Tomor


Tomor or Tomorr is the father of gods and humans in Albanian mythology. He was also referred to as Baba Tomor.

Etymology

The Albanian Tomor 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".

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. He is accompanied by two female eagles and the winds are his servants. 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. In 1902, Andon Zako Çajupi, a notable Albanian rilindas, published in Cairo an anthology called Baba-Tomorri. Even today, Albanian people swear by him.