Brazilian Myth: Yara/Lara.

 

Lara..

Mãe das Águas 

 mother of the waters

Lara also Know as the “Lady of the Waters, or Mother of the waters” is most often depicted as an attractive yet very  dangerous  and seductive mermaid-like cryptid from Brazil.

She lives in the rivers and lagoons, where she sings her haunting songs to attract the local fisherman  using her beautiful voice and good looks to call them to their deaths, similar to Greek sirens.

 with the combined beauty of her voice and seductive figure she easily lures  men into the water where they seldom return. The few that do manage to escape her are haunted by her otherworldly songs for the rest of their life often driven to madness.

 In most  versions of this myth she lures men who fell under her spell into the water to drown them.

In other variants her spell  would compel him to simply leave everything he had  behind and live with her underwater forever because of her beauty ...though in this kinder version she is  said to be a very loving and attentive wife and would love him for  the rest of his life.

However she is   immortal and will spend most of eternity alone. (Humans only live so long).

In yet another versions  

She was a beautiful young warrior-woman, skilled in combat and the art of  war though she lives  in a patriarchal tribe, she eventually gained the admiration of the entire tribe and even her father the chief respected her ability, however her brothers grew jealous of her and  decided to murder her during the night. 

According to this version she defended herself from her brother's and accidentally killed them in the process upon discovering he's sons dead , her father became furious at her.

 She fled to the jungle  but was eventually captured and punished for her brothers death's, by being drowned in the river.

 A different ending to this version  claims the brothers  killed her the nigh of the attack and dumped her body in the river then  blamed the night goddess, Jaci, for her disappearance.

In both versions she ends up in the river, And is turned into a mermaid   by the nearby fish on the night of a full moon or by Jaci.

Now  she takes her revenge on all men by seducing them and drowning them in the river.

Some claim even being near her territory is enough to drive a man crazy and make him want to enter the water.

Viking Folklore: Margygr

 

Viking Folklore: Margygr the Norse mermaid.

🛶🧜‍♀️🌊

In Norse mythology, the margygr is a large mermaid like creature that's believed to live off the coast of Greenland.

Unlike later mermaid legends where the mermaid is beautiful,  this creature is described as either unnerving and hideous or strikingly beautiful both and forms always leaves it's witness's in aw/shock.

Like most mermaid sightings the Margygr is a human fish hybrid, most of the time she has the top half of a beautiful  large breasted long haired woman with webbed hands with a fish like appearance from the waist down, though she is much larger then a normal mermaid. 

In other accounts she's described as a giant terrifying and grotesque creature.

 Margygr translates to "Sea Giantess" or "Sea spirit". 

The Vikings considered these being to be more of a force of nature or powerful spirit then an actual creature, some would even pray to it for a safe voyage before they set sail. 

Sightings are rare,but when it is  spotted it's always  before a powerful storm and can be either beneficial and helpful to sailors or harmful and violent.  . 

🌊🧜‍♀️🌊

Russian myth: The Lake Baikal Swimmers.

 

Did the Soviet Union discover strange lake monster .

Lake Baikal is the deepest rift lake in the world. It is located in southern Siberia, it's home to all I ngs of aquatic life thriving in it's chilly waters. 

But what else could possibly be lurking in the depth of the vast lake?

Lake Baikal is often called the “Galapagos of Russia,” and for a good reason. Thousands of species of animals and plants can only be found in this lake or the surrounding area.

The Swimmers...

According to the legend, in 1982 a team of Russian Navy divers set out to  explore Lake Baikal when, to their surprise and  amazement, they encounter large, humanoid beings possibly as tall as nine feet in hight.

They procided to  try and capture them with nets! This deadly ecounter would eventually be known as The  Swimmers of Lake Baikal.

,........

In 1982. During a regular military dive exercise and working at a depth of 50 meters (164 feet), the divers noticed something strange in the water with them.

The divers reported sightings of humanoid-shaped creatures that had bodies that stretched out 3 meters (9ft) in length..

The divers described these beings as having silver silhouettes, and some had transparent spheres on their heads. These spheres have also been described as looking like an open umbrella being held over the creatures’ heads.

Once the divers surfaced, they reported the sighting to a commander who ordered the men, back into the ice cold lake  and told them to catch one of these strange swimmers.

 Seven divers reentered the water and again encountered the Swimmers, which forcefully threw the soviet divers to the lake’s surface.

There were not enough  decompression chambers on the shore for all seven of the divers, and three unlucky divers were left to die from the caisson disease, aka decompression sickness or “the bends”. The attempt to contact the Lake Baikal Swimmers had turned deadly.

.... 

First telling.. 

The story of the Swimmers first appeared in a book written by Soviet/Russian UFOlogist named Vladimir Azhazha. He has been studying UFOlogy for  decades but is also know for making alleged  false claims about aliens in Russia.

.....

Many people especially those in the government claim this story is nothing more then an urban legend.

The city of Severobaikalsky, near the port of Baikal, did have a special base where dives were conducted by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Emergency Situations.

However managers of the base have all said the story of the swimmers is utter  nonsense and that there has never been a single death of a diver at the base, and the town of Severobaikalsky formally became a town in 1984, two years after the supposed navy exercise in the story occurred.

Though if the military had actually encountered otherworldly creatures at the bottom of the lake especially one's that killed some of their personal, do you really think they would admit it?

So what do you think, are the swimmers real or just a cool urban legend?

    

Scottish Myth: The Blue Men of Minch.

 

 

 

 

The turbulent waters between Scotland and the Isle of Lewis  is called The Minch and like many large bodies of water, there are legends of otherworldly creatures lurking below it's depths.

The strait between the Island of Lewis and the Shiant Isles was known in the 19th century as ‘the stream of the Blue Men

They are a personification of the unpredictable and dangerous waters they inhabit.

The Blue Men of Minch are blue skinned men  similar to mermaids with tails and webbed hands. Also known as storm kelpies, they can use their powers to create storms to capsize ships and drown sailors. 

 

 

                                                                         The Shiant Isles  

The Blue Men are the source of many sea shanties.

Poetry was the primary form of defense against them. The chief "Blue Man" would recite two lines of poetry, and the captain of the ship would have to complete it to stop the attack.

 

They live in underwater caves in a clan system, while generations of folklore say they can only be beaten by making sure you get the last word in a rhyming duel.

Old legends claim that many Ship Captains escaped a watery fate thanks  the sharpness of his tongue, while those less fortunate are left to perish in the cold and raging waters common to the region.

However, innocent fishermen who have done nothing to anger the Sea Kelpies will be allowed pass through the area safely.

While they  sleep  the weather would remain calm but they could create storms whenever they wished too do so especially when angered.

 

 

The Blue Men can also help the locals, with a Samhain or Halloween tradition involving the lighting of a candle by the sea.

Ale is then poured into the water in order to encourage the Blue Men to leave seaweed on the beach as fertilizer

Physically they  are the same size as an average  human , but their strength if far greater then a normal man.

They wear a blue cap's on their head  and have grey faces which often  appear above the waves when they are surveying the seas.

 

 In summer weather they skim the waved just below the surface but when the wind is high they revel in the storm and swim with heads erect, splashing the waters with delight. Sometimes they are seen floating from the waist out to sea, and sometimes turning round like porpoises when they dive.”

 

 

 

 

 

Irish Folklore: The Merrow 🧜‍♀️🌊

 

 

 

                                                   🧜‍♀️ The Merrow🍀

Mermaids are a global phenomena, every culture (Or at least the ones nearest the sea) have legends dating back century's from sailors encounters the beach side sighting.s.

 

Today we talk about the Irish Mermaid: The Merrow.

 

 Just like the alluring Sirens of Greek Mythology, The beautiful songs of the Merrow (The females ) was used to entice humans to come  closer.

As far as mermaid tales go these mermaids were mostly kind to humans, however they would sometimes ,  attack sailors or anyone else who startled or threatens them.

The Irish were weary of  them  because of their sometimes violent nature, they could be violent or friendly on a whim…and if angered they  could be Very  dangerous. Tales of violence (such as pulling the arms and legs off of their victims) were not uncommon…

Like most mermaid stories, human men  especially sailors  would see the beautiful female Merrow on the shores or in the sea, and they would fall in love with them, despite the risks…some would try to steal their cohuleen driuth (magic caps, similar to a Selkies pelt), so that they could not go back underwater.

 Many marriages (some less than ideal, given the method of “wooing”) were  arranged between Merrow and human men…

The Merrow who lived with men on the land (by choice or force), would often tire of their new lifestyle.

Over time, they would become tired of life on land and long to return to the sea they once called home,  the lucky ones, who still had their magic caps, would eventually find a way home…

Other female Merrow would sometimes lure men with their enchanting voices and good looks, and then take them under the waves to live amongst them. They would dwell together in a bewitched state, sometimes for years or even decades …

The male Merrow would often abducted sailors and keep  them enslaved beneath the sea!

The females had light green hair, or long, golden hair…they always wore enchanted caps which allowed them to swim far beneath the sea’s surface and to live safely underwater.

Next time your on the Irish shore keep a look out that beautiful bonny lass may be more then she appears 

Monsters, cryptids and yokai: The Rusalka..

                                           
 Rusalka by daekazu on deviantart https://www.deviantart.com/daekazu/art/Rusalka-187551820
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The Russian Mermaid ...
She is as dangerous as she is beautiful 

Rusalka or Pusalka is commonly described as  a water nymph^..

The Rusalka is a female spirit in Russian / Slavic folklore and their  equivalent of a mermaid. though she has two leg's insted of a finned tail and in some versions can walk on land and even climb tree's..


She has different names in various cultures: rusalka (in East Slavic cultures) vila (Czech, Slovak), wiła (Polish).

According to most accounts the rusalki were a type of fish-women, who lived at the bottom of rivers and lake's.

In some legends she would leave her watery home late at night together with other Rusalki she would walk out to the bank and dance in meadows. If they saw handsome men, they would  enchant them with songs and dancing, mesmerize them, then lead them away to the river and to their inevitable  death.

                               

                                               Art by Anna Vinogradova Kransndar 1975
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A Rusalka most often  appears as a beautiful young women, she will site by the shore of a lake usually coming her hair or sometimes singing this is done as a means to lure in her prey..

In some version's she is a type of water spirit in other's she is a young woman that was ether murdered by her lover of  who committed suicide by drowning due to an unhappy marriage or who were violently drowned against their will (especially after becoming pregnant with unwanted children), and now  must live out their time on Earth as rusalki.

However,in some  Slavic versions  not all rusalki encounters were linked with death from water It is accounted by most stories that the soul  of a young woman who had died in or near a river or a lake would come back to haunt that waterway.

Though this version of a  rusalka is not invariably malevolent or evil, and would be allowed to rest in peace if her death is avenged.
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In some versions she has green sea week like hair....

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Her main purpose is, however, to lure young men, seduced by either her looks or her voice, (Similar  to a Siren or a Succubus)  into the depths of the waterways where she would entangle their feet with her long hair and submerge them. Her body would instantly become very slippery and not allow the victim to cling on to her in order to reach the surface.

                                           

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She would then wait until the victim had drowned, or, on some occasions, tickle them to death, as she laughed. 



 It is also believed, by a few accounts, that rusalki can change their appearance to match the tastes of men they are about to seduce  although a rusalka is generally considered to represent universal beauty, therefore is highly feared yet respected in Slavic culture.

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                                                Ivan Kramskoi, The Mermaids, 1871
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In some of the older stories the Rusalka was a symbol of fertility and not consider evil in the old pagan beliefes



 They came out of the water in the spring to transfer life-giving moisture to the fields and thus helped nurture the crops.



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Celebrations: Rusalka Week..
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The Rusalki  are believed to be at their most dangerous during the Rusalka Week in early June. At this time, they were supposed to have left their watery depths in order to swing on branches of birch and willow trees by night. Swimming during this week was strictly forbidden, lest these  mermaids would drag a swimmer down to the river bed.
                                             

                                                    

                                                       Rusalka by Ivan Bilibin - 1934
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A common feature of the celebration of Rusalnaya was the ritual banishment or burial of the rusalki at the end of the week, which remained as entertainment in Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine until the 1930s


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Other mediums ..
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 The Rusalka trilogy of novels by C. J. Cherryh feature and revolve around a rusalka named Eveshka.

 Rusalka is an opera by Alexander Dargomyzhsky. - 1856

"Rusalka" is a poem by Mikhail Lermontoy 1831.


Nikolai Medtner's Third Piano Concerto is based on Mikhail Lermontov's ballad.

A Rusalkas is the main character in "The Surface Breaks", a YA novel and retelling of Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Mermaid" by Louise O'Neill.

 Rusalkas appear as monsters in the Action Role playing game The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing.


 "The Last Wish " by Andrzej Sapkowski, a Polish novel from the Witcher series, in which Geralt briefly encounters a Rusalka that has fallen in love with a cursed man.

 "Fatima Rusalka", a single by alternative metal band Alesana  ..

There are many many other examples of Rusalka in modern media  bedside's the one's i mentioned here.. :)
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The Naiad; Water Nymph

                                                                      Naiad


The Greek word is Ναϊάς  Naiás, pronounced na͜a.i.ás, plural Ναϊάδες  Naiades,  (na͜a.i.ád.es) It derives from νάειν (náein), "to flow", or νᾶμα (nãma), "running water". "Naiad" has several English pronunciations.. ˈneɪæd neɪəd,  naɪæd, naɪəd.

In Greek mythology, the Naiads (Ancient Greek: Ναϊάδες) were a type of water nymph (female spirit) who presided over fountains, wells, springs, streams, brooks and other bodies of fresh water.  They are distinct from river gods, who embodied rivers, and the very ancient spirits that inhabited the still waters of marshes, ponds and lagoon-lakes, such as pre-Mycenaean Lerna in the Argolid.

Naiads were associated with fresh water, as the (Oceanids) were with saltwater and the Nereids specifically with the Mediterranean, but because the Greeks thought of the world's waters as all one system, which percolated in from the sea in deep cavernous spaces within the earth, there was some overlap. Arethusa, the nymph of a spring, could make her way through subterranean flows from the Peloponnesus, to surface on the island of Sicily.

                                               It is considered a bad omen to capture a naiad

They were often the object of archaic local cults, worshiped as essential to humans. Boys and girls at coming-of-age ceremonies dedicated their childish locks to the local naiad of the spring. In places like Lerna their waters' ritual cleansing were credited with magical medical properties. Animals were ritually drowned there. Oracles might be situated by ancient springs.

Naiads could also be dangerous,  Hylas of the Argo's crew was lost when he was taken by naiads fascinated by his beauty...

 The naiads were also known to exhibit jealous tendencies. Theocritus' story of naiad jealousy was that of a shepherd, Daphnis, who was the lover of Nomia or Echenais; Daphnis had on several occasions been unfaithful to Nomia and as revenge she permanently blinded him. Salmacis forced the youth Hermaphroditus into a carnal embrace and, when he sought to get away, fused with him.  The water nymph associated with particular springs was known all through Europe in places with no direct connection with Greece, surviving in the Celtic wells of northwest Europe that have been rededicated to Saints, and in the medieval Melusine.

Walter Burkert points out, "When in the Iliad  Zeus calls the gods into assembly on Mount Olympus, it is not only the well-known Olympians who come along, but also all the nymphs and all the rivers; Okeanos alone remains at his station  hearers recognized this impossibility as the poet's hyperbole, which proclaimed the universal power of Zeus over the ancient natural world: "the worship of these deities," Burkert confirms, "is limited only by the fact that they are inseparably identified with a specific locality.


In another legend a mythic king is credited with marrying a naiad and founding a city: it was the newly arrived Hellenes justifying their presence. The loves and rapes of Zeus, according to Graves' readings, record the supplanting of ancient local cults by Olympian ones (Graves 1955, passim). Fountain of the Naiads, Piazza della Repubblica, Rome, Italy  So, in the back-story of the myth of Aristaeus, Hypseus, a king of the Lapiths, married Chlidanope, a naiad, who bore him Cyrene.

 Aristaeus had more than ordinary mortal experience with the naiads: when his bees died in Thessaly, he went to consult them. His aunt Arethusa invited him below the water's surface, where he was washed with water from a perpetual spring and given advice.   

St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans was formerly known as Nyades Street, and is parallel to Dryades Street.       

                                              Gioacchino Pagliei The Naiads 1881




Types of Naiad
 
Crinaeae (fountains)   
Eleionomae (marshes)   
Limnades or Limnatides (lakes)   
Pegaeae (springs)   
Potameides (rivers) 

Diferent kinds of Nymph         
Alseid   
Auloniad   
Aurai   
Crinaeae   
Dryads   
Eleionomae   
Hamadryads   
Hesperides   
Limnades   
Lampads   
Meliae.   
Naiads   
Napaeae   
Nereids   
Oceanids   
Oreads   
Pegaeae   
Pegasides   
Pleiades   
Potamides  
  

Other Water Types  
   
Camenae   
The Lady of the Lake   
Melusine   
Mermaid   
Nix   
Ondine   
Rusalka   
Siren