As I sat down to brainstorm a blog post (and as I’m writing, as a matter of fact), my friend Bex finally convinced me to watch the 2023 live action The Little Mermaid. I wouldn’t say I’ve been avoiding it, but it hasn’t been high on my to-do list (shocking, I know, given that I’m all about fairy tales). You might say that I have opinions on the Disney live action remakes, but that’s a rant for another day.
But it got me thinking about mermaids. I recently got to interview L.E. Richmond about her upcoming debut, The Mermaid’s Tail. And I’ve got a special treat next week with another author who has dabbled in mermaid lore! So I started thinking about mermaid stories and legends and how they vary in different cultures, and I’ve decided to bring you a brief overview of some mermaid-type tales from around the world.
1. Sirens
I often see “sirens” used almost interchangeably with “mermaids,” even though, aside from the song they sing, they don’t really have much in common. These creatures hail from Greek mythology, perhaps best known for their appearance in The Odyssey. Warned by Circe that their song both contained vast knowledge and lured men to jump overboard, Odysseus had his crew lash him to the mast of their ship and plug their own ears so that he could safely hear what the sirens sang about. Sirens aren’t amphibious, though they often spend time on rocky formations in the water. They’re half bird instead of half fish.
2. Selkies
Selkies, like many of the entries here, are half human. Unlike the other hybrids, their form isn’t mixed. Rather, selkies are seals when in the water, and can shed their seal skin to take on a human form for dry land. Stories abound of fishermen who take selkies as wives, though most of those tales have a tragic end, as they hide the seal skin, trapping their spouse.
3. Rusalki
Rusalki are creatures that feature in Slavic folklore, though there are fairly distinct regional differences. Farther south, along the Danube River, you may encounter a vila rusalka. The vila are beautiful young women, clothed in robes of mist, who wander around the lake they’re bound to and sing beautiful songs to enchant any men they come across. If you travel north, you might stumble across a very different rusalka: an ugly, wicked spirit, usually of a person who drowned in the body of water the rusalka inhabits. These rusalki have only one goal: to make others share their fate and drag them underwater.
4. Marakihau
The marakihau are monsters of Maori mythology. They had the lower body of fish, the upper body of humans, and a long, hollow tongue they could use to fish or attack people. Thought by some to be the spirits of the dead, they lived in the ocean and harried seafaring travelers and people living along the coasts.
5. Ningyo
These Japanese beings are the stuff of nightmares. While half human, half fish like many of the mermaids we’re familiar with, their fish features are much more prominent. What I find most fascinating about them is the inherent temptation and risk of their lore. To catch and eat a ningyo would grant a person eternal life and youth. But injuring or hunting one would bring a curse upon the hunter. Legends credit earthquakes and tsunamis to angered ningyo.
6. Naga
This one is a bit of reach, so bear with me. Naga are from Buddhist and Hindu mythology, and are half human, half snake (though they can take the full form of either if they choose). They live underground in a palace decorated with precious stones and are guardians of treasure, but they are also associated with rivers, lakes, and waterways. I don’t know, there’s always been something about them that felt vaguely mermaid-ish to me.
This is just a snapshot of a few of the many, many legends about mermaids and mermaid-like creatures that exist around the world, but I had to stop somewhere (and the movie’s over, so it certainly seemed like a good stopping point). If you’re looking for more lore, I suggest starting with merrows, melusine, Iara, and bunyip.
What’s your favorite mermaid-type legend?
Kate G. Jameson 