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N is for Nigeria and Noah!

April 16, 2016 Claire Annette Noland 11 Comments

N

Welcome to the letter N in the A to Z Blog Challenge. My theme this year is Living in a Mermaid World.

N mami

The stories of Mami Wata (Mother Water) originated in Nigeria. She is a mermaid with the upper body of a woman and the lower part that of a fish. She is described as beautiful, jealous, generous, and at times, deadly. She often carries beautiful combs and mirrors as she is fond of combing her long black hair. It is difficult to pinpoint the exact beginning of stories about Mami Wati but it is believed that these stories spread widely through Africa and then to the Caribbean and the Americas where they were incorporated into the existing  cultures. Lesiren in Haiti can be traced back to Mami Wati. (You can read my  post about her here.) Here is a chart showing the variations of Mami Wata:

State / Territory / Region Name used
 Benin Mawu-Lisu (sometimes seen as an aspect of Mami Wata)
 Brazil Yemonjá (or Yemanjá; becoming popularly identified with the spirit)
 Republic of the Congo Kuitikuiti, Mboze, Makanga, Bunzi, Kambizi
 Colombia Mohana, Madre de agua (“Mother of Water”)
 Cuba Yemanya (or Yemaya; becoming popularly identified with the spirit)
 Democratic Republic of the Congo La Sirène (“The Mermaid”), Madame Poisson (“Mistress Fish”), Mamba Muntu
 Dominica Maman de l’Eau (“Mother of the Water”), Maman Dlo, Mama Glo
 Guinea Mamy Wata
 French Guiana Mamadilo
 Ghana Maame Water
 Grenada Mamadjo
 Guadeloupe Maman de l’Eau, Maman Dlo
 Guyana Watramama
 South Africa mamlambo zulu and NoMlambo Ndebele
 Haiti La Sirène, La Baleine (“The Whale”; a Rada loa that is a cross between La Sirène and Erzulie Balianne); (Erzulie and Simbi are also identified with La Sirène)
 Jamaica River Mama, River Maiden
 Martinique Lamanté (A pun on her dual nature as giver and devourer: L’Amanté, “The Lover” or La Manté, “The Mantis”), Manman Dlo
 Netherlands Antilles Maman de l’Eau, Maman Dlo
 Nigeria Mmuommiri (Igbo: Lady of the waters),[25] Obanamen or Oba n’amen {among the Benin of Edo State, means King/Queen of the waters,}, Yemoja{yoruba version}
 Suriname Watermama, Watramama
 Trinidad and Tobago Maman de l’Eau, Mama Dlo, Maman Dglo, Maman Dlo,[26] Mama Glow[27]

There are numerous stories about Mami Wata. In most she stalks men and women who are traveling in boats. She is also known to save children from drowning. She continues to be a source of inspiration to artists and writers in Africa as well as the Caribbean.

N mami wata

Mami Wata: Arts for Water Spirits in Africa and Its Diasporas by Henry John Drewel published by the Fowler Museum at UCLA

 

N fish husband

The Fish Husband retold by Mary Pope Osborne, Illustrated by Troy Howell in

Also from Nigeria is the legend of The Fish Husband in which a beautiful girl sees a very attractive man and falls immediately in love. When she tells him she’d like to be his wife he sadly explains that can’t be because he is actually a fish that can take on human shape. She doesn’t care and they are married without her parents knowledge. She prepares food for him and takes it to him in the river. Curious as to where his sister goes every day, her brother turns into a fly and follows her. He hears her sing a song and then sees a fish come out of the river and become a man. He rushes back to tell their parents. The furious parents send her to a relative’s home and go to the river. The brother sings the song and the fish husband appears and is killed by the girl’s father. When the daughter returns and learns of her husband’s death she throws herself into the water. Instead of drowning, she becomes a mermaid. Here is a link to the story retold by Mary Pope Osborne in Mermaid Tales from Around the World. 

 

Finally, in the Biblia Pauperum from the Biblia Sacra Germainica, printed in Nuremberg in 1483, there is an illustration of a mermaid, merman,and merdog swimming in the water outside of Noah’s Ark.

N noah's ark

 

Isn’t it interesting to see how mermaid tales have traveled the globe?

 

 

 

Filed Under: Blogging A to Z, Mermaids Tagged With: Mami Wata Mermaid, Nigerian Mermaids, Noah's Ark and Mermaids, The Fish Husband retold by Mary Pope Osborne

Previous Post: « M is for Mermaids in Mexico
Next Post: O is for Oannes and Oceania »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Tarkabarka says

    April 17, 2016 at 2:13 pm

    I think there is also a medieval, illustrated version of the Bible, where a Mermaid is listed among the occupants of the Ark. Why she had to be inside a boat during a flood, I am not entirely sure… 😀

    @TarkabarkaHolgy from
    The Multicolored Diary
    MopDog

    Reply
    • Claire Annette Noland says

      April 18, 2016 at 4:42 am

      That is so interesting. I’m going to do some research and see if I can find that story. Thanks for sharing.

      Reply
  2. Nilanjana Bose says

    April 17, 2016 at 8:45 pm

    Very, very interesting, indeed. Excellent job on tracing the stories across cultures. Special to find this, as I grew up in Nigeria 🙂

    Nilanjana
    Madly-in-Verse

    Reply
    • Claire Annette Noland says

      April 18, 2016 at 4:40 am

      Did you learn any Nigerian mermaid tales?

      Reply
  3. Pam says

    April 17, 2016 at 9:26 pm

    Heres an interesting peice of trivia. I had my DNA done and i discovered that my ancestors were from Benin and Cameroon. Sadly i have no affiliation with the water; i get seasick and i cant swim. Interestingly in Aruba there is a restaurant called Yemanja. yummay.

    Reply
    • Claire Annette Noland says

      April 18, 2016 at 4:39 am

      Wow! How exciting to learn where your ancestors are from. It seems that Africa was the birthplace of many mermaid legends. Do you want to learn to swim? I can teach you.

      Reply
  4. evelyne holingue says

    April 17, 2016 at 10:41 pm

    I notice the French version for the French Guiana. Fascinating to see the number of tales related to mermaids. An encyclopedia on its way, Claire…

    Reply
    • Claire Annette Noland says

      April 18, 2016 at 4:37 am

      I’m thinking of a collection of world wide mermaid tales. There are so many!

      Reply
  5. Li @ Flash Fiction says

    April 18, 2016 at 1:17 am

    Interesting…especially the bit about saving drowning children.

    Reply
    • Claire Annette Noland says

      April 18, 2016 at 4:48 am

      Isn’t it interesting how mermaids often have both good and bad qualities?

      Reply
  6. JazzFeathers says

    April 23, 2016 at 11:00 am

    But… didn’t the father imgine his daughter would have that reaction?
    Or maybe everybody’s reaction inthe legend is a symbol for something else?

    @JazzFeathers
    The Old Shelter – Jazz Age Jazz

    Reply

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