What is a male mermaid called? Do mermaids exist - evidence that these amazing creatures are among us

Since childhood, Christian Riel's favorite character has been the little mermaid Ariel created by the Disney studio. Years passed, and the now matured young man decided... to become an inhabitant of the depths of the sea himself!

Now Christian Riel is a student at one of the American colleges. He spared no expense and spent more than a thousand euros to fulfill his childhood dream: to turn into his favorite cartoon heroine. His idea was a success: the guy got himself a real mermaid tail!

Now the student puts it on every time he is going to swim in some open water or in his own pool. Since childhood, the boy has been attracted to the ocean and now he is completely happy, says Christian. The young man said that before, when he lived in Florida, he would run to the ocean at every opportunity. The guy enjoyed sitting by the shore for hours and looking at the waves. He also admitted that he simply adores salt water: it gives a feeling of lightness and peace.

One day, while wandering through the expanses of the social network Instagram, Christian Riel saw the page of a designer of silicone tails and immediately ordered one for himself. After some time, the young man received a package. Since then, he has been the happy owner of a mermaid tail.

Despite all the benefits, sometimes being a mermaid can be quite inconvenient, Kristan shares. So, for example, sometimes while swimming in the tail your ankles begin to hurt badly. However, despite everything, the student is very glad that he can be both a person and a “happy fish,” as he calls himself.

By the way, the guy’s relatives and friends do not condemn him at all and do not consider his hobby strange. On the contrary: Christian regularly hears words of support and approval from them.

Mermaid. It seems that even those who are very vaguely familiar with Slavic mythology have heard about mermaids. The image is recognizable, present in many fairy tales, literary works, and can be seen in paintings. In the North we believe that mermaids still exist to this day. There are so many stories told about them! But what are they, real mermaids?

Mermaid - character Slavic mythology, guarding fields, forests and waters. One of the most varied images of folk mysticism. The fact that mermaids exist was believed everywhere in Rus', but ideas about what she was like were real mermaid- differed in different places.

Rcreeping creaturescosiness! Authentic northerntales

It would seem that this character is so fantastic that he remains only in fairy tales. But our northern tales claim that real mermaids can be seen to this day.

Mermaids live in water, but can also go outside. They are not very favorable towards people, they should be feared:

We were little, so the old people told us that you can’t swim after the rain, the mermaid washes there. Her hair is long. She will carry away...

They told some pretty scary stories about them:

Mermaids? Yes, I heard. Now there is no one, but before there was a lot of things, they told all sorts of stories.

One woman's son drowned. He was a good swimmer, a good swimmer, and suddenly he drowned. And it was summer, of course. Well, the people: “The water guy dragged me away!” And then, a lot of time had passed, she went to the river to do laundry and saw a girl sitting on a stone, beautiful, but naked, with black, long hair. She scratches them. That [woman] saw her and her heart immediately sank. I was very scared, standing there, not even breathing. I was very scared. Why, it’s amazing! What you! This mermaid, no matter how she looks at someone, just as a person becomes frozen, she will stand, she can do this for a long time, yes. That's where it stands. Suddenly the mermaid turns around and says: “Your son is fine, go home and don’t come here anymore.” And she jumped into the water and left the comb on the stone. But my son’s body was never found, it hurt deeply.

There are still mermaids in the river. They are like a person, their hair is long, loose, they sit on a stone and scratch their hair. And there are breasts. They live in lumpy places. Comes out in the morning and evening.

There were mermaids too. They showed different types: women, men, and cattle. Like a dream. They see them and get sick.

Grandmother died. An uncle from Moscow arrived. I went to the river. In a suit, dressed properly. The girl seemed beautiful to him. He wanted to hug her, so he did so with his hands - and dived into the river. I saw a good girl, beautiful. And he came, it was pouring from him, and he was in a good suit.

We were little, so the old people told us that you can’t swim after the rain, the mermaid washes there. Her hair is long. She will drag it away.

There are still mermaids in the rivers. They say a cursed man turns into a mermaid. They are like a person, their hair is long, loose, they sit on a stone and scratch their hair. And there are breasts. They live in lumpy places. Comes out in the morning and evening. And a butt like a human's. Beautiful, her breasts are like those of a woman. She rinsed the linen and beat it with a hand stick to get the dust out. I see that her hair is long and loose. But they noticed, and she disappeared.

Shishikhas, mermaids, grab you by the legs and drown them. The grandmothers were planting svikla, and the woman went into the water. Someone pulls her, and then there are finger marks on her feet.

They told me that someone was serving in the navy, and she [the mermaid] came out and sang songs. And he liked her so much that he fell in love. And her love is real. And they had a child. What should the sailor do, how can he bring her with him, because she doesn’t know how to speak, and the child doesn’t know how to speak. And they sent him to another ship. She comes and looks where he is. And they show her: he left. I was very sad. And then she tore the child apart and threw herself into the water.

What does a real mermaid look like?Does she have a tail?

The image of a mermaid in books and paintings is quite recognizable - a beautiful girl with a fish tail. However, like many spirits of Slavic mythology, they can look different:

They showed different types: a woman, a man, and a beast. Like a dream.

But most often, real mermaids resemble beautiful young girls, naked, with long flowing hair of greenish, light brown or black color, which they constantly comb. Do mermaids have tails? In the North of Rus' it was believed that mermaids were completely similar in appearance to people. After all, they not only sit in the water, but also move on land, they can enter mills, run along the banks of a river or reservoir, and swing on tree branches. In the South of Rus' they said that mermaids live only in water, which is why they have a tail.

Although a real mermaid sometimes looks beautiful and seductive, her entire appearance suggests that she is an inanimate person. If you look closely, you will notice closed or dull eyes and pale skin.

There are stories in which mermaids look like real monsters: unsightly, with long saggy breasts, sharp claws, completely covered with hair. It immediately becomes clear that such a creature will not be at all favorable towards people.

How to become a mermaid?

Why are real mermaids so hostile to people? Because they themselves were once people, but they died too early or “wrongly” (became a victim of a crime, committed suicide, died tragically) and became “hostage” dead. They said that a dead (especially drowned) child, a young girl, a young woman, or anyone who died during a special week of the year - Rusalnaya - could become a mermaid. Mermaids drag people swimming to the bottom at inopportune times and without the blessing of people; when they meet on the shore, they can attack and tickle them to death, strangle them with their long hair, and lure women washing clothes on the shore into the water. Those who died due to the fault of these spirits also become mermaids. To prevent the souls of dead young children or girls from becoming mermaids, special rituals were observed during their funerals.

Why are mermaids dangerous?

Despite the rather romantic ideas about these spirits, they do not like living people and strive to destroy them in order to replenish their ranks. Mermaids are especially active and dangerous during Mermaid Week in May-June, during the flowering period of rye. That's when they most often show up to people. During this period, people were advised not only to refrain from swimming in bodies of water, but also to go near water in general and walk in the forest.

When meeting mermaids, it was necessary not to look at them - it was best to turn your gaze to the ground. There were also conspiracies against these spirits. They were also advised to pay them off - throw them some item of clothing, combs, jewelry.

Mermaids still exist today, and our ancestors knew this very well. The spirits of nature surround us to this day. All Slavic mythology testifies to this. By studying it, we rediscover the world of environmental spirits.

Read more about Slavic mythology.

In Russian mythology, there are also myths about tailed maidens, which occupy most of the legends. As the Slavs believed, a significant part of mermaids are the souls of drowned women who committed suicide. Researchers believe that the image of a mermaid came to Slavic mythology from Ukraine and Eastern Europe. In Russia, however, their appearance has changed. From cheerful and playful creatures, mermaids turned into evil and vengeful creatures, along with the “grandfather of the water.”

The mermaids, singing cheerful songs in delightful and alluring voices, were replaced on the forest rivers by disheveled and unkempt mermaids: pale-faced, with green eyes and the same hair, always naked and always ready to lure to themselves only to be tickled to death and drowned without any special guilt. .

Actually, our ideas about mermaids were formed under the influence, first of all, of Andersen’s fairy tale “The Little Mermaid”, as well as the Disney cartoon of the same name. Therefore, most citizens (and not only minors) have no doubt that mermaids live in water, splash fish tails and enter into complex relationships with humans.

However, Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin, a great connoisseur of Russian folklore, certainly did not plant his mermaid on a tree in vain. He already knew that the Russian mermaid and her overseas undine friends did not have too much in common. And she has no trace of a fish tail.

In some places (western Polesie, Ukraine) they said that mermaids look like young beautiful girls, naked or in white; that they appear in the same form in which they were buried, i.e. in elegant attire, with loose hair and a wreath on her head (this is how, according to local custom, dead girls were dressed, as if arranging a symbolic wedding for them during the funeral). In other places (Pinsk Polesie, Central Belarus) mermaids were represented as scary, ugly, shaggy women with saggy breasts, which they threw over their shoulders. They said about such mermaids that they were “curly like witches”, “humpbacked and old”, “black, overgrown with hair”, that they had “breasts like stones” or “iron chicks”; they walk naked or in rags, holding a stick, a poker, a spear gun, and a pestle in their hands.

Mermaids live not only in water. From Trinity Day to Peter's Day (S.B. Rusalnaya Week) they go out and, scattering, until autumn, through fields, copses and groves, they choose a spreading willow, bent over the water or a weeping birch, where they live. At night, when the moon shines brighter than usual for them, they swing on the branches, call to each other and lead cheerful round dances with songs, games and dances. Where they ran and frolicked, there the grass grows thicker and greener, and there the bread is born more abundantly.

But they also cause a lot of harm. They can, for example, tangle fishermen’s nets or damage miller’s millstones and dams. They can send crushing storms, torrential rains, and destructive hail to the fields; they steal threads, canvases and linens spread on the grass for whitening from women who have fallen asleep without prayer; They unwind the stolen yarn, swinging on the tree branches, and sing boastful songs under their breath. In some places it was said that mermaids do not cause any harm, but can only frighten a person or make fun of him. However, the overwhelming majority of beliefs classify mermaids as dangerous spirits who pursue people, lead them astray, strangle or tickle them to death, lure them into water and drown them, turn them into animals or into some objects, and can take a baby left by a reaper on the boundary (S.B.: Obvious confusion with Kikimora and Vetshitsa). In such cases, there are various means and methods to combat the ventures of dashing mermaids in order to make them harmless to the village household.

Like other undead, they cannot stand the sight of a cross, they cannot step over a circle drawn on the ground, overshadowed by the sign of the cross; They are afraid of garlic and any iron, be it a needle, pin or knife. When a mermaid calls a person by name, one should remain silent: without knowing the name, she is unable to cause harm. “Against the spells and intrigues of mermaids,” writes folklorist S. Maksimov, “another drug has been found that is equivalent to the sacred willow and candles Holy Week, - this is wormwood, a cursed, kneeless grass. You just need to use its power and use it skillfully in practice. When going into the forest after Trinity Day, you need to take this herb with you. The mermaid will certainly run up and ask: “What do you have in your hands: wormwood or parsley?” - "Wormwood." “Hide under the tyn,” she will shout loudly and quickly run past. It is at this time that you need to have time to throw this grass right into the mermaid’s eyes. If you say “parsley,” then the mermaid will answer: “Oh, you, my darling,” and will begin to tickle until the person foams at the mouth and he falls down on his face as if dead.”

In order to prevent mermaids from harming them during Rusal Week, people observed special prohibitions, which largely coincided with funeral ones: they avoided work related to spinning, weaving, sewing, did not perform any field or garden work, did not grease the stove and the walls of the hut, went to the forest for firewood, etc. At night, dinner was left on the table especially for the mermaid, and clothes were left on the nearest trees or fence near the house.

By the way, you can grab one of them by the hand and put it on it pectoral cross and bring it home. Mermaids are very willing to do all kinds of women's housework, without grumbling and feeding exclusively on steam. True, they live in the house for only a year, and the next week they gain freedom and hide at the bottom of the river.

With a mermaid it is quite real and family life. To do this, she must tickle her chosen one to death, take him to the bottom of her own house, where her husband will come to life and happily spend the rest of his days in extraordinary luxury. Mermaid weddings are held only on the shortest nights.

A week after Trinity, a mermaid send-off was held. A whole procession was equipped for this. In different places, the mermaid was buried in her own way - in the form of a doll or a girl wearing only a shirt. The last time mermaids were allowed to appear on earth was on the night of Ivan Kupala, after which they fell silent until next year.

Mermaids have relatives - Mavkas. According to legend, children who die without baptism turn into mavok. The same fate awaits those unfortunate babies who are cursed by their mothers while still in the womb or before the sacrament of baptism is performed on us; they disappear from the house and become mermaids. Mavkas live in the forests and appear to people under the guise of young beautiful girls. Just like mermaids, they lure men, charm them, start tickling them and don’t let go until they tickle them to death. Mavkas are trying to take revenge on people for allowing them to die unbaptized and depriving them of the heavenly kingdom.

In some places where mermaids were considered water spirits, they were called pharaohs. Pharaohs are the sisters of foreign mermaids, that is, undines, because every pharaoh certainly has a fish tail. They are found mainly in the seas, and of course, they cannot sit on branches.

One of the most controversial images of Slavic mythology - the mermaid - was negative. It was believed that the terrifying forest inhabitants were able to speak and tickle a person to death. Today the character has taken on a more romantic meaning. What a mermaid looks like and what a meeting with her can lead to also causes a lot of controversy.

Image of mermaids

According to legends, a mermaid is a human-like creature with a fish tail. According to the academic dictionary “Slavic Antiquities,” a mermaid in Slavic mythology is an evil spirit that can harm a person. A creature appears in the summer. It is especially dangerous if a person walks alone through a field, thicket or is near a body of water - evil spirits will track him down and tickle him to death.

You can find out who mermaids are and whether you should be afraid of them from the myths that tell about them. magical abilities. Some of them claim that forest moths can turn into animals.

Mythical creatures were identified with dead people. The term was often applied to drowned women. According to legend, such women are forever deprived of the right to leave the swamp and are forced to live there with devils and other evil spirits.

Today, women who cheat on their husbands and have promiscuous intimate relationships are often called mermaids.

Description of appearance

These creatures are described in different ways, because there are many types of mermaids.

The mythical creatures, as described by the ancient Slavs, have the face of little girls with green hair, small hands and bulging eyes.

Legends Ancient Rus' They report that Mavka is Vodyanoy’s wife, her name is Shutovka or Loskotukha. The appearance of the Jester is described as follows: a pale, long-armed woman with huge breasts and black flowing hair down to her waist.

Beautiful mermaids appeared much later thanks to the development of the fantasy genre.

Male mermaids

The owner of all reservoirs and rivers in the forest is Vodyanoy. Fish and shellfish are his servants, and mermaids are his beloved wives. The merman is a huge man who is lazy and leisurely in ruling the underwater world.

Ancient Greek mythology tells of newts - stately and strong boys and adult men with fish tails and golden curls. They are distinguished by their agility and speed.

Habitats

Based on ancient legends, mystical creatures were inhabitants of the forest thicket. They settled in trees, most often choosing tall oaks and lindens. They swung them day and night, striking fear into the forest dwellers and people. Russian beliefs tell about the secrecy of mawoks; they always hide their traces on the banks of rivers and lakes. To do this, they loosen or carefully smooth the soil or sand on the shore with their long hands.

Habitat: pine groves. Mermaids live in ponds and love to dance around pine trees, so in the forest there are trees with grass trampled around them.

A meeting with Mavka can take place in a rye field, where the creature in the form of a maiden can confuse and lure a traveler far from home.

They live in seas and rivers, where they settle among rocks and on small islands. It’s easy to notice the place where the mermaids appeared. It becomes overgrown with mud, becomes shallow, and the water becomes cloudy. You can see scales - this means she has damaged her tail.

Origin of mermaids

The appearance of mermaids is the subject of many myths that tell about the appearance of evil spirits. A girl who passed away through drowning or committing suicide could become a forest mawka.

The girls became victims of the merman, who dragged the beauty he liked into the mud, who then became pale and lifeless, so the girls were forbidden to go into the forest alone.

Nutrition

In fact, underwater monkeys feed on what they find in a pond or forest. Favorite foods are crayfish and algae. In the forest, the mermaid collects herbs and berries.

Sometimes creatures can steal milk or bread from people. In the fields, the mermaid collects wheat and other cereals.

Varieties of mermaids

Every nation has myths about mermaids, which are human-fish. Distinctive features all the characters are theirs appearance, abilities and names.

1. Ahti is believed to be an underwater demonic creature that loves to play pranks on its victims. An angry Ahti will kill a person without hesitation.
2. Bereginya is a mermaid with a tail, living in forest ponds. A woman knows how to predict the future, protects small children from drowning when they fall into a pond.
3. Loskotuha is a dangerous hunter of lonely people who have wandered far into the forest. Scrapper loves to communicate and tickle her victims to death.
4. Mavka is the image of a drowned girl or a dead unbaptized child. A characteristic feature of mavoks is green curls.
5. Memosins - drowned women of the seas, are distinguished by a marvelous voice that can stop sea storms.
6. Ondine has beautiful waist-length golden hair, a fish tail, and can sing.
7. Triton is a male mermaid with superhuman powers.
8. Siren is a sea demon, half-bird with a female face. There are several sirens, they became famous thanks to their soporific singing.

Evil and good creatures

It is not for nothing that the inhabitants of the underwater kingdom are divided into types: among the numerous half-human spirits, there are both good and bad characters. To better understand who mermaids are and what they can be like, consider the nature of the creature’s behavior.

The description in Slavic mythology indicates that Mavkas are evil. Their negative features:

• sitting in trees, throwing stones at people;
• they catch a lone traveler and tickle him to death;
• they talk a person into a conversation, directing him to another road;
• if he meets a guy, he will seduce him and drag him to the bottom of the river;
• beautiful girls become victims of the mermaids' wrath, they pounce on them and scratch their faces.

People believed that in order to avoid the influence of the forest mavka, you need to have a pectoral cross with you. It was forbidden to make eye contact.

There are also good traits in the character of mermaids:

• love for children;
• rescuing drowned people;
• In the places where the mermaids had fun, a good harvest grew.

Famous Legends

Long-standing legends about mermaids tell how living people encountered forest spirits. If a traveler on his way met a forest mackerel combing her green curls, he was sure to help her complete the task. Until the morning the captive had to comb his braids, and if the mermaid didn’t like it, she would take the man to the bottom of the river.

Legends say that when you meet a mermaid, you should give her a gift. The forest dweller must like the gift, otherwise she will confuse the traveler’s path and lead him so far that he cannot find the way back.

If you catch a mermaid, she will do all the housework. They are caught on Ivan Kupala. When you see a creature, you should draw a protective circle, and when it comes closer, catch it by the hand. Once Mavka enters the magic circle, she will become submissive and fulfill all desires.

Mermaid Call

Using a home ritual, you can summon a mermaid. On a full moon, you should lock yourself in the bathroom, making sure in advance that no one interferes with the ritual. Prepare for the meeting the day before or evening:

• clean the restroom;
• take a full bath of water;
• cover the surface of the water with rose leaves;
• place a new comb next to it on the table;
• arrange cosmetics and a mirror;
• light the candles so that it is twilight.

Exactly at midnight, lock yourself in the bathroom. Remember - it is forbidden to leave until the ritual is completed. Now start reading the plot. Conspiracy words:

“Mavka, come to me and put makeup on me. Take the gift for yourself - give the beauty to me.”

After the words, hold your breath and wait. The mermaid will come exactly at 3 am, take a comb and start combing your hair, then apply makeup. If she likes your appearance, after the ritual you will become more and more beautiful every day.

The first to engage in the enthusiastic study of mermaids was Israel. Many experts claimed that these creatures settled on sacred lands. The story began on a small beach in Kiryat Yam, where a real mermaid was found by several people.

According to eyewitnesses, a woman with scales went ashore every evening for a few minutes. Some visitors did not believe the rumors, mistaking the fact for a hoax or a tourist on vacation.

But the beautiful woman had a green tail visible. When the creature noticed that they were looking at it, it instantly dived into the water, hiding in it. Previously, a similar phenomenon had not been discovered in these areas.

The mermaid in ancient myths was always depicted in one image - a beautiful young girl with a scaly tail. This creature may have a pair of legs, and the tails are not only like those of fish, but also those of dolphins, and in some cases, snakes.

Mermaid takes away human life to continue your youth. For this purpose, she goes ashore, sings songs and waits for the victim. Most often observed near small rivers and lakes.

Russian folklore considers a girl to be an indispensable companion to a merman. Since 2012, Kiryat has become home to a large influx of tourists. A prize is offered to the person who brings at least a photo of proof of the appearance of a mermaid. But so far the beautiful maiden has not been caught on camera.

Over all this time, thousands of eyewitnesses of these wondrous creatures have been found. For example, a man fishing while in the ocean clearly heard strange sounds coming from the bottom.

People who were on deck at that moment noted that it was the singing of a mermaid. The girls sang so beautifully that three of the team tried to jump from the ship towards the voice.

Near the shores of Antarctica, several people at different times observed creatures vaguely similar to mermaids. The Japanese call a similar phenomenon with a fish tail “ningen”. But in this case, in Japanese waters there is a creature less human-like due to its extreme pallor. Their body is thinner and elongated, and their tail is elongated.

In Medieval times, a real merman was caught near the mysterious English castle of Orfold in Suffolk. The creature was immediately transferred to the royal museum, where it was provided with all the conditions for existence, but the merman soon escaped.

According to legends, the man did not say a word the entire time, and his only food was fish.

In Diveda, more than ten people simultaneously saw a beautiful girl swimming in the sea. At first she was mistaken for a strange tourist swimming during a thunderstorm, but then they noticed her tail protruding from behind her back. This incident is almost 200 years old, but everyone still knows about it.

Another case associated with the appearance of a mermaid can be considered in Zimbabwe about 15 years ago. The workers at the reservoir were forced to quit their jobs because of the mermaids inhabiting the reservoir; out of fear, the men no longer returned to the cursed place. This case gained popularity in the form of a report published in the local press.

The birth of mermaid children

Do not forget that every mythology was confirmed real facts. There are different types of fetal mutation, for example, porphyria - real vampirism in humans. But there is also another, not fully studied, siren syndrome, which also contributed to superstitions about mermaids.

Siren syndrome (sirenomelia) is an abnormal embryonic development in which a child's legs become fused in the womb. After birth, this has a different form: the limbs fuse completely along the entire length, or partially.

There are cases when a baby is born with one huge leg, which makes him look like a mermaid. If the operation is not performed in time and the fused limbs are not separated, the baby will die.

Adults who have siren syndrome are unable to move even after surgery, but they feel good and free in the water.

One of the symptoms of the disease is extreme drying of the skin, which causes discomfort and sometimes pain. Therefore, a person is forced to constantly moisturize his lower part.

It is noted that three times more women are born with this diagnosis than men. Scholars translate between legend and scientific explanation parallel. Perhaps one of the girls with siren syndrome was remotely on the shore, and when she saw other people, afraid of ridicule, she ran away.