Mermaid
The mermaid denotes alluring danger risen from the depths, woman above and fish below, whose song and sensual promise draw a mortal toward the water.
Our paraphrase of what the sources say it carries.
At a glance
- Type
- Image
- Group
- Spirit World / Mythical Beings
- Borne by
- 4 figures
- Traditions
- African folklore (general) (1)Brazilian folklore (1)Finnish folklore (1)Irish folklore (1)
- Same group
- AngelCyclops/GiantDragonFuriesSiren and 3 more
Figures that bear it
A model judged each figure against its own description, one term at a time. Is: the figure is a kind of this thing. Bears: it carries the thing or is marked by it. What a figure does is filed under motifs and powers. Open "why" for the sentence the judgement rests on.
- Iara is Brazilian folklore
why
She is typically described as strikingly beautiful, with dark skin, green or black hair, and, in many tellings, a fish's tail in place of legs, making her a close cousin of the mermaid figures found across other seafaring and riverine cultures.
- Liban is Irish folklore
why
In Irish tradition, Liban is a woman swept into an underwater cavern by a catastrophic flood who prayed her way into a mermaid's body and was later venerated as a saint.
- Mami Wata is African folklore (general)
why
In West and Central African folklore and its diaspora traditions, Mami Wata is a powerful water spirit, often depicted as a mermaid or serpent-charmer, who governs rivers and seas and can bring wealth, fertility, or ruin to those she favors or curses.
- Nakinneito is Finnish folklore
why
The Nakinneito is Finland's water maiden — the female of the dangerous Nakki, a gleaming mermaid seen combing her long curls on the water.