Prende


Prende is the goddess of love, beauty and fertility in the Albanian pagan mythology, who is thought to have been worshiped by the Illyrians in antiquity. In Albanian folklore she is the wife of the thunder and sky god Perëndi, and referred to as "Lady Prenne" or "Lady of Beauty", while her sacred day was Friday, named in Albanian after her: e premte. Prende is identified with the cult of Venus and she was worshipped in northern Albania, especially by the Albanian women, until recent times. Originally a pre-Christian deity, she was called "Saint Veneranda", identified by the Catholic Church as Saint Anne, mother of Virgin Mary. She was so popular in Albania that over one in eight of the Catholic churches existing in the late 16th and the early 17th centuries were named after her. Many other historical Catholic and Orthodox churches were dedicated to her in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Role

Prende is the goddess of love, beauty and fertility, the Albanian equivalent of the Roman Venus, Norse Freyja and Greek Aphrodite. In Albanian mythology she is the wife of the thunder and sky god Perëndi.

Practices

Prende was worshipped in northern Albania, especially by the Albanian women until recent times. Prende's festival was celebrated on July 26 every year, and her devotees would don beautiful clothing and would set out a mortar and pestle as a representation of sexual union. In Albanian folk beliefs the Rainbow is regarded as "Lady Prende's Belt".
When Albania became Christianized in antiquity, Prende was identified by the Catholic Church as Saint Anne, mother of Virgin Mary, and was called "Saint Veneranda". Another Albanian Christian saint thought by some to have a non-Christian origin is Gjin.
Prende was so popular in Albania that of the some 275 Catholic churches recorded to have existed in Albania in the late 16th and the early 17th centuries, 33 were named after her, more than to any other saint except Virgin Mary and Saint Nicholas. Many other historical Catholic and Orthodox churches were dedicated to her in the 18th and 19th centuries. In the Kurbin valley pilgrimages to the church of Saint Veneranda were common among both Christians and Muslims. There people went also in the hope of a cure for mental illness.
As is usual in many cultures, in Albania the day sacred to the goddess of love is Friday, named in the Albanian language after her: dita e premte.

Citations