Mermaids
Where did they originate from?
Some families in Scotland and Ireland still claim descent from mermaids. The Orkneys have slightly webbed hands because an ancestress of theirs comforted herself from an unhappy marriage by dallying with a selkie, a type of merman who is part seal. The MacCodrums were descended from a selkie woman whose sealskin had been stolen by a mortal man as she danced on the beach. Without her skin she could not return to the sea, so she married the man. On the other side of the Atlantic, the American Indian tribe called Penobscot also claimed descent from a mermaid.
Some families in Scotland and Ireland still claim descent from mermaids. The Orkneys have slightly webbed hands because an ancestress of theirs comforted herself from an unhappy marriage by dallying with a selkie, a type of merman who is part seal. The MacCodrums were descended from a selkie woman whose sealskin had been stolen by a mortal man as she danced on the beach. Without her skin she could not return to the sea, so she married the man. On the other side of the Atlantic, the American Indian tribe called Penobscot also claimed descent from a mermaid.
Mystical yet deadly or are they?
Mermaids are always believed to have beautiful singing voices. The Indians believed in the Apsaras, or "water-nymphs" who made up part of the god Indra's court and play the lute beautifully. Native American legend tells of a mermaid who would rise from the water and sing, calling people to her. Her song drove humans first to ecstasy, then to madness. When they could no longer resist it, they plunged into the water and drowned, just as with the sirens of ancient Greece! So we can conclude that mermaids have beautiful voices. Their irresistible lure we may dismiss as the hyperbole that gathers around all legends.
Mermaids are always believed to have beautiful singing voices. The Indians believed in the Apsaras, or "water-nymphs" who made up part of the god Indra's court and play the lute beautifully. Native American legend tells of a mermaid who would rise from the water and sing, calling people to her. Her song drove humans first to ecstasy, then to madness. When they could no longer resist it, they plunged into the water and drowned, just as with the sirens of ancient Greece! So we can conclude that mermaids have beautiful voices. Their irresistible lure we may dismiss as the hyperbole that gathers around all legends.
Mermaids Exist
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