Ndryshmenga

Ndryshmenga is a term used in Albanian-language folklore and contemporary fiction to denote a shapeshifting entity that can assume human form. The word is generally interpreted as deriving from the root ndrysh-, meaning to change, with a suffix that marks a noun or agent, though precise etymology is not uniform across dialects.

In traditional tales, ndryshmenga may replace a child or appear as a stranger within a village, thereby causing confusion, illness, or unexplained misfortune. The episodes commonly explore themes of trust, community vigilance, and the tension between the familiar and the uncanny. Variants differ in details: some describe the creature as cunning and dangerous, others as ambiguous rather than outright malicious, and remedies range from observation and testing to ritual acts, depending on locality.

Scholarly treatment situates ndryshmenga within the broader Balkan and European folklore of changelings and impostors. As a trope, it serves to explain sudden misfortune or to dramatize the fear of losing a loved one to an external, unknown force. In modern Albanian literature and media, the term is used more loosely as a generic shapeshifter or as a motif for deception, rather than as a fixed folklore figure.

Because of its folkloric roots, ndryshmenga appears in oral storytelling and contemporary fiction with regional variations. While not tied to a single canonical text, the concept reflects shared concerns about family integrity, social trust, and the boundaries between appearances and reality.