Muji and Halil

Muji and Halili, also known as Gjeto Basho Muji and Sokol Halili, represent the pair of brotherly heroes in the Albanian epic songs of the Kreshniks, comrades-in-arms in all their feats.

Summary

In Muji and Halili, there are kept alive all the ancient Illyrian analogies of the pair of heroic brothers, which are also found among other people, such as the Greeks (Castor and Pollux), Germans, Indians (Ashvins), Armenians (Daredevils of Sassoun), etc. Muji is a generalization of the warrior who lives and acts in the typical environment of the Albanian highlands. He is also considered to be a personification of the high spiritual and physical values of the Albanian people, such as faith, manliness, bravery, endurance in the face of enemy difficulties, pride, love for freedom and one's country. Originally a shepherd of cows and goats, thanks to the strength given to him by the Mountain Fairies, which he prefers instead of the wealth of knowledge, Muji becomes invincible with extraordinary features. Halil, the younger brother, sometimes replaces Muji in the assemblies and obeys the authority of the older brother, but the youthful vigor sometimes causes him to burst into unrestrained actions. Heroic deeds, where a certain superiority over Muji is also observed, give his figure an original legendary greatness.

In order to protect their Illyrian-Arber lands, they had fought with Krajl soldiers and the Sultan's "Askeris". But, before all this, they had fought against the Slavic gangs known as "Harambaša gangs", which at that time had committed robbery, burning, and murder among the Illyrian-Arberian tribes. Both brothers are representations of individualized artistic common themes, each living in their own spiritual world and simultaneously complementing each other.

See also

• The epic of the Kreshniks
• Albanian mythology