Russian mermaid. Is it true that a real northern mermaid exists? What mermaids look like - a beautiful nymph or a monster There are real mermaids
Many people who like to find answers and unravel the mystical secrets of this world are interested in what mermaids look like. Finds in real life also cause a lot of controversy and speculation.
In folk tales, the little mermaid is a supernatural creature that lives in bodies of water. The upper part of the body resembles a human, and the lower part resembles a fish tail. Psychics assure that any description of a magical creature must be viewed from different points of view.
Using a summoning ritual, they encounter a clot of energy. They say that the mermaid is a water spirit, a disembodied energetic entity from another dimension.
Ancient rituals have been preserved to this day, allowing one to summon the spirit of water.
What real mermaids look like in reality
The main argument of those who believe in the supernatural in the debate “do mermaids exist” is that the bodies of half-humans, half-fish are found in bodies of water all over the world.
Science does not give an exact answer about the finds, but ancestors described similar creatures in legends. These are sirens luring sailors into the abyss of water with their enchanting voices.
The image was embellished. Although the upper part of the mermaids found resembled women or men, it is impossible to call them beautiful.
The bodies of the creatures that were discovered in 1679, 1737, 1982, 1992 are similar to humans and fish, but do not differ in attractive appearance.
These mermaids have round eyes, a neck, shoulders, ears, arms, and ribs. Females were caught in the sailors' net. In 1837, a male one was caught. She differed from the man in her tail and flattened nose. Almost all have green hair and gills that extend from the corners of the mouth and continue down the throat.
The face and torso of the creatures found were covered with growths resembling coral. Therefore, the image that movies portray (a beautiful mermaid with white skin, silky hair, beautiful face), is a figment of people's imagination.
To date, not a single living mermaid has been found. It is impossible to determine whether they could speak, how they reacted to people, whether they were intelligent.
There are also stories that in ancient times mermaids were caught alive. According to legend, the creature made sounds reminiscent of a growl.
What does a mermaid tail look like?
In the legends and in the specimens found, it is completely identical to the fish one. Covered with dark green or gray scales, long and wide. In different myths, the color of the tail of creatures varies.
Scales covered part of the back and stomach. Interestingly, these scales are an ingredient in witchcraft potions.
A real mermaid is not the heroine of the Disney cartoon “The Little Mermaid” or a character from a fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen. This is an unattractive and rather evil entity. Therefore, when performing any rituals that involve contact with this evil spirits, be careful.
For many centuries, mermaids have captured the imagination of both sailors and land dwellers. Everyone was interested in who they were: people, animals or fish. Fortunately, there are still places on the planet where you can see their remains, and in some places even their living ones.
1. Raka with a mermaid mummy (Fujinomiya, Japan)
According to legend, the remains of the oldest known mermaid are kept in a temple in the Japanese city of Fujinomiya. As the story goes, this creature came to a local prince 1,400 years ago, claiming that he had once been an ordinary fisherman. He was cursed because he started fishing in protected waters. The mermaid man asked the prince to build a temple as a reminder of his mistake. The remains of the damned fisherman were placed there for everyone to see.
2. Pond near the Big Bend power plant (Apollo Beach, Florida, USA)
It is widely believed that mermaid myths began when sailors first saw manatees or sea cows swimming gracefully beneath the waves. Their resemblance to mermaids is simply amazing: the front flippers resemble hands, and the back ones resemble a fish tail. These animals feed on algae, which, when fluttering, creates the illusion of hair on the head. And the rippling surface of the water hides all the “shortcomings” of such a mermaid, for example, her weight. An adult animal up to 3.5 meters long weighs from 500 kilograms to one and a half tons.
The easiest way to see manatees up close is in the warm wastewater of a Florida power plant. Warm water creates attractive living conditions for these creatures, which in some ways can be considered mermaids.
3. Fijian mermaid at the Museum of Nature (Grafton, Vermont, USA)
The Fijian mermaid became famous thanks to the vigorous activity of Phineas Barnum, the famous showman and entrepreneur of the 19th century. His mermaid was a mummified creature resembling a monkey with a fish tail attached to it. Barnum took her on exhibits of all sorts of “oddities” all over the country. Following his example, “Fijian mermaids” began to appear in other places. They got their name from the distant and mysterious (at that time) islands of Fiji in the Pacific Ocean.
The classic Fijian mermaid pictured here is housed at the Vermont Museum of Nature. The rude monster with a terrible grimace is not at all like the beautiful mermaid from the legends. The ugly creature bears all the hallmarks of a 19th-century fake. It has a thick mustache on its face, so it is most likely a male.
4. Haenyeo – women of the sea (Jeju Island, South Korea)
These South Korean "mermaids" are living women who engage in underwater fishing. For a long time, their work was the basis of the economy of Jeju Island. The divers' task is to dive to 3-5 meters and collect shellfish and algae. The “seafood” is then taken ashore and sold. They are highly valued by Asian gourmets.
The word "haenyeo" means "woman of the sea." Indeed, each of them only needs a wetsuit and diving goggles. The most experienced haenyeo can work at depths of up to 20 meters. In fact, these Korean divers are somewhat reminiscent of mythical mermaids.
5. Mermaids from Weeki Washi (Wiki Washi, Florida, USA)
Florida's Mermaid City is the surest way to see a sea maiden in the flesh up close. Since 1947, here in a giant aquarium, beautiful girls have been performing spectacular underwater performances. Below the water level there are viewing windows through which you can watch the bright tails of gracefully swimming mermaids. The water is always clean and clear, as it comes from an underground source.
6. Little Mermaid Statue (Copenhagen, Denmark)
Looking at the famous statue in Copenhagen, it seems as if it emerged from the depths of the sea, just like the little mermaid from Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale. The monument, created in 1913, attracts crowds of tourists from all over the world. This is, without a doubt, the “standard” mermaid that immediately comes to mind: a beautiful girl on top with a fish tail on the bottom.
Nowadays mermaids are considered beauties. And several centuries ago they occupied a place next to.
In most cases, mermaid species are disparate groups mythical creatures tied to a specific territory. At its core, a mermaid is an inanimate creature that lives in reservoirs, rivers, lakes and even fields. Most often, these aquatic inhabitants do not like people, so you should not catch their eye again.
Let's put everything on the shelves!
Of course, in Slavic mythology some types of mermaids are practically harmless creatures who love to frolic in the water on a moonlit night or swing on tree branches. Some of them come out onto land to wander through the fields and improve the crops. It’s not for nothing that in ancient times people believed that water spirits in female form helped raise crops. At times, they were even equated to fertility deities!
However, in order to understand each type of water maiden, it is necessary to devote a separate article to each of them, and, perhaps, more than one, which we will certainly do. Now it is much more important to highlight the general classification of this species, to find out what a mermaid looks like. This will help us separate these mythical creatures without using their territorial characteristics.
We will take the habitat as a basis. Under each group we list several types of mermaids.
“Pitfalls” in the classification of mermaids
Unfortunately, this simple diagram cannot include all the variety of types of mermaids. Even if we start developing a full classification of these sea creatures, we still cannot avoid “blank” spots.
Firstly, many mermaids are able to live both on land and in water (sirens can live in rocks and fly in the sky). Despite the generally accepted opinion about a fish tail, aquatic inhabitants may not have one. These include waterworts.
Secondly, it is impossible to identify a single reason for the appearance of mermaids, as such. If you start from the name of the mythical creatures, then it is of purely Slavic origin. There is an assumption that the water maidens are associated with Rusalia - a pagan holiday, during which green-headed inhabitants of rivers and lakes come out onto land to lead merry round dances.
In numerous legends and traditions, mermaids are represented as drowned, inanimate creatures. Some of them (for example, Albasta among the ancient Slavs) may look like half-decayed old women appearing in the darkness of the night on the river bank. The sight, let's say, is not a pleasant one... But, like other mermaids, they really love to sit on boulders and comb their hair matted with mud.
The Old Testament and the Sea People
You can consider mermaids a simple fiction, but, oddly enough, even in the Bible you can find an interesting mention of them. We all remember the episode Old Testament, in which Moses and his people were pursued by Pharaoh's troops. Approaching the shores of the Caspian Sea, the prophet asked the Lord for help, and the sea waters parted right before the eyes of the astonished fugitives. The Jews safely crossed to the other side along the dry bottom, but the soldiers chasing them had a hard time. Multi-meter columns of water descended directly on them, drowning entire platoons of Egyptians.
In the chronicles of the northern Slavs there is still a mention of the so-called “pharaohs” - Egyptian drowned people, who later became known as the sea people. These creatures had human faces, and their lower body was replaced by a fish tail...
Mermaids and sea maidens
These two names should not be combined together. However, in fiction(G.H. Andersen “The Little Mermaid”) all the lines between these two concepts were erased. In our classification, the word “mermaid” is of a general nature. For the Russian mentality, this concept is familiar to absolutely everyone. Sea maidens are only part of the classification. Mermaids in Slavic mythology were water spirits rather than creatures with fish tails. U sea maidens- Nereids, this scaly attribute is also not observed in Ancient Greece.
And besides, let's not forget about the mermaid men. According to one Babylonian legend, the progenitor of all sea maidens was none other than the god Oannes. At first, the male deity was depicted as an ordinary person, dressed in a helmet and a cloak made of fish skin. Later, the creator of mermaids also “acquired” a tail, thanks to the Khorsabad sculptures...
Mysterious creatures - mermaids. Their beauty captivates and bewitches, and their charms can cloud the mind of any traveler. But all this exists only in legends, myths and stories of those who allegedly met them.
To date, the question of the reality of mermaids remains open. As a rule, most people consider them to be fiction and fairy-tale characters.
But then where did these stories come from? Are all the stories true, and has anyone actually seen them?
Mermaids in different countries
Currently, there is no single description of the appearance of a mermaid. Someone said that these are charmingly beautiful women with curvy figures, pleasant facial features and beautiful hair. Other witnesses claimed that these mythical creatures are ugly and have green hair, their faces are covered with coral, and their gills are so disgusting that they are unpleasant to look at.
And the names of these unusual creatures.
- Western Europe– mermaid, the most common and generally accepted name.
- Ancient Greece – siren, newt (depending on the sex of the individual).
- Ancient Rome - naiad, nereid, nymph.
- Germany, Baltics- buzzer, undine.
- Scotland– silks.
- France- snake tail.
Of course, there is an assumption about the existence of different types of underwater inhabitants. Some scientists even believe that humans may be a descendant of a mermaid. After all, everyone knows: the ocean is the cradle of life.
But, for sure, you have already heard a huge number of baseless theories and exciting stories more than once, and therefore we invite you to turn to recorded, and most importantly, witnessed descriptions of encounters with fish-like creatures.
Mysterious encounters and historical references
The first mention is the Icelandic chronicles Speculum Regale, 12th century. A creature is described that was half woman, half fish. The unusual creation was called Margigr.
Holland, book by Sigo de la Fonda “Wonders of Nature”, 15th century. It mentions an incident that occurred in 1403. A terrible storm, as a result of which the West Friesland Dam was destroyed, washed ashore a woman entangled in seaweed.
Local residents who discovered her freed the stranger and brought her to the city of Haarlem. Time passed, the woman learned to knit and began going to church.
Having lived among people for 15 years, she never learned to speak, and the townspeople said that she repeatedly tried to throw herself into the sea.
17th century, navigator G. Hudson. There is an entry in the ship's log describing a strange creature that the crew encountered off the coast of the new world. The mermaid looked like a woman with a bare bust, lush black hair and a shiny fish tail.
Spain, 17th century, teenage mermaid. Journalist Iker Jimenez Elizari discovered some records in church archives. They were talking about a young man named Francisco dela Vega Casare. He lived in Lierganes (Cantabria), and his peculiarity was his amazing ability to swim. At the age of 16, Francisco left Lierganes to study carpentry. And then the story ceases to be ordinary.
In 1674, a young man was swept out to sea by a wave while swimming. Long searches yielded no results. However, later, in 1679, near the bay of Cadiz, fishermen discovered a strange creature: a pale-skinned guy with red hair, scales all over his body and webbing between his fingers.
Frightened fishermen brought the “find” to the Franciscan monastery, where an exorcism ceremony was carried out for a month.
In 1680, brought to his native Cantabria, the young man was identified by his own mother. He was the one who disappeared several years ago!
England, 18th century, Gentleman’s magazine. In 1737, fishermen caught a real male mermaid with nets!
The upper body and head were human, but the tail resembled a fish. The shocked men beat the captured creature with sticks, but saved the corpse. It was later exhibited as an exhibit at the Exter Museum.
Mermaids from the USSR
In 1982, training sessions for combat swimmers were held on the shores of Lake Baikal. Plunging into the water, their gaze revealed not only stunning views of the most beautiful lake, but also!
Their height exceeded 3 meters, their heads were protected by a spherical helmet, and their swimming speed was simply amazing.
The commander-in-chief, who decided to get to know the unusual creatures better, ordered to catch one of them. A whole team of 7 scuba divers with special equipment and a strong net dived into the depths.
But, fortunately or unfortunately, the mermaid was never caught.
The fact is that they had certain abilities! At that moment, when the fighters were about to throw the net, the entire team was thrown ashore by a powerful impulse.
Myth or reality
Without a doubt, all the above cases lead us to one conclusion: mermaids are real!
Who they are, where they came from, how they exist and how they manage to hide is unknown. Perhaps this is a separate civilization, or maybe another species unknown to science.
Be that as it may, one thing is clear: due to insufficient knowledge of the seas and oceans, we do not have the full amount of knowledge to say for sure whether these mysterious creatures exist or not. At the moment, everyone decides for themselves what to believe in. It is possible that one day we will be able to get to know these incredible creatures better.
What fisherman has not heard stories about how young girls with fish tails drag young men into the abyss? If you believe the encyclopedia, then a mermaid is just a character in Slavic mythology who protected fields, forests, rivers and lakes. But is this really so? If mermaids are just fictional characters, then where do the photos of captured mermaids come from? Few people can answer this question specifically. And these people most likely will not reveal such a secret for nothing. So, unfortunately, we cannot answer whether mermaids really exist.
But we can happily show photos of captured mermaids to the public. True, not all photos can be of excellent quality. Eyewitnesses do not always have a professional camera at hand that can take a high-quality photo in a split second. This is why we ask our dear visitors don't blame the authors too much for not very high quality photos.
By the way, there are several theories about who mermaids are. According to one of them, mermaids are nothing more than evil spirits that can only appear in the summer. And they appear solely to harm a person - to tickle him or simply drown him.
Photos of captured mermaids
According to another theory, the mermaid is just the soul of a girl or girl who died an unnatural death. And that these souls do not always want to bring evil to a person. Most often, they simply want to warn a person about danger or call for help themselves. By the way, when they publish photos of captured mermaids, most often the authors say that they heard someone calling for help.
The next theory tells us that the mermaid is a special character associated with plants and fertility. That this is a special spirit of the reservoir that monitors it and its purity.
Sometimes local residents, who sometimes themselves showed reporters photos of captured mermaids, said that mermaids are cursed wives. That during their lifetime they committed terrible acts and for this they were forced to live in a place inaccessible to people - under water. And that they will exist like this until the coming of Christ. And that in the underwater kingdom they are guarded by devils. However, to reassure all women, we can only say that in the photos of captured mermaids there was never a captured devil.
But beliefs about appearance almost always agree. Although they have some differences. Since mermaids live underwater, mandatory attributes such as scales and a tail must be present. To the differences about appearance I can only add that some argue that mermaids must have long, flowing hair. While others claim the opposite - as if mermaids have the head of a fish or they have mud instead of hair.
By the way, photos of captured mermaids do not always confirm one or the other theory. Just like mermaids’ hair color is not always light brown.
However, one can simply assume that there are simply different mermaids. How different-looking snails, fish and people exist.
The following things can be said about the positive traits of mermaids:
- It is almost always stated that mermaids protect small children.
- Sometimes they can save a person they like from death, for example when he drowns.
- Many consider them to be very cheerful - they often laugh and sing, and organize special dances and round dances.
- Often the appearance of a mermaid was equated with the harvest of a good and rich harvest.
If we talk about the negative sides of the “mermaid character,” we can note that they often like to lure young guys into the depths and throw mud and stones at people. They say that photos of captured mermaids do not always turn out good, also because the mermaid sprays a special blinding poison in the face of the victim. And the photographer simply cannot focus properly.
It is for this reason that it is advised not to look mermaids in the eyes when meeting them. And lower your gaze to the ground and pass by. Remember this, perhaps this advice will come in handy when meeting a mermaid.
And although we want to believe that mermaids are kind and decent guardians of lakes and rivers, facts, such as photos of captured mermaids, do not always prove this to us. On some of them they look scary. But let's just hope that if they exist, they are cute creatures who take care of nature and protect children from animals, and also help travelers not to drown in the quagmire.
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