Perit, She Who Sculpted The Earth

The Saga Of Love

Many, if not most of the world's creation myths speak of a female deity or entity representing the original, primordial state of consciousness. The Indian Kali and Durga are manifestations of Shakti, the feminine essence of the universe. The goddess Inaana of the Sumerians later known as Ishtar among the early Semites are indeed powerful and important, creating order out of chaos with their might and will, fighting the forces of darkness and negativity, doing so with a fearsome energy and sense of will. Nuut protects the Egypt with her arched body, acting as a barrier between Earth and Heaven and causing the Nile river to never fail. These early female goddesses were compassionate and loving but also strong and formidable. They were seen as no different in temperament from common human beings, indeed with faults of their own- the sole difference between these deities and humans being that they acted in accordance with righteousness and justice. The power of the feminine lies not in their being merely all powerful and mystifying, but aslo in being human-like in their endeavors, reactions and behaviors, thus truly possessing the ability to act as guides to inspire humans towards virtuous and proper action. They are without question the personification of the caring Mother who is truly the head of her domain, dutiful and independent, subservient to none.

The Illyrians were an ancient people, speakers of an Indo European language. They lived in the western Balkans and interacted with the Greeks, the Romans and a related people known as the Thracians. The Illyrian nature-worship belief system may have been descended in part from the older Pelasgians, said to be the original inhabitants of the Balkans. The fascinating story of Perit, a female deity known as 'she who sculpted the Earth' is probably a very ancient story indeed. Her work of creation, carving the mountain valleys and the river beds, is performed as a labor of love. All alone, she desires company and so divides herself in two, creating Man from her masculine half. However, her creation goes astray and she seeks justice all the while acknowledging that her act of creation may have been a mistake. Thus the standard for human beings has been established for the world, the sadness and pain of every woman who has given all for love, is set for all time. 

My composition is written and told in the style of Balkan bards who are the heirs of the ancient Illyrians, such as the Albanian 'rapsod' or the Montenegrin 'guslari', who recite tales and legends often accompanying themselves on ancient instruments in a style Homer might have known in his time. 

In the age of Dardanus, father of all, of the gods

It was decreed the word which would become law 

She who perched her nest high atop Tomor mountain

Among those who claimed descent from the Eagle 

Must seek the spirit of the mountain, queen of the rocks

That all who would seek to rule the land and their children 

For without her blessing all the desires and dreams of Man...

Zana be her name, the all powerful, the very soul of the land 

She Zana, spirit of the mountains and the hills 

With Ora of the lakes and rivers, streams and waterfalls...

Without her blessing all endeavor would certainly fail 

As a horse might falter slipping on a rock 

Watching over the terrain, it was they who guided Perit  

She, who did flatten the plains, allowing the fire  

From within the earth to belch forth 

Her forge and bellows for her handiwork

Did she carved the river gorges and shaped  

The mighty mountain peaks, the inner caves of the Earth  

To hide the gems and precious stones for a future day 

To the lowland swamps where men plowed the fertile fields 

To gain of their sustenance, toiling daily

Thus she formed volcanoes, and also the hot springs  

Of boiling water, the smell of sulphur ever present 

Fermented by the mud and dirt cast down from high places 

After years of toil and sweat carving the Earth as we know it 

Perit rested, sweaty now and panting from exhaustion 

Lonely now, she desired company...

For she was alone and the silence was far too much for her 

So she separated her male half from her female side 

For she was of two genders, the right and the left 

The male and the female powerfully intertwined as one  

And thus she created Man, whom she named Burri 

A companion and accomplice, in love and harmony  

Did the two dwell together 

Perit was a goddess of action and will  

She gave to Burri all that he desired and needed  

In joy and in ecstasy did she proclaim her deed... 

“I brought ye here, therefore it is I who must provide for you

Ask and ye shall receive, for thou art my companion  

I shall be here for you always, my love and my soul

As we both will dwell in this place together, happily 

The carved mountains and valleys, the gouged river gorges 

This place which I have created with my arms and muscle 

That give a path of relief to the raging waters  

From the heavens above, all this I share with you" 

One day Perit gave birth to a baby girl  

And the couple were overjoyed

Her name was Bija, a child of light with precious eyes 

Perit and Burri were happy and they celebrated 

For many years, day after day they partook of the dance of life 

Singing unto the spirits of the mountains and rivers  

A song most joyous and happy until the day of darkness arrived....

The day their daughter Bija became a maiden, a woman 

Her eyes were full and bright like the Moon now 

Burri eyed his daughter with evil intent, with a lustful heart

Her figure shapely, her breasts ample, her curves inviting 

Burri, not knowing work, the skills of the hunt or seeking sustenance  

Knew not the responsibility of maintaining life and property  

He fell prey to his inner lust, the call to damnation 

One day as Perit was out hunting, seeking game for food 

But she didn’t have difficulty finding her prey

She did not need to seek and stalk this time, as she always did

For a lone hare came to her, and recited a prophecy- 

“Accept me as thy sacrifice, for today your life will change

Throw thy spear with conviction into my heart, for on this day  

You too shall be wounded deeply

This is the price you must pay for daring to imagine  

That ye could create anything on your own

Thou has carved the rocks and cleared the forests 

Rendering them into plains and fields  

And into mighty mountain ranges that encircle the seas 

Oh goddess, hast thou not heard the cries of pain  

From those trees and stones as ye cut and forged them?

When ye thought to render them to your own desires?  

There is a price for everything you touch  

There is a price for living, a price for even being alive"  

Perit could not fully comprehend what the hare  

Was trying to say, thinking these words a ploy  

To ward off impending death at the throw of her lance 

To escape the fate which awaited him

She Perit, spoke-

“Think thou not that thy words might spare ye, oh grey hare

I shall slay ye and eat of thy flesh, yes 

I and my Man, and my child, for we must endure

Survival is the way of the living, not the dead 

Thy flesh will taste sweet when roasted over an open fire

This is my world, my land, and thou art but an inhabitant 

You have a home due to my carving of the rocks  

Into mountains and valleys have I rendered them 

Be still, as your death will be swift indeed"  

And with that she cast her spear with all her might 

Entering the hare’s chest and protruding from the other side

The small animal closed it's eyes and died in an instant  

Perit carried her motionless catch on her back  

She brought it home where she was to prepare a fire

So as to cook her prize to feast upon that very evening

But as she was gathering some wood for the fire 

To her amazement she heard human cries and moans  

Coming from behind a great rock 

She went to investigate and witnessed the unthinkable

The unimaginable, the greatest impossibility... 

There was Burri, mounted atop his own daughter, Bija 

Engaged was he in a most lewd act 

Bija was crying and screaming, and resisted his advances 

Scratching, tearing and biting at her father’s face 

In an attempt to defend herself

The bloody marks upon his visage were evidence  

Of her struggle, in vain, to ward him off  

For she was powerless to resist his great muscular strength  

Which pinned her as a lion pins a gazelle 

 And he continued his savage thrusts amid her cries 

Unaware of Perit’s arrival he continued 

Deaf to her approach, blind to all awareness 

Due to the state of lust into which he had entered 

He continued his thrusts as he clutched the young beauty 

Who by now had ceased her screams, reluctantly accepting 

Her terrible, inevitable fate 

Perit was shocked and enraged at the sight of this betrayal

nd rushed to the aid of her daughter 

She firmly took hold of Burri’s legs as he performed his lustful deed   

And in the throes of her anger she, with all her might  

Threw him over the rock, far over the mountains  

Where he landed forcibly in some lonesome valley 

However, poor Bija, so enwrapped tightly as she was 

Caught within his mighty, loathsome embrace

That she too was accidentally thrown along with him

Burri landed on the soft side of a riverbed, stunned but yet alive 

But the beautiful daughter had fallen now from his sweaty clutch  

And fell to her death in the stone laden chasm below 

Her mangled body now crushed, ripped and bloodied  

Lying upon the rocks forged by Perit’s own handiwork  

Perit stood silent on the cliff’s edge, unable to speak 

Tears filled her eyes but she was unable to look down below 

Into the valley where her beloved daughter lay 

Her body motionless and still, once breathing but now dead  

Perit was in a state of shock and disbelief 

Still unable to fully understand what had just occurred, or why

She began to contemplate the words of the hare who informed her 

That as he would be wounded by her spear  so she would know pain 

Death for a death, a deed for a deed, this is the law of living  

She took a deep breath and let out a great moan

Like that of a wounded she bear 

Or as a wolf howling at the Moon on a lonely and cold Winter’s night

She cried, then wiped the tears from her face with her hands

After she was able to compose herself, the great Perit 

Stood on the cliff edge of the mountain where she and Burri 

Together built the home and life of her dreams 

Given in love, joy and generosity 

Perit called out in a stern voice that echoed across the valley-

“Be it known that thou hast broken my trust oh wretched man!

What a despicable act you have comitted 

With all that I have done for you!

Never will you dwell here with me again

And you shall live out your days 

In that lonely valley, with the snakes and the scorpions  

As your companions and friends 

From this day forth, let there be a solemn word for all  

Who enter into an agreement of trust

The solemn word shall be called Besa, a sacred oath  

Of loyalty and fealty 

And let there be death for those who dare to break this word

A thousand curses on those who break the Besa 

Upon them and all their families

For a thousand years, until their name and memory  

Is wiped from the Earth, forever 

Thou hast broken my heart 

Until now did I think myself immortal

I shall live out my years here alone, until the day I pass  

From this miserable existence 

Once again is the dominion of the Earth returned  

To the great spirits of the mountains and the lakes 

Praise be to Zana and Ora! 

Who will watch over the land and the people  

Never granting power to tyrants and evil doers 

Reminding all that we are powerless 

For our existence here is but a dream 

The land survives, that which I carved with  

The muscle of my arms and the sweat of my brow...

The mountains, the river gorges, the plains  

The rocky shores, all of it 

All there for the future generations, to live upon  

Or to make war upon each other 

As humans see fit, as men will see fit 

For men will surely destroy this world 

Though they be created of woman, they are  

The breakers of trust and the lowest of creatures 

May all their doings be cursed with vagueness  and insecurity 

And their work forever regarded with much suspicion”  

Perit ordered some eagles to fetch  

The broken body of her abused daughter  

And bring it back to her proximity  

When the great birds returned she clutched Bija tightly

Kissing her forehead repeatedly 

Rocking her lifeless body to and fro 

As she did when she was an infant in her arms

Blending her tears with the blood upon the dead girl's face

Singing in monotones that song which would become known as vajtim

The chant of the dead... 

“Oh my dream, my vision, where have ye flown? 

Innocent one, ‘tis I who brought you into this world

And I who dared to think I could create your destiny 

Nor will you carry on my lineage

Never will you embrace the arms of a lover 

Nary will ye know the joy of the hunt  

The pleasant song of birds are not for your ears

Or the sound of fish splashing about in the rivers 

Forgive me, for it was out of love and need that I acted 

Fooled and tricked by the man vision I created for my own desires

The old hare was correct, there is a price for everything in this life

The hare paid this price with his... I pay with the life of my daughter!

I damn this creation which I alone have brought forth 

Woe is me and mine, forever, woe unto me and mine  

For what I have done”  

Then she Perit once again stood on the precipice 

And called out to all the world-

“From this day forth let it be known  

To all the descendants of generations to come

For any of you to be a ruler among the nations and the tribes  

Know that they must come to this mountain  

And seek the guidance of the great spirits Zana and Ora

Who will surely test them as to their dedication  

And as to their truthfulness 

And if these would-be chiefs are proved worthy  

They will be granted their blessing 

If they are proven not worthy  

Let them be cast down into the chasm below

Their crushed bodies a reminder of  

My own poor Bija’s crushed body 

Which lay there alone and innocent 

Her young blood mingling with the river's flow  

For those who pass the test of Zana and Ora 

They who rise forth to take command of the tribes  

And lead their people to victory

Let their lives be a story recounted when they die

So that when they leave you, sing of their glories 

Or sing then of their evil deeds 

So all will know who they were and what they did in life 

Sing the vajtim and sing it loudly!  

This will be a warning that would insure 

They live a life of noble gratitude and justice  

Rather than one of trickery, evil doings and lust” 

These last commandments were thus delivered  

Echoed in the valley by the birds, insects and the animals 

Until the time of the coming of men

Citing that all beings will do what they see fit in their time 

Though humans have no knowledge of what the future may hold 

Or how one’s actions will affect others on the morrow 

Perit looked up at the mountain peak where Zana and Ora 

Dwelled among the clouds that surrounded these mountains 

She asked for their forgiveness, to which they gave

With that Perit looked around once again at her home

Now tainted with shame, then looked up at the high mountains

Which seemed to pierce the clouds

She closed her eyes and then, without hesitation 

Sprang from the cliff, plunging herself into the valley far below

Her body crashed upon the rocks and resounded with a great thud

All the animals of the hills and the forest cried out as one

Mourning the death of the great goddess 

Who once sculpted the Earth

Perit's blood and being became as one with the fast moving river 

The violently churning waters now  

Like the foam and bubbles produced by  

Those helpless unfortunates drowning, thrashing about 

Waving their arms to save themselves 

The violent churning became red, white, green and golden at once

Thus the swiftly flowing water became known for all time  

As Lum i Shkumbi, the River of Foam

How foolish then, are the created ones? 

Those beings, all of them, Men and beasts 

Born into this prison of existence

Nothing can be done about our situation 

As we have no choice in the matter 

No chest of gold or silver will deliver us from our destiny 

There is a price we pay to be alive, to exist, a costly payment indeed  

For the very experience of living

But to live accordingly, with honor and dignity 

With the knowledge of trust and law 

This is what assists us with the pain of the reality 

So we can pass on to our children our stories

They who will dwell in a realm we can never hope to see...

That we might be remembered one day by those  

Who come long after us, who will tell our stories and recite our tales

In the realm of multiple tomorrows

Copyright Ismail Butera, 2018