The Penguin Book of Mermaids

by The Penguin Book of Mermaids (retail) (epub)

  “My lady,” he said, “do whatever you think is appropriate, and you can rely on me to carry out your commands.”

  Then the damsel continued telling him about her life. “Yes,” she said, “we walk in the sea and perceive everything that is in the water. We even behold the sun, moon, stars, and sky, as though they were on the surface of the earth. But this does not bother us. There are many types of people in the high seas and various forms and creatures on land, but the differences are not all that great.”

  The king was astounded by her words, and then she pulled two small pieces of Comorin lign aloes from her bosom, and after kindling a fire in a chafing dish, she took some of the lign aloes and threw them into the fire. Right after that she whistled loudly and said something that the king could not understand. Suddenly a great deal of smoke arose, and she said to the king, “My lord, get up and hide yourself in a closet so that I may show you my brother, mother, and family without them seeing you. I have decided to bring them here, and you will soon see a wondrous thing and marvel at the strange creatures and forms that Allah Almighty has created.”

  So he quickly entered a closet and began watching what she would do. And indeed, she continued her incantations until the sea began to foam and froth, and all at once a handsome young man arose from it. He was as bright as the full moon with a handsome white brow, ruddy cheeks, and teeth like pearls. Moreover, he was very much like his sister in looks. After him came an ancient dame with speckled gray hair and five maidens, radiant moons, who resembled Julnar a great deal. The king watched them as they walked on the face of the water until they drew near Julnar’s window and saw her. Once they recognized her, they entered the chamber through the window, and she rose to greet them with joy and gladness. Indeed, they embraced and wept profusely until one of them said, “Oh Julnar, how could you leave us four years and not tell us where you were? By Allah, we’ve been extremely upset since your separation, and we haven’t been able to enjoy food or drink. No, not for one day. We have longed so much for you that we’ve not been able to stop weeping!”

  Then Julnar began kissing the hands of her mother, brother, and relatives, and they sat with her awhile asking her to tell them what had happened to her and what she was doing there.

  “When I left you,” Julnar began, “I emerged from the sea and sat down on the shore of an island, where a man found me and sold me to a merchant, who brought me to this city and sold me for ten thousand dinars to the king of this country. Now, this king has treated me with great honor and given up all his concubines, women, and favorites for my sake. Moreover, he has devoted all this time and energy into looking after my welfare.”

  “Praise be to Allah, who has reunited us with you,” said her brother. “But now, my sister, it’s time for you to come back with us to our country and people.”

  When the king heard these words, he almost went out of his mind, fearing that Julnar might agree with her brother and he would not be able to stop her. He loved her passionately and was extremely afraid of losing her.

  “By Allah,” Julnar replied, “the mortal who bought me is the lord of this city, and he is a mighty king and a wise, good, and generous man. Moreover, he has a great deal of wealth and does not have an heir to his throne. He has treated me with honor, done all sorts of favors for me, and has never spoken one unkind word to me. He does nothing without my advice, and I have the best of all possible worlds with him. Furthermore, if I were to leave him, he would perish, for he cannot endure to be separated from me for more than one hour. Indeed, if I left him, I, too, would die because I love him so much. Even if my father were alive, I could not have a better life than the life I presently lead with this great and glorious monarch. And right now, to tell you the truth, I am carrying his child, and praise be to Allah, who has made me a daughter of the kings of the sea, and my husband the mightiest of kings of the land. Indeed, Allah has compensated me for whatever I lost.”

  And Scheherazade noticed that dawn was approaching and stopped telling her story. When the next night arrived, however, she received the king’s permission to continue her tale and said,

  Julnar paused for a moment and then continued explaining her situation to her brother and family. “As I mentioned before, this king does not have an heir, and so I have prayed to Allah to bless me with a son who would inherit everything that belonged to this mighty lord’s realm.”

  Now, when her brother and family heard her speech, they understood her situation much better and responded, “Oh Julnar, you know how much we respect and love you. You are the dearest of creatures, and we only want you to lead a life without travail or trouble. Therefore, if you are suffering in any way, we want you to come with us to our land and folk. But if you are happy here and are honored the way you should be, we would not want to take you away or do anything against your wishes.”

  “By Allah,” she said, “I have all the comfort, solace, and honor I need here.”

  When the king heard what she said, his heart was set at rest, and he thanked her silently for everything. His love for her grew immensely, and he now knew that she loved him as he loved her and desired to remain with him, and that he would get to see his child.

  Then Julnar ordered her women to set the table with all sorts of viands, which had been cooked in the kitchen under her supervision, and fruit and sweetmeats. When that was done, she and her kinsfolk sat down and ate. But soon they said to her, “Julnar, we have never met your lord, and yet we have entered his house without his permission or knowledge. You have praised his excellent qualities and have set his food before us, which we have eaten. Yet, we have not enjoyed his company or seen him.” So they all stopped eating and were angry with her. Suddenly fire spouted from their mouths, and the king was scared out of his wits.

  But Julnar arose, and after calming them, she went to the closet where the king was hidden, she said, “My lord, have you seen and heard how I praised you to my people and have you noted that they would like to take me back to my land?”

  “I heard and saw everything,” he said. “May the Lord reward you for what you have said and done! By Allah, until this blessed moment I did not know how much you loved me!”

  “My lord,” she replied, “what is the best reward for kindness but kindness! You have been most generous with me and have treated me with love and respect. So, how could my heart be content to leave you, especially after you have been so good to me? But now I would like you to show how courteous you are. Please welcome my family and become friends with them. Thanks to my praise of you, my brother, mother, and cousins already love you and refuse to depart for their home until they have met you.”

  “As you wish,” said the king. “Indeed, this has been my very own desire as well.”

  Upon saying this he arose, went over to them, and greeted them warmly. In turn, they stood up and received him with utmost respect. Then he sat down and ate with them, and he entertained them in his palace for the next thirty days, at which point they desired to return home. So they took leave of the king and queen, and after he showed them all possible honors, they departed for home. Some time after this Julnar gave birth to a boy, and he looked as radiant as the full moon. Of course, the king was beside himself with joy, for he had been longing to have an heir for many years. Soon they celebrated the event for seven days and decorated the entire city. Everyone was filled with joy, and on the seventh day Julnar’s mother, Queen Farashah, her brother, and her cousins arrived, for they had learned about her giving birth to a son.

  And Scheherazade noticed that dawn was approaching and stopped telling her story. When the next night arrived, however, she received the king’s permission to continue her tale and said,

  The king was most happy about their visit, and told them, “I promised not to give my son a name until you arrived and could know what he was to be called.” So they named him Badar Basim, and all agreed that this was a fine name. Then they showed the chi
ld to his Uncle Salih, who took him in his arms and began to walk all around the room with him. Soon he left the palace with him and took him down to the ocean until he was hidden from the king’s sight. Now, when Shahriman saw him take his son and disappear with him into the depths of the ocean, he gave the child up for lost and began weeping. But Julnar said to him, “Don’t worry. There is no need to grieve for your son, for I love my child more than you, and he is with my brother. Therefore, you don’t have to be afraid of the sea or of his drowning. If my brother had thought that the little one would be harmed, he would not have done this. Don’t worry, he’ll soon bring your son safely back to you.”

  After an hour went by and the ocean sea became turbulent, King Salih emerged and left the water. When he came up to them with the child lying quiet and his face as radiant as the full moon, he said to the king, “Perhaps you were afraid your son would be harmed when I plunged into the sea with him?”

  “Yes,” he said, “I was afraid and even thought that he wouldn’t come back.”

  “My lord,” Salih replied, “we penciled his eyes with an eye powder that we know and recited the names engraved on the ring of Solomon David-son over him, for this is what we generally do with our newborn children. Now you’ll never have to fear his drowning or suffocation in all the oceans of the world. Just as you walk on land, we walk in the sea, and he, too, has our gift.”

  Then he pulled an engraved and sealed box from his pocket, and after he broke the seals and emptied it, all sorts of jacinths and other jewels fell out. In addition, there were three hundred emeralds and other gems as big as ostrich eggs that glistened more brightly than the sun and moon.

  “Your majesty,” said Salih, “these jewels and jacinths are a present from me to you. The reason we never brought you a gift before this is that we never knew where Julnar was residing, nor did we have any trace of her. But now that we know she is united with you and we have all become part of the same family, we have brought you this present, and every once in a while we shall bring you more of the same. These jewels and jacinths are like pebbles on the beach for us, and we know how good and bad they can be, and we know all about their power and where to find them.”

  When the king saw these jewels, he was completely amazed and dazzled. “By Allah,” he said, “just one single gem of these jewels is worth my entire realm!” Then he thanked Salih the Merman, and turning toward Queen Julnar, he said, “I am abashed before your brother, for he has treated me most generously and bestowed this splendid gift on me.”

  So she, too, thanked him for his deed, and Salih replied to the king, “My lord, it is we who are obliged to you, for you have treated our sister with kindness, and we have entered your palace and eaten your food. Therefore, even if we stood on our heads in serving you, it would be nothing but a scant gesture for what you deserve.”

  The king thanked him warmly, and the merman and mermaids remained with him for forty days, at the end of which time Salih arose and kissed the ground before his brother-in-law, who asked, “What can I do for you, Salih?”

  “Your majesty, you have done more than enough for us, and we only crave your permission to depart, for we long for our people and country. We shall never forget you, our sister, or our nephew and shall always be there to serve you. By Allah, it is not easy to part from you, because you have been so kind to us, but what can we do? We were reared in the sea, and we cannot get accustomed to the land.”

  When the king heard these words, he arose and said farewell to Salih, his mother, and his cousins, and they all wept together. Soon they said to him, “We must be off, but we won’t forsake you, for we plan to visit you as often as possible.”

  Then they departed, and after descending into the sea, they disappeared from sight.

  And Scheherazade noticed that dawn was approaching and stopped telling her story. When the next night arrived, however, she received the king’s permission to continue her tale and said,

  After this King Shahriman showed Julnar even more kindness and honored her with even more respect than before. Their son grew up and flourished, while his maternal uncle, grandma, and cousins visited the king whenever they could and stayed with him a month or two months at a time.

  A PERSIAN SEA FAIRY

  In Persian tales of magic, the character of the mermaid as it appears in European folktales—that is, a being whose body is half human and half fish—does not exist. On the shores of the Persian Gulf, some people believe that there are beings in the sea whose body is completely identical to that of a human. Most of these characters are seen as evil and harmful. But some of them, particularly those whose physical features are close to those of the pari (a beautiful winged creature somewhat like the European fairy), are believed to help humans in need. The following are some of the maritime creatures known in Persian folklore:

  The sea fairy, who is beautiful beyond comparison and normally has long hair.

  Bu Salāme, a male character whose name, meaning “The Father of Peace/Safety,” is of Arabic origin. Contrary to the name’s meaning, he is an evil and harmful character.

  Kheżr and Elyās, who save seamen from drowning in storms. These two characters are not limited to maritime folklore, as they also help people on land.

  Bābā Daryā (“Father of the Sea”), whose figure is that of a human being, although he is much more powerful. He is also one of the evil and harmful creatures.

  Pāryune, a female character who lives at the bottom of the sea and whose long hair reaches down to her toes. She always sings lullabies for her children. If you don’t disturb her, she is not harmful. But if divers or pearl fishers accidentally step on the cradle of her children, she will cause that person to become either paralyzed or insane.

  —MOḤAMMAD JAʿFARI QANAVĀTI, Center for the Great Islamic Encyclopedia, Iran

  Translated by ULRICH MARZOLPH, independent scholar, Germany

  The Sea Fairy1

  Narrated by ʿAli Dashti, aged sixty-four, in 1997; recorded by Nāhid Jahāzi in Bushehr.

  In the old days, the fishermen used to go out to sea in their sailboats. There were three fishermen who always went fishing together. One of them had bad luck. While the other two would catch plenty of fish, he only ever caught a small amount. Often, he did not even catch enough to make a living, so his living conditions were very poor.

  One night, this fisherman and his two friends set out to sea, each one with his own boat. Although they threw their nets many times, they did not catch any fish. Moving to a new area, they still did not catch any fish. Again, they moved to another place. As they moved, the fisherman with the bad luck was separated from his friends and found himself alone.

  Suddenly, he heard somebody calling him. He said to himself, “That must be my friends.” He moved toward the voice, which got louder and closer. The voice said, “Throw your net right here!” Suddenly, the fisherman saw somebody come out of the water and sit down at the other end of his boat. The fisherman was frightened. But when he looked closely, he saw that the creature was a sea fairy, whose loose curly hair reached down to her feet. Out of fear, the fisherman did not throw his net and just watched her, dumbfounded and puzzled. The fairy said, “What’s wrong? Why are you frightened? Don’t be afraid. I have come to supply your daily income. Remember this place, and from now on, come here every night! But remember not to tell anybody this secret!” That said, the fairy went down into the sea.

  The fisherman was dumbfounded and puzzled for a while. When his wits returned, he ate the bread and dates that he had brought along and threw his net into the sea. In a little while, the net was full of fish, and what fish they were—all the best and most delicious kinds! When morning came, the two other fishermen showed up and noticed that, unlike usual, their friend had caught many fish. They asked him, “What happened? Usually, you don’t even catch enough fish to make a living!” He said, “Nothing in parti
cular happened. I just anchored and threw my net.” Again, they asked, “And then what happened?” But the fisherman did not say anything, because the fairy had told him not to reveal the secret.

  Time passed. Every night the fisherman went to the same place and caught fish, and plenty did he catch! His living conditions got much better. He sold his small boat and bought a larger one. He bought himself a carpet and whatever else he needed to furnish his house. Finally, he was living well. One winter day, all of the fishermen got together outside and talked to each other. Each one of them told a story. That one fisherman told the tale of himself and the sea fairy. Then they all went back to their houses. When the weather was good, the fishermen went out to the sea, including that fisherman. Actually, all of the others followed him so that they would also catch more fish. At that moment, the sea fairy came out of the water and said, “Did I not tell you not to reveal the secret? From now on you will catch just as much as you did before, and you will never be able to catch more than that!”

  THREE KHASI NARRATIVES ABOUT WATER SPIRITS

  Water entities among the Khasi ethnic community of northeastern India are able to traverse multiple realities, including the world of ancestors, the dream world, and the world of water nonhuman entities. When encounters between entities of water and human beings occur, multiple narratives are transmitted widely, which then generates a folklore of water.

  The following section documents narratives of interaction with such entities and their consequences. The most common word among Khasi to denote a water entity is puri. Among the Khynriam Khasis, the puri are narrated to be female and have the physical quality of being divinely beautiful. The Khasi describe an extremely attractive woman as kum puri blei—as beautiful as a divine puri. Narratives about human encounters with puri from Shillong city include the motifs of beauty and (sometimes fatal) seduction of Khasi men by puri. Illness is the most frequent indication of puri possession. Among the Pnar, water entities are named after the place with which they are associated and are referred to as goddesses. Encounters with them take the form of divine possession, where the goddess possesses a chosen medium in order to mediate human problems. Among the Bhoi and Nongtrai communities, these water entities are called Niaring, and puri is just an entity who inhabits Niaring. Niaring is water personified and alive, constituting high divinity and medium in rituals.