"Mother of the Water") are water spirits venerated in West, Central and southern Africa, and in the African diaspora in the Caribbean and parts of North, Central and South America. below) and the Cobra-Grande, he also saw the combining of the Portuguese lore of the Enchanted Moura (moorish girl), who was obviously dark-skinned. [105] Though conceived of as swan-maidens in Wagner's 1848 scenario, the number being a threesome was suggested by the woodcut by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld and Eugen Napoleon Neureuther in the Pfizer edition of 1843 (fig. [35] And the traits of the classical sirens, such as using their beautiful song as a lure as told by Homer, has often been transferred to mermaids. [231] Unlike depictions of mermaids in other mythologies, these are anatomically identical to land-bound humans, differing only in their ability to breathe and live underwater. [216] Gender is unclear, as it is only described as a being with "a human face, a fish body". [361], Mermaids appear with greater frequency as heraldic devices than mermen do. Nationalbibl., Cod. The justification behind the rumour that mermaids exist in these areas is their eerie-like vibe. [29][27][28], They are called sjkonar ("sea woman") in the Old Norse ireks saga. Last Update: Jan 03, 2023 She is also sometimes illustrated with wings, two tails, or both. Wien, sterr. [67][i], The sea-monsters Scylla and Charybdis, who lived near the sirens, were also female and had some fishlike attributes. Being a magical creature,mermaids are often depicted as having magical powers. An en caul birth, also known as a mermaid birth or veiled birth, is when the baby comes out still inside or partially wrapped in the amniotic sac. Lorelei, the name of a Rhine mermaid immortalized in the Heinrich Heine poem of that name, has become a synonym for a siren. Mermaids appear in the folklore of many cultures worldwide, including Europe, Asia, and Africa. They are believed to be solitary and occupy one body of water. Stories of mermaids have existed for thousands of years and span cultures across the world - from coastal settlements in Ireland to the landlocked Karoo desert in South Africa. In the first, a man captures a mermaid ( "sea woman") on the shore of Lantau Island (WadeGiles: Taiy-shan). [165], The Swedish ballad "Hafsfrun"[166] (Havsfruns trna[sv], SMB 23, TSB A 51[167]) is an instance where a mermaid kidnaps a human girl at age fifteen, and when the girl's brother accomplishes the rescue, the mermaid declares she would have cracked[t] her neck if she knew she would be thus betrayed. Mermaids also appeared in the popular supernatural drama television series Charmed, and were the basis of its spin-off series Mermaid. An influential image was created by the Pre-Raphaelite painter John William Waterhouse, from 1895 to 1905, entitled A Mermaid (Cf. In "The Adventures of Bulukiya", the protagonist Bulukiya's quest for the herb of immortality leads him to explore the seas, where he encounters societies of mermaids. The first known mermaid stories appeared in Assyria c. 1000 BC. Pars VI. Peces, y animales [marginalia: "Manila and the Philippines about 1650 (concluded). In October 2016 photos and video were posted on Facebook online of a gruesome looking mermaid led on a beach in Great Yarmouth in the UK, where it was supposedly washed up by the harsh North Sea. But a legend of half-human creatures is not enough to so heavily imagine and spread the word about mermaids . Many people wonder why this sport is so popular in South Africa and not in any other part of Africa. Age of Exploration Americas and polar frontiers, And despite the misleading spelling not a variant of ", That is, the OED's entry for gave "cf. The justification behind the rumour that mermaids exist in these areas is their eerie-like vibe. [266], Erasmus Francisci (Erasmus Finx, 1668) associated this Brazilian specimen with the local native lore of the "Yupiapra" (Ipupiara). The goddess Atargatis, mother of the Assyrian queen Semiramis, loved a mortal (a shepherd) and unintentionally killed him. The mermaid corresponds to Danish and Bokml Norwegian havfrue, whereas merman answers to Danish/Norwegian havmand. about 12501260", "Detailed record for Royal 2 B VII (Queen Mary Psalter)", "The Mermaid of Edam and the Emergence of Dutch National Identity", "The Excavation of the Athenian Agora Twelfth Season", "Leviticus Rabbah 16, 1 "Odysseus and the Sirens" in the Beit Leontis Mosaic from Beit She'an", "Berossos and the Construction off a Near Eastern Cultural History in Response to the Greeks", "Evolutionary Theory in Ancient Greece & Rome", "Havfrue 'mermaid, sea-maid, siren'; Havmand 'seaman, merman')", "Hav (-frue 'mermaid, maiden'; -mand 'merman')", "The Treatment of Norman in Jan de Vries', "A Note on the change of [h-] to [r-] in Normandy", "Kap. One sighting report comes from 2008, at the . An instructor at Merschool told Africanews that the new swimming technique is fun because they use the dolphin style with scull sequences. Merschool in South Africa. Those seeking the person's release are not supposed to cry or shed tears. ])[13][14] or "sea-woman".[21][111]. However, Sekien's ningyo picture actually represents a "human-fish" that lives in Western China, also known as the Di people Diren[zh], according to the inscription printed alongside. [334], Scantily clad women placed in watertanks and impersonating mermaids performed at the 1939 New York World's Fair. Mlusine (French: [melyzin]) or Melusina is a figure of European folklore, a female spirit of fresh water in a holy well or river. As the gods there would not allow her to give up her great beauty, only her bottom half became a fish, and she kept her top half in human form. In folklore, a mermaid is an aquatic creature with the head and upper body of a female human and the tail of a fish. A stone coat of arms in Santo Domingo church (Pontevedra, Galicia, Spain), 16th century. [94][95], There are also naturalist theories on the origins of the mermaid, postulating they derive from sightings of manatees, dugongs or even seals. Stories of mermaids have existed for thousands of years and span cultures across the world - from coastal settlements in Ireland to the landlocked Karoo desert in South Africa. The frequently mentioned Sjlland, Denmark is interpreted to the divided portion of Villcina-land inherited by the bastard prince Vai/Wade. Just like conventional swimming, mermaiding is a lot of fun. 8. III. In South Africa, the Khoi-san people have stories of mermaids despite living in an arid area.Water spirits abound in African stories. Jan Cock Blomhoff, the Dutch East India Company director stationed in Dejima, Nagasaki is known to have acquired merfolk mummies; these and other specimens are now held in the National Museum of Ethnology in Leiden, Netherlands. It is possible that mermaids can stay young forever as when Betty got back her object of power, she became young and beautiful again. Additionally, there are documented historical confessions of different people, among them sailors in the 17th and 18th centuries allegedly sighting mermaids in different parts of South Africa. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. Fig., top right). According to Dorothy Dinnerstein's book The Mermaid and the Minotaur, human-animal hybrids such as mermaids and minotaurs convey the emergent understanding of ancient peoples that humans were both one with and different from animals: [Human] nature is internally inconsistent, that our continuities with, and our differences from, the earth's other animals are mysterious and profound; and in these continuities, and these differences, lie both a sense of strangeness on earth and the possible key to a way of feeling at home here. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. [297], The painting was reproduced by Louis Renard on the "Fish" of the region, first published in 1719,[302], It was supposedly caught Boeren in Ambon Province (Buru, in present-day Maluku Province),[303] presumably around the years 17061712,[301] or perhaps the year 1712 precisely. [162], The appearance/sighting alone betides an impending storm. cute funny and if its a water birth its even more appropriate. Subsequently the Jesuit Cardim[pt][aa] wrote that the "Igpupira" also consisted of females that look like women with long hair. Home; About. The Ipupiara was originally conceived of as a male water-dweller that carried fishermen to the bottom, devouring their mouths, nose, fingertips and genitals. Musical depictions of mermaids include those by Felix Mendelssohn in his Fair Melusina overture and the three "Rhine daughters" in Richard Wagner's opera Der Ring des Nibelungen. As the gods there would not allow her to give up her great beauty, only her bottom half became a fish, and she kept her top half in human form. Does mermaids exist in south africa? The state park calls itself "The Only City of Live Mermaids"[336] and was extremely popular in the 1960s, drawing almost one million tourists per year. A mermaid appears on the arms of the University of Birmingham, in addition to those of several British families. The Australian teen dramedy H2O: Just Add Water chronicles the adventures of three modern-day mermaids along the Gold Coast of Australia. [197], In Hinduism, Suvannamaccha (lit. "Lib. The forms of sea elephants", "IX.10.iv Tritons, Nereid and aquatic monsters", Hawks, Francis L. ("The Author of 'Uncle Philip's Conversations' "), "2. AMPHITRITE was the goddess-queen of the sea, wife of Poseidon, and eldest of the fifty Nereides. 20v. The female will lay the eggs and they will be dispersed through the water where the male will fertilize them. K-Gr 2-Mermaids are sleeping incoral cavesand, in that same water, pirates are snoring in their ship. In the second story, a man sees a woman lying on the beach while his ship was anchored offshore. 5. She caused a storm that nearly drowned the wicked sailor. A bizarre video has gone viral on social media after a ' mermaid was found in South Africa ' video caused a massive reaction on the internet. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. Valentijn was also a minister of the church, mostly in the employ of the VOC; he was minister in Ambon at age 19 from 1685 for a decade, and was stationed again in Java 17051714. 3. [93], Sometime before 546 BC, Milesian philosopher Anaximander postulated that mankind had sprung from an aquatic animal species, a theory that is sometimes called the Aquatic Ape Theory. She is usually depicted as a woman who is a serpent or fish from the waist down (much like a mermaid or a lamia). Mermaid in Fefians Manor house (Cambados, Galicia, Spain), 16th century. In most mythologies, books and motion picturesmermaids can not only talk, but they are very articulate and fluent in human languages, or, if they dont know them already, are able to learn them very rapidly. Sirens, in Greek mythology, never had the half body of fish, they are half human, and half bird, female creatures, and sirens never lived underwater but frolicked amongst flowers, in the meadows of rocky islands. . She reportedly survived 4 days 7 hours in a water tank, and died after refusing food it was given, having uttered no intelligible sound,[305][298] or issuing sounds like screechings of a mouse (French: souris). Countries with public art mermaid sculptures include Russia, Finland, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Denmark, Norway, England, Scotland, Ireland, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Spain, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Greece, Turkey, India, China, Thailand, South Korea, Japan, Guam, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Ecuador, Colombia, Mexico, the Cayman Islands, Mexico, Saudi Arabia (Jeddah), the United States (including Hawaii and the U.S. Virgin Islands) and Canada. Do mermaids still exist in Africa? Today mosts people dismiss mermaids as nothing more than myth and legend, but if you did want to go in search of a mermaid, where would you look? If you work on a regular basis as a mermaid performer in an aquarium, youll earn $15-50/hour. The description of the Nereids also is not incorrect, except that their body is bristling with hair [sic] even in the parts where they have human shape; for a Nereid has been seen on the same coast, whose mournful song moreover when dying has been heard a long way off by the coast-dwellers; also the Governor of Gaul wrote to the late lamented Augustus that a large number of dead Nereids were to be seen on the shore. [96][97], Still another theory, tangentially related to the aforementioned Aquatic Ape Theory, is that the mermaids of folklore were actually human women who trained over time to be skilled divers for things like sponges, and spent a lot of time in the sea as a result. The mermaid endures the excruciating pain of having human legs, and despite her inability to speak, almost succeeds in wedding the prince, but for a twist of fate. [312] Leading researcher Theodore W. Pietsch[ap] concurs with the dugong identification, but an ichthyologist has opined that "I could more easily accept a small oar-fish, or another eel-like fish, rather than a dugong as a partial basis for the drawing", noting that Renard's book carries an illustration of a plausibly realistic dugong as well. In some villages near the sea in Korea, there are mysterious stories about mermaids. ", "Chapter 22. stories tell the tale of a Syrian. Mehgan Heaney-Grier CC-BY-3.. 750-1050)-language text, Articles containing Biblical Hebrew-language text, Articles containing Old English (ca. 3 Are there any mermaids in the North Sea? 2. Benevolent njuzu are thought to reside in peaceful lakes or rivers. She cannot talk, but he takes her home and marries her. Your upper body is strong AF (as flipper!) Prince Bethel from Africa on February 06, 2015: I believe mermaids exist. Are sirens real? In South Africa, the Khoi-san people have stories of mermaids despite living in an arid area. Norwegian: marmle, "sea-talkers"). One nereid was sighted earlier on the same (Lisbon) coast. A mermaid is a mythical sea-dwelling creature, often described as having the head and body of a woman and a fishs tail below the waist. In European folklore, mermaids (sometimes called sirens) and mermen were natural beings who, like fairies, had magical and prophetic powers. 42), the mermaid seduces the title character and foretells his doom. [169] The Swedish merman Hafsman[nen] steals a human woman to become his bride according to folklore. [186][187], There is a modern Greek legend that Alexander the Great's sister Thessalonike turned into a mermaid (Greek: ) after her death, living in the Aegean. You can rattle off ocean facts like it's nobody's business. Mermaids come in all ages, body types, countries, and backgrounds. [citation needed], Examples from other cultures are the jengu of Cameroon. Do mermaids still exist in Africa? [338], The Ama are Japanese skin divers, predominantly women, who traditionally dive for shellfish and seaweed wearing only a loincloth and who have been in action for at least 2,000 years. Photo/Daily Maverick. [342] His article was written as a parody,[343] but mistaken as a true scientific expos by believers as it was published in a scientific journal. [298], The Yuezhong jianwen (Chinese: ; WadeGiles: Yueh-chung-chieh-wen; "Seens and Heards", or "Jottings on the South of China", 1730) contains two accounts concerning mermaids. Nvarette while visiting Mindro (aforementioned island), This page was last edited on 8 February 2023, at 21:23. Meerminne Sect. [65], The comb and mirror became an persistent symbol of the siren-mermaid. 8. and hafstrambe [sic. The male and the female collectively are sometimes referred to as merfolk or merpeople. [183][184], The conception of the siren as both a mermaid-like creature and part bird-like persisted in Byzantine Greece for some time. [352][av] Waterhouses's The Siren (1900) also depicts the siren as a mermaid of sorts, representing the femme fatale [353] drawing men to destruction. What is the ICD-10-CM code for skin rash? as mentioned under Etymologies. Q: How do merpeople have sex? When was the first mermaid seen? Most babies with mermaid syndrome do not survive, living a few days at most. [70][125], Some tales raised the question of whether mermaids had immortal souls, answering in the negative. Get in touch with the wonderful family at Areena through their website http://www.areenaresort.com to experience theses adventure for you and your family. Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet. The specimen's account and illustration was later reproduced by Linnaeus, who captioned the beast "Siren Bartholini",[267][268] hence "Bartholin's Siren". Shiloh was the only one of the three survivors of sirenomelia without surgery for separation of the conjoined legs. Sue Monk Kidd wrote a book called The Mermaid Chair loosely based on the legends of Saint Senara and the mermaid of Zennor. The conspiracy theory is trending on social media when netizens came across the mysterious video. She is carried to the water, and expresses her gratitude toward the sailors before swimming away. [251][252][250] Olaus in a later passage states that the nereids (tr. 33-year-old South African free diver Zandile Ndhlovu founded The Black Mermaid Foundation to get more people of color into the ocean. 4. They can (and do) interbreed with land humans, and the children of such unions have the ability to live underwater. [116] It can be seen on a south-facing capital above one of the original Norman stone pillars. Do mermaids still exist in Africa? Roman Lusitania and Gaul) and onwards. The genealogy is given in the saga: the sea-woman and Villcinus (Vilkinus), king of Scandinavia together had a son, Vai (Wade) of (Sjland=Sjlland, Zealand) who was a giant (risi); whose son was Velent (Wayland the Smith), whose son after that was Viga Velentsson (Wittich or Witige),[19][112][14][21][13] who became a companion/champion of King irekr (Dietrich von Bern). It might look like your newborn is completely gift-wrapped in a soft bubble. Sirens originate from Greek mythology. [142][143], Though he was aware of fabulous fables being told about them,[n][144][139] he was convinced such creature existed. He inquires about the most suitable material for a flail, to which she answers calf's hide, of course, and tells him he should have asked about how to brew water (into beer), which would have benefited him more greatly. [269][ae] Based on the illustration, the "hand" has been determined to be the front flipper belonging to a manatee by a team of researchers. The Greek god Triton had two fish tails instead of legs, and later became pluralized as a group. Do mermaids still exist in Africa? [260], Danish physician and natural historian Thomas Bartholin wrote about a mermaid specimen caught in Brazil (probably a manatee [261]) and subsequently dissected at Leiden. There is no upper age limit for professional mermaids and some mermaids are working in their seventies. [147][148], The Icelandic cognate form is haffr with several synonyms,[q][149][150] though instead of these the commonly used term today is hafmey. The male and female had sexual organs like humans, so that widows and widowers would keep them in their ponds, and the creatures could perform sexual intercourse normally as a human would. [229] The Persian word " " or "maneli" means "mermaid". Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. ): Appropriating "remedy for hemorrhages" which is Castiglioni's paraphrase, Coln, on the "Pez Muller" (marginalia) or "Pexe Muller/Duyon" (text): "me pareci su carne como de torcino gordo", sfnp error: no target: CITEREFBassett1892p191 (, A Book on Nymphs, Sylphs, Pygmies, and Salamanders, and on the Other Spirits, Abdullah the Fisherman and Abdullah the Merman, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Thessalonike of Macedon#The legend of Thessalonike, "The Otherworld and its Inhabitants in the, "Handschriftenbeschreibung 11043. [350] Waterhouse's mermaid grooms her hair with comb and mirror, the stereotypical implements of the mermaid, likely designed to portray her as temptress,[351] and her red hair (auburn hair[351]) is a match for the hair colour of Venus. [265][263] The specimen's body was deformed and "without the sign of a tail",[266] matching the drawing. Water was the thin veil that separated the spirit from the real world, and those who could conquer water were believed to have strong powers. This convenience has enabled mermaiding in South Africa to quickly gain traction in the south. Sirens are like evil mermaids. Zelenin they all share a common element: they are the restless spirits of the unclean dead. She has shoulders like a horse and hands in front; but behind she resembles a serpent". [230], In Zimbabwe mermaids are known as "njuzu". Mermaids appear in the folklore of many cultures worldwide, including Europe, Asia, and Africa. [161], It is said the havfrue will avenge harm done to it, as in the Norwegian anecdote of one who was lured near the ship, and had her hand cruelly lopped off on the gunwale. Does mermaids exist in south africa? However, her selflessness has earned her a second chance at salvation, and she is resurrected as an air spirit. [275][272][ak] and it is assumed the actual creature was a dugong (according to modern translators' notes). [339] Starting in the twentieth century, they have increasingly been regarded as a tourist attraction. German "meerweib"), "mermaid", is attested in epics,[11] and the one in Rabenschlacht is a great-grandmother;[d] this same figure is in an Old Swedish text a haffru,[15][18][e] and in Old Norse a sjkona (sikona [sic. [59], In the interim, the siren as pure mermaid was becoming commonplace, particularly in the so-called "Second Family" Latin bestiaries, as represented in one of the early manuscripts classified into this group (Additional manuscript 11283, c. 11701180s. That means believers think that merpeople are in every water body on every continent - Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America. In early Greek art, they were represented as birds with large women's heads, bird feathers and scaly feet. [123], According to legend a mermaid came to the Cornish village of Zennor, where she used to listen to the singing of a chorister, Matthew Trewhella. Adventure 25. Adults and children have taken up this sport leading to the opening of various firms manufacturing the monofins tails of a mermaid which they then sell or hire out. [228] Among the Sambal, mermaids called Mambubuno are depicted as having two fins, instead of one. [5][50][6], Old French verse bestiaries (e.g. On closer inspection, her feet and hands appear to be webbed. Begin typing your search term above and press enter to search. Individual njuzu may be benevolent or malicious. Your upper body is strong AF (as flipper!) For the males, see. In the bestiaries. figure, top of page). There have been a few cases of surgical separation of the legs. . Mermaids have features just like humans. Another common sight off the waters of the bay is the Black Mermaid Zandile Ndhlovu. [244][249][246][ab], 16th century Swedish writer Olaus Magnus quotes the same passage from Pliny, and further notes that the nereid are said to utter "dismal moans (wailings) at the hour of her death", thus observing a connection to the legend of sea-nymphs[250] and the sister Fates whose clashing cymbals and flute tunes could be heard on shore. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. [151], The Faroese forms are havfrgv (havfrg). NBC claim to have footage of the mermaid, with a $1 million reward still available. [127], Mermaids from the Isle of Man, known as ben-varrey, are considered more favorable toward humans than those of other regions,[128] with various accounts of assistance, gifts and rewards. Chasing mermaids in Zimbabwe Percy Zvomuya 6 Feb 2020 (Klavs Bo Christensen/Getty Images) LONG READ One morning in June 2000, villagers in Mhondoro woke up to the news that two men had drowned in. 439. any thoughts? Sirenis se Marini Hominis Anatome", 'Sirene'.. with certain popular features of a mermaid (exposed breasts and a humanoid face.. odd, webbed hands, buttocks at the front), "Chap. [344], The best-known example of mermaids in literature is probably Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale, "The Little Mermaid", first published in 1837. Stories of mermaids have existed for thousands of years and span cultures across the world from coastal settlements in Ireland to the landlocked Karoo desert in South Africa. Coln,[290] who also thought that the Philippine woman-fish tasted like fatty pork. Wells' The Sea Lady.[348]. A mermaid is a mythical sea-dwelling creature, often described as having the head and body of a woman and a fish's tail below the waist. II. Adventure 19. Merschool. Denmark, the home of The Little Mermaid (and its author, Hans Christian Andersen), is teeming with mer people above and below the water. This specimen had been on display inside a jar at the Turf Coffee-house. Are mermaids and sirens the same? . Do mermaids still exist in Africa? Login. [5][a][6], Its Old High German cognate merimenni[b] is known from biblical glosses[7][9][c] and Physiologus. The English word "mermaid" is not very old, with the earliest attestation in Middle English (Chaucer, Nun's Priest's Tale, c. 1390). [315][316] A Pennsylvania fisherman reported five sightings of a mermaid in the Susquehanna River near Marietta in June 1881. You can rattle off ocean facts like its nobodys business. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". There are all kinds of magic powers: Mind-reading, flying, invisibility, shapeshifting, controlling nature, and many more. 2017 Real Mermaid Found in India . Additional locations have extra travel fees. 1000 BC [292], Allegedly captured in the Moluccas in the 17th century was the so-called "Amboina mermaid" (after the then Dutch Province of Ambon),[295][am] which its leading researcher has referred to as Samuel Fallours's "Sirenne", after the man who came into possession of it and made an original painting of it in full color. The child, Semiramis, was fed by doves and survived to become a queen. [239][y] The Iara became increasingly to be regarded as a woman-fish, after the image of the European sirens/mermaids. : De Pisce Anthropomorpho, seu Syrene sanguinem trahente". 2019 Ted Fund Donors [60], While the siren holding a fish was a commonplace theme,[60] the siren in bestiaries were also sometimes depicted holding the comb,[61][63] or the mirror. It does not store any personal data. Water spirits abound in African stories. She is a wanderlust at heart, but an outgoing sports writer with focus on tennis, athletics, football, motorsports and NBA. [324], Fake mermaids made in China and the Malay archipelago out of monkey and fish parts were imported into Europe by Dutch traders since the mid-16th century, and their manufactures are thought to go back earlier. [80][81] In a myth recounted by Diodorus in the 1st century BCE, Derceto gave birth to a child from an affair. Over the years many sailors claim to have caught a fleeting glimpse of these elusive sea creatures, some have even come face to face with what they describe as mermaids. VI. Mako Island is a fictional island in the two popular television series H2O: Just Add Water and Mako Mermaids. [126], In Scottish mythology, a ceasg is a freshwater mermaid, though little beside the term has been preserved in folklore. 8 verso, Cf. Olafr konungr vann margyghe", "Melusine, Compiled (13821394AD) by Jean D'Arras, Englisht About 1500", "The Sea as Barrier and Contact Zone: Maritime Space and Sea Routes in Traditional Chinese Books and Maps", "Japan: The 'Mermaidization' of the Ningyo and related folkloric figures", "Hakubutsugaku no ningyo hysh: honyrui, josei, uo", "Hibiscus tiliaceus Hau (Malvaceae) Plants of Hawaii", "Alguns mitos Guaranis: Iara: cime, seduo e projeo", "7. [82], In the 2nd century AD, Lucian described seeing a Phoenician statue of Derceto with the upper body of a woman and the tail of a fish. The film Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides mixes old and new myths about mermaids: singing to sailors to lure them to their death, growing legs when taken onto dry land, and bestowing kisses with magical healing properties. Water was the thin veil that separated the spirit from the real world, and those who could conquer water were believed to have strong powers.