Mermaid is an unusual creature with a human body and a fish tail instead of legs. Their skin is white and white. Mermaids have a melodic and mesmerizing timbre of voice. According to legend, they could be girls who died before marriage or because of a heart broken by love, as well as small unbaptized or for some reason cursed children. When asked who the mermaids are, some myths give the answer that they are the daughters of the Water or Neptune and belong to evil spirits.
Origin of the name
Mermaids prefer not only s alty sea water, but feel comfortable in fresh lake water. The assumption of who mermaids are and what is the origin of their name is based on the etymology of the word "bed" - meaning the riverbed, a favorite place for mermaids. These mythical creatures are called differently: nymphs, sirens, swimsuits, devils, undines, pitchforks.
Legends of Mermaids
In the old days, people thought that communicating with a mermaid was a rather dangerous thing. At first, she attracts to her with a beautiful melodious voice, and then she tickles to a faint and takes her into the abyss. There is an assumption that mermaids hate red-hot iron, therefore, pricking this river nymph with a needle can save your life.
Mermaids have always been interested in men. It was believed that they did not touch small children, and sometimes they helped lost kids find their way home. At their whim, they could drown or, conversely, save a person in trouble. Also, sea beauties love bright things that can be stolen or asked for. Mermaids live longer than humans, but they are still vulnerable, although the wounds on their body heal quite quickly.
Among the mermaid games, it is worth mentioning the entanglement of fishing nets, the disabling of water mills, and the heating of boats. These harmful creatures are most active during the "mermaid week" in June, in the old days they called Trinity week. Thursday is considered the most dangerous, when swimming alone and in the evening is more expensive for yourself.
Is there any evidence for the existence of mermaids?
The question of who are mermaids and whether they really exist has been stirring the human imagination for quite some time. Although many deny the possibility of the existence of such creatures as mermaids, unicorns, vampires, centaurs, there is still a belief in miracles in the human mind. Moreover, the well-known saying “There is no smoke without fire” makes you think about the possibility of the existence of such creatures. Indeed, in the folklore of various peoples of the world there are a huge number of stories about naked seductresses with a fish tail.
With the advent of Christianity, the idea of a mermaid's soul appeared if she forever abandoned the sea and lived on land. Such a choice wasquite complicated, rarely anyone dared to do it. There is one sad story about a Scottish mermaid from the 6th century who fell in love with a priest and prayed for the acquisition of a soul, but even the prayers of the monk himself did not convince the sea beauty to betray the sea. The gray-green stones on the coast of the island of Iona are still called mermaid tears.
Beautiful and terrible
The main source of stories about mermaids were seafarers. Even the skeptic Columbus believed they were real. When he traveled in the region of Guiana, not knowing who the mermaids were, he narrated that with his own eyes he saw three unusual, but for some reason masculine, creatures with tails, like those of fish, having fun in the sea. Or maybe it's just sexual fantasies, longing and dissatisfaction in the love and caress of sailors traveling for months? Then stories about inaccessible and alluring sea seductresses are quite understandable, and, looking at the seals, they imagined naked half-women luring them with magical singing.
Even Peter I was interested in the question of who mermaids are and whether they exist at all. His appeal to the clergyman Francois Valentin from Denmark is known, who described one siren from Amboyna, near the island of Borneo. Fifty people were witnesses to this. He argued that if any stories should be believed, then only about these wonderful creatures.
Believe or not believe?
Like modern alien stories, rumors about mermaids quickly spread after another sea voyage. Notan exact definition that explains in an unambiguous way who mermaids are. The photos that exist do not give a 100% guarantee of authenticity. Interesting sea creatures were not always described as charming nymphs, sometimes they were rather unpleasant and ugly creatures with large mouths and protruding sharp, spiked teeth.
In the Middle Ages, many European church buildings were decorated with carved undines. Few, of course, can honestly admit their belief in their existence, but nevertheless, stories about mermaids continue to excite the human imagination.
Mermaids in the myths of the Eastern Slavs
The answer to the question of who the mermaids are and how they appeared can be given by East Slavic mythology. Not only unbaptized babies could become mermaids, but also girls who committed suicide or were in a position. The process of childbirth took place already in the afterlife. In Eastern mythology, the imaginary image of a mermaid was described as a naked or in a white shirt, forever young and incredibly beautiful maiden with long marsh-colored hair and a wreath on her head. At the same time, one can find in folk beliefs a terrible and ugly image of this mythical character. Who is a mermaid? In the mythology of the Eastern Slavs, she was presented as excessively skinny or, conversely, with a large physique, large breasts and disheveled hair. This demonic nymph was always pale, with cold long arms.
Mermaids lived in deep water bodies and swamps, and certain sources indicate that they could also hide on clouds, underground and even in coffins. They stayed there for a whole year, and during the Trinity week, when the time came for the flowering of rye, they went out to frolic and became visible to the people.
What is the danger of meeting a mermaid?
Who is a mermaid and what does she do, you can find out in the old epics, according to which they do not tolerate young females, as well as the elderly. But children and young men are attracted by charm and can be intimidated to death, or they can, having played enough, let them go home. One should be wary of their charming voice, which has hypnotic properties. A person can stand still for several years, listening to the mermaid singing. The warning signal of such singing is a sound reminiscent of the chirping of a magpie.
Seduced by the unearthly beauty of a mermaid, you can forever remain her slave. The people believed that those who knew the love of an undine or tasted her kiss at least once would soon become seriously ill or lay hands on themselves. Only special amulets and certain behavior could save. Seeing a mermaid, one had to cross oneself and draw an imaginary circle of protection. Two crosses on the neck, in front and behind, could also save, since mermaids tend to attack from the back. You could also try to brush off the villain or hit her shadow with a stick. According to an old belief, mermaids hate the smell of nettle, wormwood and aspen.
The little mermaid from a fairy tale
Starting up a conversation about mermaids,It is impossible not to remember the fairy tale of Hans Christian Andersen. The brave Little Mermaid saves the prince's life during a terrible storm, and then makes an exchange with an evil sorceress, losing her magical voice in the process and gaining the ability to walk. Every movement brings unbearable pain, but still, without her voice, she is not able to subdue the prince. In the end, she loses the battle and turns into sea foam.
W alt Disney's cartoon about the little mermaid Ariel has a more optimistic ending: "they got married and lived happily ever after." These much-loved fairy tales have woven many elements from the stories about these creatures. This is a captivating voice, and the ability to choose land or sea, as well as a forbidden romantic relationship between a man and a mermaid. Otherwise, of course, this is fiction, but nevertheless, as a result, a positive image of a tailed beauty has developed.
Magic sirens are popular characters in the folklore of various peoples and cultures, and interest in who mermaids are is not fading at the present time.
