Mythological creatures of the Alps

Mountain Fairies

The cult of mountain fairies (Alb. zana) comes from Illyrians to the present day.
The German Scholar M. Lambertz wrote: “Zana is the religion and the muse of the Albanian mountains.” Mountain fairies in folk literature are reflected as guardians of the warriors. They are described as very beautiful young ladies who live in the highlands, bathe in mountain streams, sing and dance.
Mountain fairies can be savage and revengeful with humans. They can be very dangerous opponents and are believed to have the power to petrify humans with only a glance.

Golden-Horned Goat

In Albanian mythology, wild goats are described as deities of forest and hunting, and they have golden horns. According to the Songs of the Frontier Warriors, mountain fairies take their strength from these goats, and lose it when the goats leave.
The head of the golden-horned goat is the most characteristic embellishment in the body of the Albanian lute, almost everywhere in Northern Albania, Kosovo and among the Albanians of Montenegro and Macedonia.
According to a legend, once a mountain fairy was masked as a golden-horned goat, and the one caching it alive would benefit from its divine powers. Muji caught the wild goat, and from that moment the goat became Muji’s fairy, protecting him from any danger.