[12] The connection of Shurdhi with the Albanian term i shurdhët meaning "the deaf one",[13] seems to be only a coincidence, since the name Shurdh must be seen as a compound of *seuro, "water" (cf.
[14] A relation between the name Shurdh and the second part of the theonym Zibelsurdus found in ancient Thracian epigraphic monuments has been suggested.
[12] The reconstructed name of the Albanian fire god *Enj- presumably continues Proto-Albanian *agni-, ultimately from *h₁n̥gʷnis, the archaic Proto-Indo-European word for 'fire' as an active force.
[23] A prominent role played by the fire and wind god referred to as i Verbti is attested in the Zadrima region.
[24] According to folk beliefs recorded from the Zadrima region, I Verbti is the god who controls fire and wind.
[12] The purifying power of fire underlies the popular idea according to which this deity is the enemy of uncleanliness and the opponent of filth.
[6] With the coming of Christianity in Albania, I Verbti was demonized and considered a false god, and it was spread about that anyone who invoked him would be blinded by fire.
He can be greeted and turned away with noise from metallic objects and gunshots,[27] according to the Albanian apotropaic ritual practiced in order to seek the protection of the fire deity from big storms with torrential rains, lightning and hail, which often cause great damage to agriculture, livestock, and to the rural economy in general.
[28] According to a 1913 account reported by Albanologist Baron Franz Nopcsa, tribesmen of Shala shot with their firearms at an approaching storm, and they were pleased for their success in sending away the storm god, who went over the neighboring territory of Shoshi, no longer constituting a threat for Shala's grape harvest.