Mythological Figures in Albanian Fairy Tales: Symbolism, Narrative Functions and Cultural Significance
Mythological Figures in Albanian Fairy Tales: Symbolism, Narrative Functions and Cultural Significance

Summary/Abstract: Mythological Figures in Albanian Fairy Tales: Symbolism, Narrative Functions and Cultural Significance Albanian fairy tales constitute one of the richest components of the country’s oral tradition, preserving an extensive corpus of mythological beliefs, symbolic representations and cultural values transmitted across generations. Mythological figures occupy a central place within these narratives, functioning not only as fantastic beings but also as symbolic expressions of the Albanian worldview, collective memory, and traditional cosmology.This study examines the representation, narrative functions, and cultural significance of mythological figures in Albanian fairy tales through a qualitative and interpretative approach. The research is based on the analysis of representative folklore texts drawn from the principal collections of Albanian fairy tales, complemented by the theoretical contributions of leading Albanian and international scholars of folklore and mythology. The analysis combines descriptive, comparative, and myth-critical perspectives to investigate the symbolic roles of figures such as: Kuçedra, Dragoi, Ora, Zana, Shtriga, Lugati, Vitore, Xhindet (mythological figures in Albanian fairy tales and other supernatural beings).The findings demonstrate that these mythological characters perform multiple narrative and symbolic functions. They embody the opposition between constructive and destructive forces, mediate relationships between the human and supernatural worlds, and preserve ancient beliefs concerning protection, destiny, fertility, justice, and moral order. Although Albanian fairy tales share numerous mythological motifs with other Balkan and European traditions, they also preserve distinctive cultural characteristics that reflect the historical development of Albanian society and its unique mythological imagination.The study argues that mythological figures should be understood not merely as fantastic literary elements but as fundamental components of Albania’s intangible cultural heritage. By integrating folkloristic, literary, and mythological perspectives, this research contributes to a broader understanding of the symbolic universe of Albanian fairy tales and highlights their significance within the wider context of European folklore studies.Based on the opinion of foreign and Albanian scholars, Albanian fairy tales are viewed with a rich abundance of mythical beings, where the actions of the characters take on functions of the unreal mythical world. As clearly defined by the authors Lambertz, Q. Haxhihasani, Z. Sako, M. Mustafa, J. Panajoti, etc., in the poetic and subjective world of Albanian fairy tales, mythical beings are present in the terrestrial, subterranean, cosmic worlds to which human fantasy has given gigantic dimensions and images, but sometimes even as invisible beings. Mythological figures as characters of fairy tales have long attracted the attention not only of European scholars, but also of Albanian scholars. In this way, we would like to emphasize that: just like Dragon, the Beautiful of the Earth and other mythical figures such as: Clocks, Fairies, Deer, Duck, Beautiful bride of the waters, Figure of popular beliefs imagined as a very beautiful girl, The Witch, Figure of folk tales, depicted as a wild man, with a giant stature and one eye; cyclops. In folkloric literature and many other contemporary studies, it is rightly pointed out that the extraordinary elements in fairy tales are a necessity that are equated with the fantastic element. But delving further, we can accept that the extraordinary in fairy tales should not and can be evaluated with the fantastic.

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