Hi friends!
Seeing that there was plenty of interest related to the last article that we’ve published about world legends, we prepared another article on the topic. Are you ready to meet more mythical mermaids from all around the world? Dive in!
This time, we will start from the Finfolk from Norway and the Orkney Islands. Those creatures are also different from the conventional mermaid most people imagine. They are shape-shifters of the sea, nomads capable of living in both worlds. They can abduct humans to take them as partners and lovers, though such relationship resemble more those of master and servant, rather than anything else. In the British Isles they are synonymous with tragedy, bad luck and doom. Why? Well, it is said that they dive into rivers, where they appear to be drowning people, but in reality, they want to take advantage of the candor and compassion of anyone who approaches them, to make them their new victim. Moving on…
A Welsh legend tells us about Dahud, princess of Caer Ys, a city doomed to be devoured by the waves, all because of that princess’ sins. While the king was trying to escape the disaster, Dahud fell into the sea, and turned into a mermaid. And another legend from that region speaks of Murgen, the “woman who comes from the sea:” a mermaid that came to appear as a Saint in certain old almanacs.
Then, there’s Ceasg – or “maiden of the waves” – a Scottish mermaid with a salmon tail, who is a kind of genie capable of granting three wishes to the one who captures her, if he returns her to the water. However, if the person falls in love with her instead, they’ll be drawn to the depths, where they will remain forever.
In Cantabria, Spain, there is Sirenuca who was once human. “God forbid you turn into a fish!” her mother shouted one day, fed up with her disobedience… And that’s exactly what happened. Since then, Sirenuca uses her voice to warn sailors about possible danger.
In Asturias, also Spain, there is the legend of Gaviluetu. It tells that in Luarca, a mermaid and a Viking conceived a son. The father returned to the north, to his home. The mother, desolate, abandoned their child on the rocks, where the seagulls heard his cry and took him to the village priest. The boy ended up being a Christian, a great warrior who faced the Moors and became the husband of a Portuguese princess.
And that’s not everything that there is, about mermaids, in the folklore of the Iberian Peninsula. We must also speak about the Itsaslaminak, “lamias del mar” in Spanish, also called “Arrainandereak” or “fish-women,” of the Basque Country. They have long fish tails and depend on a beautiful golden comb, which is said to be the key to control them. It can unleash their anger and make them risk their lives, although typically they can be benevolent and fall passionately in love with sailors.
That’s not everything: the mythology of Extremadura speaks of mermaids of the rivers who come out of the water to seduce men with their songs; the Galicians believe in Marina or Marinha, a kind mermaid who fell madly in love with the Duke Don Froilaz who was a 12th century magnate.
For some inexplicable reason mermaids appear in legends all over the world… Haunting rivers and seas, singing magical melodies and leading sailors and travelers to uncertain destinations… It’s almost as if there were a real basis for these stories.
Do you believe in mermaids?
Related articles:
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Italian: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0953PN3Y7
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