One of the greatest mysteries in the world Cryptozoology is a half-human half-fish creature called Mermaid or mermaid. Because of its strange character, this being is then more often associated with the mystical than the science.
Mermaid is a term given to a water creature that has a body from the waist up like a woman while waist down like a fish. Although we have only heard of this creature from a collection of fairy tales, the existence of this creature can be traced in the literature up to 2,000 years ago.
The word Mermaid comes from the word Mere which means the Sea (in ancient English) and the word Maid which means female. So, a creature called the Mermaid is a half-human creature half a fish of female sex, while the male sex is called Merman.
In a fairy tale, this creature is called likes to sit on a rock near the beach, singing, holding the mirror while admiring her own beauty. His song is called to contain mystical powers so that people who hear it will be fascinated to death by drowning. In Cornwall, England, there is a stone called the Mermaid stone because a Mermaid is said to have sat on the rock and singing to cause a local fisherman named Matthew Trawella to die from it.
Mermaid in the cultures of the nations The first story of this creature can be traced to 1000 BC in Assyrian mythology. Dewi Atargatis, mother of the queen of Semiramis, is called falling in love with a shepherd of the mortal people.
One day, accidentally, the goddess killed the shepperd. Sadly, Atargatis tried to commit suicide by plunging into the lake to take the form of a fish. However, the lake refused to hide the beauty of the goddess. So he just turned it into a fish from the waist down.
The story of the Assyrian may be the basis for the emergence of legends about mermaids around the world. In his book Curious Myths of the Middle Ages published in 1884, the folktaleist named S. Baring Gould believes that the mermaid and merman story begins with the story of a god or a half-fish in ancient religions.
The god of Oannes of Khaldea and the god Dagon of the Philistines have an image like Mermaid. Coxcox deity and Teocipactli from Mexico also have half the fish. American Indian legend even mentions that they were taken out of Asia by fish man. Of all, perhaps the most famous are the gods Triton and Dewi Siren in the ancient Greek legend who also has a half-fish body.
In addition to Europe and the Middle East, the story of this creature can also be found in mythology in various countries in Africa and Asia. In Africa, a Mermaid-like creature called Mami Wata is believed to heal the sick and bring good luck to those who follow it.
Dugong and Manatee Most researchers, of course, consider the existence of creatures such as the Mermaid as a hoax. others assumes it as misidentification. The most important suspects are animals that enter into the Sirenian class, a herbivorous water creature that dwells in rivers and seas. Two creatures belonging to the Sirenian are Dugong and Manatee.
These two creatures have a remarkable adaptation in the sea. Although it looks fat, but in some poses, this creature can be mistaken as a Mermaid. For example, when they breastfeed their babies they will carry them in the chest so they can be mistaken for a woman's chest by witnesses who witnessed her from a distance. Although many seem to agree with the identity of Manatee or Dugong as Mermaid, yet, as we examine the historical record, we can find testimonies that seem to confirm the encounter with a creature that is really mermaid or merman (not Dugong or Manatee).
Mermaid sightings in history In the year 558 AD, Mentioned if a Mermaid successfully caught by a fisherman in Ireland. The mermaid was then taken to the village and baptized by the inhabitants. Not long after, the creature died. Then, a monk named Ralph Coggeshall once told me that a Merman had been captured by fishermen in Suffolk in 1187.
The creature could not speak and was immediately taken to the village for questioning. Even after being tortured, the creature still showed no signs that he could speak. Merman was then imprisoned for some time in Orford castle. But when the villagers were about to bathe him at sea, he managed to escape. Still in the 12th century, Speculum Regale of Iceland noted the discovery of a mermaid near Greenland. "This creature looks like a woman from the waist to the head.
Her chest also looks exactly like a woman. His arms are long and his hair is fine. The neck and head also resemble humans. From the waist down, this creature has a fish-like tail with scales and fins. This strange creature is visible after a massive storm struck. "According to Icelandic legend, Merman was also arrested in 1305 and 1329. Encounter with mermaid is not only experienced by local fishermen or lay people. Christopher Columbus is also known to have met this creature in 1493.
Colombus was off the coast of Haiti when he saw three mermaids emerging from the sea to the surface. According to him, the three creatures are not as beautiful as often described, even according to him, the face of the three creatures that look like a man. Columbus probably saw three Mermans, not mermaids. However, many people believe that Columbus only witnessed three Mermaids (manatees), a water creature that is often seen in the Caribbean.
Another famous explorer, Henry Hudson also recorded his encounter with the Mermaid in 1608. "This morning, one of our colleagues spotted a Mermaid and he immediately called the other colleagues to participate in watching it.
From the waist up, his back and chest like a woman. His body is as big as one of us. When the creature dives into the water, they can see its tail that looks like a dolphin's tail that has a pattern like a mackarel fish. Our colleagues who watched it were Thomas Hilles and Robert Rayner.
"In 1614, another famous explorer named John Smith (whom we know through the movie Pocahontas) also claimed to see the Mermaid. He mentions that the creature has a beautiful face, round eyes, long nose and long green hair. He called the creature "Very beautiful". Well, this makes us wonder.
See, photo of Manatee below once more. If you see a creature like this in the ocean, Will you identify it as a beautiful woman? Is John Smith lying? Or whether he should immediately make an appointment with an eye doctor? In 1531, a merman was called captured in the Baltic Sea and immediately sent to Sigismund, the King of Poland, and this creature was then exhibited to all court officials.
This creature is only able to survive for 3 days. In 1560, a fisherman from the island of Mandar in Ceylon called managed to capture 7 Merman and Mermaid. This event was witnessed by a Jesuit monk named M. Bosquez, a doctor who worked for the local authorities. next continued....
