From Hans Christian Andersen ’s " The Little Mermaid " to C.S. Lewis ' " The Chronicles of Narnia " serial to Alice Hoffman ’s " Aquamarine , " mermaids have been a fixing in literature and pop civilisation for centuries . Butare mermaid real ?
lease ’s search mermaid myth that have influenced how we consider these human - like figure .
First, What Does the Science Say?
Some consider that mermaid are a possibility — after all , our oceans are so huge that they are difficult to explore .
However , theNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrationhas a clear - cut answer as to whether mermaids exist : No , they don’t . While there are cave paintings of mermaid - comparable figures , the governing bureau notes there is no scientific evidence that human charwoman with Pisces the Fishes shadower exist .
But just because mermaid are mythological beings , does n’t mean there are n’t entrancing things happen in our oceans .
Deep seaecologistAndrew David Thaler says , " When we do venture into the abyss , we find fauna more diverse and incredible that our relatively limited vision can conceive . Do n’t diss that wonder with something as absolutely mundane as ' human with fish tail . ' "
Origins of Mermaids
Mermaids are ocean creature that are half Pisces , half human . The upper eubstance resemble a woman , and the bottom half a fishlike sea animal . mermaid be in folklore across various culture , each with dissimilar rendering of the beings .
Just as severely as it is to specify a mermaid , it ’s difficult to pinpoint where mermaid originated .
According toVaughn Scribner , associate professor of British American history at the University of Central Arkansas , merpeople might have come from ancient divinity and goddesses . In his ledger , Merpeople : A Human History , Scribner writes :
This inspired more mermaid - like figure in Greek and Roman cultures . Greece ’s manipulation of Triton served as a blueprint for merman .
Mermaid Myths Across Cultures
Many cultures have different mermaid legends , leading to unlike depictions of the half - woman , half - fish being . From creatures that can make you immortal to half - seal mythical puppet , here are a few ways that society have view mermaid .
Ningyo
In Japanese polish , ningyo(a tidings that combines person and fish ) is a fishlike creature with the mouthpiece of a monkey , but the term has embrace other beings . According to mermaid legend , eating ningyo flesh could make one immortal .
In the early 1900s , around the time when Japanese translation of " The Little Mermaid " first became available , the musical theme of mermaid began to change in Japan . According toPhilip Hayward , a professor at University of Technology Sydney , in"Japan : The Mermaidisation of the Ningyo and Related Folkloric Figures " :
Selkies
Mermaid mythology is also present in Scotland and Ireland . As authorJason Marc Harriswrites in " Perilous shore : The Unfathomable Supernaturalism of Water in nineteenth - Century Scottish Folklore , " " the range of mountains of Scottish tales and feeling about the mermaid exemplifies the dynamic of ambivalence that people have towards the powers of the body of water as well as the checks and balances of tribe metaphysics . "
In Scottish acculturation , there are stories of destructive or magical mermaids that share similarities to selkies .
" Selkies are brute exist off the west coast of Ireland and Scotland that are both human and seal , " writesStuart C. Aitken , a professor at San Diego State University , in " The Edge of the World : Embattled Leagues of Children and Seals Teeter on the Rim . " " Underneath its seal skin the selkie is human , and when it discards the skin it can take the air on land as a human being or a char . If a man slip the skin of a distaff selkie , she is bind to him as a married woman and will not revert to the water for as long as he has her hide . it is said that this ancient legend is a forerunner to the modern myth of mermaid . "
Mami Wata
mermaid are not just a westerly conception . Several countries across Africa celebrate Mami Wata , a " beautiful , protective , seductive and potentially deadly " piddle spirit , according to prowess historianHenry J. Drewal . She is half - Pisces and half - human and can seem as a snake charmer .
" Mami Wata is widely believed to have ' oversea ' origin , and portrayal of her have been deeply influenced by representations of ancient , Indigenous African water purport , European mermaids and snake charmers , Hindu gods and goddesses , and Christian and Moslem apotheosis , " Drewal indite in " Mami Wata : Arts for Water Spirits in Africa and Its Diasporas . "
" Although for some she bestows adept fortune and status through monetary riches , for others , she aid in concerns related to procreation — infertility , impotence or infant mortality . Some are drawn to her as an irresistible seductive front who offers the pleasure and index that company devotion to a spiritual forcefulness . Yet she also represent danger , for a liaison with Mami Wata often requires a square sacrifice , such as the life-time of a family appendage or celibacy in the region of mortals . "
The Christian Church’s Role in Mermaid Folklore
The Christian church help legitimate mermaid , according to Scribner .
Somewhere in the third to 5th C CE , the Christian church began to use mermaids to utter the importance of " piety , faith and ego - control " and to " devalue the feminine . " Churches widely used imagination of hypersexual mermaid in their introduction .
" Such ubiquity help to facilitate world-wide acceptance of , and belief in , mermaids … " Scribner writes . " The Christian doctrine steadily decentred symbol of the sacred feminine by the medieval time period . However , such efforts had unexpected side effects , as by utilize these hybrid lusus naturae to corroborate religious dogma the Christian Church legalize such creatures , which in turn created the fundament for belief and banker’s acceptance for generation to come . "
3 Animals Mistaken for Mermaids
While mermaid sightings continue , multitude have likely confused them for other sea puppet , such as :
Mermaids for Hire
If you ever thought your party could use more mermaid , you could hire them for your next assembly . There are several businesses that have mermaid you could book . Many go through breeding plan to con the nontextual matter of mermaid swimming .
