Africa’s River Spirits
“In the sea of Angola mermaids are frequently caught which resemble the human species. They are taken in nets, and killed . . . and are heard to shriek and cry like women.”
—Henry Lee, Sea Fables Explained
More than 4,100 miles from its source to its end, the mighty Nile is the longest river in the world. The Congo River, at nearly 3,000 miles, flows through Africa’s center and ranks eighth. Is it any surprise, then, that African mythology contains lots of river deities? Mami Wata and Oshun may be the best-known and most-beloved river goddesses in African folklore, but they aren’t the only ones.
African legends frequently mention hybrid water creatures who live in the rivers and lakes—and who may have inspired our modern-day conceptions of mermaids. Among these mysterious beings we find snakelike spirits and merfolk with mystical powers. The legends of Lamba in south-central Africa speak of a shapeshifting, fishtailed river snake known as a funkwe who, like merfolk in other cultures, can transform himself into a two-legged being and come on land to snare a human wife. The deadly chitapo of the Congo might drag an unsuspecting human underwater and drown him, or kill him simply with a look—you don’t want to get up close and personal with her! Even if these deities don’t destroy a man, they can disrupt his domestic harmony and happiness, for their seductive wiles are said to be irresistible.
But snakes also represent healing, fertility, and transformation—and the chitapo supposedly help barren women conceive. The water spirits of Cameroon, known as Jengu, are believed to cure diseases and often serve as messengers between the world of humans and that of spirits.
THE MYSTERIOUS CHITAPO
The dangerous and mysterious chitapo, said to live in Lake Kashiba and other African bodies of water, lures people by floating baskets, sleeping mats, and various household objects on the water’s surface. Anthropologist Brian Siegel, PhD, of Furman University’s religion department explains that local legends warn against drinking or eating fish from bodies of water where the chitapo dwells. Sometimes described as a “shadowy apparition,” the evil water spirit is reputed to have swallowed up numerous men, women, and children who got too close to the haunted waters.
Mamba Muntu: A Modern Mermaid
Africa, with its many rich and diverse cultures, is home to myriad mermaids—these lovely creatures occupy both the rivers and the oceans of this vast continent. But Professor Brian Siegel of Furman University contends that the mermaid image we know today didn’t come about until the twentieth century and is really a combination of early African water spirits and European legends.
Among these blended beauties we find the mermaid Mamba Muntu, or “Snake Woman,” whose picture graces taverns in various parts of Africa. As we might expect, she is exquisitely beautiful and seductive, and like Oshun, she frequently shows up arrayed with plenty of jewelry—including a watch, which suggests a recent Western influence, for early water deities didn’t have to worry about being on time. Around her lush body Mamba Muntu wears a large snake, à la Mami Wata. But unlike Mami Wata and the water goddesses Yemaya and Oshun, this hybrid female often appears with the light skin and blonde hair of northern European women, rather than the dark and sultry features of African deities.
She’s not as kind, generous, and compassionate as the native goddesses either—perhaps another sign of Western infiltration into the indigenous culture. Mamba Muntu, like many of her merfolk kin, can be destructive and may torment or kill human beings without warning. But if a man manages to steal her precious comb, he can use it for personal gain, specifically for wealth and power.
India’s Nagas and Naginis
“[Nagini’s] mission is threefold: to bestow wisdom on those who are worthy, to prevent access to sacred knowledge to those not deserving, and to prevent sacred teachings from being lost.”
—Nancy Blair, Goddesses for Every Season
For millennia, Hindu and Buddhist mythology has had a love-hate relationship with the enigmatic snake-people known as the nagas (males) and naginis (females). These mythical beings are usually considered to be semidivine in nature, half-human and half-serpent—but like most merfolk they can appear with completely human or completely snaky bodies. Females, especially, are said to be stunningly beautiful.
Considered nature spirits in Vedic tradition, they live at the bottom of lakes, rivers, and streams in magnificent palaces where they guard their treasure. Legends credit them with performing many roles, from protecting the waters of the world to guarding sacred knowledge. Like many water deities, they’re both creators and destroyers. They bring rain, but also cause floods. However, some sources say they only show their destructive sides in retaliation for humankind’s mistreatment of nature and the environment.
The nagas and naginis play a key role in the ancient Hindu epic Mahabharata, where they tend to get a bad rap for being cruel predators who persecute other creatures. But legends also associate these aquatic divinities with hidden knowledge, transformation, and immortality. And, like many water deities and serpents, they’re potent fertility symbols.
Artists frequently depict nagas and naginis with human torsos and snaky lower bodies, or with multiple snakeheads—often seven, but sometimes as many as a thousand. But these shapeshifters can change themselves into human beings if they choose. Not limited to India, nagas and naginis appear in the lore and legends of other Asian nations, where they assume various forms.
Notable Nagas and Naginis
Manasa, the goddess of snakes, is considered the daughter of the great Hindu god Shiva. This prominent and revered nagini represents fertility and prosperity. Her powers include the ability to cure snakebites and neutralize poisons—she saved Shiva’s life after he unknowingly drank poison.
Vasuki, Manasa’s brother, is one of the naga kings. Legend says he wears a great gem on his head. In Buddhist mythology, he leads the nagas who protect the Buddha. In Hindu lore, he protects Vishnu.
The naga lord Varuna is in charge of the weather—his powers include the ability to bring life-giving rain and to raise storms. Some myths credit him as the ruler of the ocean and rivers, even as the king of the cosmos. When someone drowned, the person’s soul went to Varuna.
Kanya, the nagini of the three realms, protects underwater treasures and spiritual ones as well. Sometimes depicted with a jewel in her forehead and wings on her shoulders, she holds a shell from which she pours the waters of wisdom onto humanity.
King of all the nagas, Sesha is considered a creator god. In his cobra-like hood he holds the planets. He often appears aboard an arching, wave-like raft that floats upon the cosmic ocean. Legend says he stabilized the world at the Buddha’s request and still supports the Earth today. In the Mahabharata, Brahma entrusts Sesha with the great responsibility of holding the world on his head.
BRAHMA’S ORDERS
Legend says Brahma forced the nagas and naginis off the face of the Earth and into the “nether regions” because they were overpopulating the world. He also ordered them to bite only evil people.
Siren Sightings
Early reports tell a strange story of seven mermaids who supposedly were captured in the waters near Ceylon in 1560. A group of Jesuits along with the physician Bosquez, then an aide to the Viceroy of Goa, supposedly performed autopsies on the mermaids. Their analysis turned up a surprising result—that merfolk were just like humans, physically and spiritually, except for their fishtails, of course. How the investigators determined spiritual similarities between the two species remains unclear.
“Firm on the rent and crashing mast,
I lend new fury to the blast;
I mark each hardy cheek grow pale,
And the proud sons of courage fail;
Till the torn vessel drinks the surging waves,
Yawns the disparted main, and opes its shelving graves.”
—Anne Bannerman, Poems by Anne Bannerman
CHAPTER 9
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Mermaids OF THE F
ar East
ELEGANT, WISE, AND GIFTED in music and the arts, mermaids of the Far East have it all. The dazzling beauties who live in Asia’s oceans, lakes, and rivers bring good fortune to humankind. Some propel themselves through the waters with the tails of fish or snakes—like mermaids in other parts of the world. But the lovely aquatic ladies of China and Japan often ally themselves with another mythical being—the dragon. Whether they ride dragons or shapeshift into these magical creatures, Asian water divinities possess strength, majesty, and creative power worthy of reverence and awe.
Benton the Beautiful
Long, long ago Benton, a.k.a. Benzaiten, enriched the world with her beauty, talent, and wisdom. Inspired by Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of water, poetry, music, and knowledge, Benton came to Japan along with Buddhism in the sixth century. Originally a water deity, she presided over Japan’s geishas and served as their patroness, sharing her grace, knowledge, and artistic abilities with them. But over time, her popularity, status, and responsibilities grew and early in the seventeenth century the wealthy business and educated classes adopted her as a goddess of prosperity. She’s the only female member of the prestigious Shinto pantheon the Seven Lucky Gods or Shichi Fukujin.
This gorgeous and beloved water goddess frequently shows up riding a dragon—sometimes a snake or sea serpent—while playing a lute. She can also transform herself into one of these reptilian creatures when she wants to. Myth says she came to Earth to stop an evil dragon from gobbling up children. As a result, she rose to the position of a protector-deity who guards her people and prevents natural disasters.
With so many jobs to do, it’s a good thing Benton has lots of hands—artists show her with four, six, or even eight. In her hands she clasps a number of objects: a jewel (either a pearl or jade), a sword, a bow, an arrow, a wheel, a key, a long pestle, a silk rope. She also holds a biwa, a traditional Japanese mandolin or lute. Two of her hands are usually pressed together in prayer, signifying her devotion.
SHRINES AND STATUES
Shrines and temples to Benton dapple the Japanese countryside, often built near rivers, ponds, and other bodies of water. So beloved is she that myth says the island Enoshima in Sagami Bay, about 30 miles from Tokyo, emerged from the sea for the express purpose of enshrining her. Statues of her grace Japan’s landscape, too; the three largest are in Enoshima, Chikubushima, and Inokashira. Tokyo’s Inokashira Park includes a shrine and dragon-shaped statue of Benton, located in a pond where visitors can wash coins to attract good luck and prosperity.
The Lady of Luck and Love
It’s easy to draw parallels between Benton, Venus, and Aphrodite. Mythology describes these deities as goddesses of love and the arts. They’re also linked with luxury, good fortune, and happiness. And, because in so many countries water symbolizes fertility and abundance—even life itself—these divinities have water connections, too.
From the time she arrived in Japanese culture 1,500 years ago, Benton served as the patron of geishas, those gorgeous epitomes of beauty, grace, artistic ability, and love. But the geishas soon had to share their beloved goddess with other admirers—artists and musicians, writers and entertainers, restaurateurs and tavern keepers, gamblers and good luck seekers of all kinds. Believed to bring money and material gain to those who worshiped her, Benton became the darling of the elite classes, who gave her a place among the Seven Lucky Gods.
Lovers, too, petition Benton for blessings. Said to promote happiness in relationships, her aid is often sought by women who want to secure a fortunate marriage or resolve problems with a mate. Of course, this generous spirit always offers her help.
Naturally, you would expect a prosperity goddess to display her wealth and artists often depict Benton with heavenly jewels. Her jewels, though, aren’t mere baubles—they possess magical powers. That special pearl or piece of jade she holds gives her the ability to grant wishes. Today, modern Japanese keep carved statues and idols of her in their homes and workplaces as good luck charms, hoping she’ll bless them with riches.
THE POWER OF LOVE
Legend says Benton tamed an evil dragon that had been devouring children. To convince him to stop, Benton married the dragon, ostensibly transforming his bad qualities through the power of love. Images sometimes show Benton riding on a white dragon, snake, or sea serpent—symbols of jealousy. To avoid disharmony, men and women who seek happiness in a relationship visit her shrine separately rather than together.
A Mermaid on the Menu?
The Japanese diet contains lots of fish—including a strange “fish-woman” called a ningyo, according to some legends. This peculiar sea creature, which looks more like a cross between a monkey and a fish than a typical mermaid, sparkles with golden scales and utters a flute-like sound, though it can’t actually speak. The ningyo’s flesh, said to be aromatic and quite appetizing, is more than just tasty—it’s magical. Eating it supposedly confers immortality on the diner.
An old story tells of a fisherman who caught an unusual fish with a face like that of a human being. When he served it to his guests at a party, they recoiled from its eerie appearance and refused to eat it. But one man who’d drunk too much sake took it home and fed it to his teenage daughter—who from then on never aged physically and lived to be 800 years old.
Despite its delectable flavor and promise of eternal youth, fishermen who catch it usually throw it back—the ningyo, it seems, brings bad luck. Often its appearance presages storms, and misfortunes or tragedies of all kinds may befall the person who catches it. If it washes up on land, the ningyo can be a harbinger of war or catastrophe.
FISH OR WATER FAIRY?
Some sources describe the ningyo as a type of water fairy, with a human face and the body of a fish, who lives in a beautiful castle at the bottom of the sea. This sensuous being wears silky, translucent garments that ripple like the ocean’s waves about her body. Only rarely does she cry—when she does, her tears become pearls.
The Circus Mermaid
In 1842, Phineas T. Barnum of circus fame amazed curiosity seekers with a freakish display called the “Feejee (or Fiji) Mermaid.” At his American Museum in New York City, Barnum exhibited what he claimed was a mummified specimen of a mermaid caught near the Fiji Islands in the South Seas.
But instead of getting to view a beautiful young fish-girl hybrid, as promised by Barnum’s come-on, shocked visitors witnessed a bizarre creature that resembled the Japanese ningyo, with a monkey-like head and torso and a fishy lower body.
As it turned out, the Feejee Mermaid really was a monkey-fish composite. Apparently, Barnum had rented the monstrosity from a Boston museum owner. The Feejee Mermaid was only one of countless fakes fabricated in Asia since the sixteenth century. The fraudulent “mermaids” featured the actual head of a monkey and the body of a fish, neatly sewn together and dried to a withered, leather-like mummy. Barnum wasn’t the first to try this scam. Decades earlier a sea captain named Samuel Barrett Eades exhibited a similar creature, but his hoax failed to capture the public’s interest—perhaps because he lacked Barnum’s notoriety and marketing skills.
The infamous Feejee Mermaid mysteriously turned up again in 1973. Since then, pictures and stories about similar creatures have appeared on various Internet sites—some even claimed the “mermaids” washed up on a beach in India after the 2004 tsunami.
Hoori, the Fisherman/Merman
Once upon a time, legend says two royal brothers named Hoderi, a great fisherman, and Hoori, a renowned hunter, lived in Japan. The older brother, Hoderi, loaned his lucky fishhook to Hoori to see if it would enable the younger brother to be a successful fisherman as well. But Hoori caught no fish—what’s more, he lost Hoderi’s favorite fishhook.
Hoderi insisted that Hoori find his fishhook, so the younger brother descended to the bottom of the sea to search for it. Once there, he met Toyotama (which means “rich jewel”), daughter of the sea god, and married her. They lived together happily in an underwater palace, but after three
years Hoori began to miss Japan. The benevolent sea god gave him the long-lost fishhook, and Hoori went home to return it to his brother.
Toyotama, pregnant with the couple’s son, asked her husband to build a house for her on land where she could give birth to the child and said she would join him when the time came. But first she exacted a promise from him: He would not attempt to see her during the birth. Hoori, though, couldn’t resist the temptation and spied on his wife—and discovered she was truly a dragon. When she realized he’d broken his vow, she left Hoori and the child and returned to the sea god’s castle under the sea. Toyotama’s sister raised the baby, and when he grew up she married him. Mythology says one of their children became Japan’s first emperor, Jimmu Tenno.
The Japanese Kappa
Are the kappa frightful water demons that drag children underwater and devour them? Or supernatural beings that irrigate farmers’ fields and help doctors set bones? Actually, a bit of both, according to Japanese folklore. Supposedly found in Japan’s rivers and lakes, these odd creatures look like large monkeys—but instead of being covered with fur, they have fish scales or hard shells similar to those of turtles. Said to be yellowish-green in color, the kappa have webbed hands and feet, and reportedly smell like fish. But don’t let the kappa’s small stature fool you—these creatures are amazingly strong. They even come on land to attack horses, cattle, and other farm animals and drink their blood.
So how can you escape a kappa’s deadly clutches? Take advantage of its most peculiar characteristic, a bowl-like indentation at the top of its head that contains water. If that water spills, the kappa loses its power. The creature is said to have a keen respect for good manners and will bow to you if you bow to it first—then its liquid life force flows out onto the ground and waters crops.
Mermaids Page 9