Mauthi (gold-fez fairy)
Mauthi / Mauthia
Elsie Mauthia: gold-clad fez fairy; steal fez → lifelong luck
Description
Central–southern fairy-like maiden dressed in gold and wearing a bejewelled fez. Elsie 2001 s.v. Mauthia: Alb. mauthi, def. mauthia; whoever steals her fez will be happy for the rest of his life. Elsie notes she is not unlike the Earthly Beauty, without making them the same being. Some scholars connect the name to ancient Gk. Amaltheia, nurse of Zeus and holder of the cornucopia — a comparative trail, not a proven cult identity. She is not the same as E Bukura e Dheut.
Features
- appear as beautiful gold-dressed maiden with jewelled fez (Elsie)
- steal fez → lifelong happiness (Elsie)
Lead story
Somewhere in the central-south night a maiden walks in gold with a jewelled fez. Steal that fez — Elsie says — and luck stays with you for life. The living figure is the fez, the gold, the stolen fortune. She is not the same as the cave queen E Bukura e Dheut.
Aliases
Mauthi · Mauthia
Region
Central and southern Albania; Elbasan trail in 19c ethnography
Relations
- Earthly Beauty / Beauty of the Earthnot the earthly beauty
- Hija (shade / soul-shadow)not the shade crown
Linked stories
Elsie Mauthia: gold maiden, jewelled fez, lifelong luck if stolen. Soft ‘not unlike’ Earthly Beauty — never merge pages.