1997). Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture. Taylor & Francis. p. 147. ISBN 9781884964985.
- A Dictionary of Albanian Religion, Mythology and Folk culture,page253,by Robert Elsie,2001 Archived 2011-06-05 at the Wayback Machine