Do mermaids exist? No. Evidence of the existence of mermaids - historical facts

Mentions of mermaids are found not only in mythology, but also in the chronicles of many nations, as well as in the stories of sailors and farmers. The Greeks called them naiads and sirens, the Baltic people called them undines. Scientists have long debated whether mermaids really exist.

Mermaid appearance

According to legends, sirens look different. There are 3 options for the appearance of these sea creatures.

1. Half fish, half woman. A beautiful creature with a pretty face and snow-white skin, the upper half of whose body does not differ from the appearance of an earthly woman. In most cases, mermaids seen by people are brunettes. However, a tail covered with scales instead of human legs indicates maritime origin undines.
2. Little mermaid. Some people have seen a miniature creature that looks like a child near the shore. The main difference from the usual three year old girl- developed female breast And fish tail.
3. Monster. Sometimes a mermaid is a monster with green hair, sharp teeth and gills, with growths on its face and tail.

It is possible that among the sirens there is a division into species, so eyewitnesses describe not only charming, but also terrible creatures.

Among the mysterious sea ​​creatures There are also males. The ancient Greeks called them tritons.

Undines can live in seas and rivers, as in Slavic mythology. According to one myth, drowned girls become river spirits. However, real mermaids are different from the disembodied beauties that are depicted in legends. There are people who are lucky enough to touch naiads and hear their voice.

Some researchers put forward a hypothesis: the inhabitants of the seas could be the distant ancestors of people. Scientific evidence There is no such hypothesis yet, but numerous episodes of encounters with naiads suggest that mermaids exist.

Contacts with people

One of the first mentions of a “half-fish” with the face and body of a woman can be found in Icelandic chronicles of the 12th century. The "monster" was spotted in the waves of the Greenland Sea. The Icelanders named the unusual find “Margigr”. At that time, meeting a humanoid tailed creature was a shock for superstitious people. The chronicles do not say whether the mermaid escaped her pursuers.

Other information about naiads:

• The book “Wonders of Nature” by Sigault de la Fonda tells about a siren that was found in Holland. In 1403, during a monstrous storm, the waves washed ashore a mermaid, entangled in seaweed. The women found the siren in this form. They brought her to Haarlem, dressed her and began to teach her the intricacies of human life. The mermaid partially adapted among people. She knew how to knit and attended church, but she never learned to talk. An unusual resident of Haarlem tried several times to return to her native element, but her attempts were unsuccessful. A sea beauty died on land 15 years after meeting people.
• The famous discoverer of the territories, Henry Hudson, in his logbook described an incident that happened to two people from his team. On June 15, 1608, sailors saw a dark-haired woman overboard. A tail speckled with black dots was the only thing that distinguished the undine from earthly women.
• On October 31, 1881, American newspapers notified the public of a sensation: the body of a mermaid was caught in the bay without signs of life. The unusual find was brought to New Orleans. The corpse was examined by famous scientists and journalists. For the first time, researchers were faced with an irrefutable fact: sirens exist.
• In 1890, people saw a mermaid several times off the coast of Scotland. The dark-haired beauty swam in the sea, then rested on the underwater rocks. It is worth saying that the Orkney Islands attract sirens with particular force. Some of our contemporaries living in Scotland mention meetings with undines, but not every eyewitness is believed by friends and relatives.

This is only a small part of the stories concerning humanoid creatures. We can say that the stories about sirens are fiction, but physical evidence of the existence of newts and naiads (their remains) cannot be called a myth, even if one wants to.

Mermaid Murders

Since ancient times, people have been interested in unusual creatures, but when meeting a mermaid, not everyone behaved humanely and prudently. Fear and the hunting instinct pushed the sailors to cruel acts. As legends say, passion often flared up between undines and people. The main passion of the sailors was the desire to catch an unusual creature.

In some printed publications the murders of mermaids were described.

1. In 1737, an English magazine reported that off the coast of the town of Exter, fishermen lifted a male mermaid onto the deck along with their catch. Seeing an unusual creature trying to get out of the net, the men beat it with sticks. The screams and moans of the prisoner did not stop the angry sailors. When the sea dweller stopped moving, he was pulled out of the nets and examined. The resemblance between the newt and man was striking. The corpse of the killed “sea creature” was taken to the Exter Museum. There it was shown to visitors as an exhibit.
2. On the coast of Mauritius, sailors of the English ship Halifax killed several sea creatures in 1739. The bodies of the unfortunate undines were roasted and eaten.
3. Cases of killing and eating sirens have also been observed in Central Africa. There are missionary reports that report alarming habits of the natives. Church workers sought to find out whether sirens had souls. The presence of a mermaid's soul would be proof of the ongoing African tribes cannibalism.
4. IN early XIX century, near the coast of Ireland, a group of people noticed a black-haired mermaid. One of the men shot her and took the mermaid’s life.
5. In 1830, a small mermaid was spotted near one of the Hebrides islands. Not afraid of people, the siren splashed in the water. The men tried to catch her to no avail. A local boy started throwing stones, one of which killed the siren. The corpse of the unfortunate woman was washed ashore by the waves. An English researcher in 1900 talked with eyewitnesses who touched the body of the dead mermaid. You have to believe that everything they say is true.

Love stories

The time of hunting for sirens is behind us, and now there is pure interest. What excites our imagination most is love stories between naiads and people.

Some Greek families who have preserved records of the origins of their distant ancestors are sure that the blood of mermaids flows in their veins. IN Ancient Greece stories of men being seduced by naiads and sirens were not considered something sensational.

At that time, people’s attitude towards other intelligent beings was respectful, so women and men were not afraid of the thought of intermarrying with the inhabitants of the seas and rivers. Thus, the founders of the Irish family of Machkayer were a man and a mermaid.

The fact that mermaids exist is supported by several pieces of evidence:

• In one of the villages in Scotland, a romance broke out between an undine and a local shepherd, but the guy was not distinguished by his devotion to his chosen one. Feeling that her beloved was avoiding her and did not want further communication, the mermaid hit him with a stone. Soon the shepherd died.
• At the beginning of the 20th century, in the Russian village of Maltseva, two young men married river beauties. Before the wedding, the naiads were baptized.
• In the early 2000s. In one Tuvan village, a drama unfolded: a young man named Saigyr fell in love with a river mermaid. Every morning the young shepherd hurried to the river, where the undine was waiting for him. When Saigyr’s parents found out who their son was in love with, they turned to the shaman for advice and help. The shaman reported that the river creature had bewitched the guy. To free Saigyr from love addiction, the sorcerer performed the ceremony. The mermaid stopped showing herself to her earthly “fiancé”.

Modern evidence of sirens

In past centuries, the inhabitants of the deep sea showed trust in people. For this, the undines often paid with their lives. IN modern world Sea beauties are showing more caution than before.

Reasons for infrequent encounters with undines:

• pollution of seas and rivers;
• abundance of water transport;
• wary attitude of people towards sirens.

In 1992, fishermen from the American village of Key Beach noticed mermaids near the shore. The agile creatures managed to escape. While pulling out the fishing net, the men saw that it was cut.

Sirens can still be found off the coast of Scotland to this day. One elderly fisherman told reporters that the mermaid became his assistant. Several years ago he caught an undine, but then, touched by her plaintive moans, he released her. Since then, the mermaid has caught a lot of fish in his net. Every trip to sea becomes a holiday for a Scot.

All this evidence suggests that sirens actually live in the seas.

Conclusion

There are many references to women with fish tails in chronicles, scientific reports and newspapers. Superstitious people considered undines to be demonic creatures. Romantic natures sympathized with the cute humanoid creatures who were cruelly treated by the inhabitants of the land. Nowadays, the press reports on new episodes of “communication” between people and sea creatures. Evidence of the real nature of sirens comes not only from the words of eyewitnesses, but also from the remains of sea inhabitants.

A mermaid is a mythological creature with human body and a head and a fish tail instead of legs. The name Mermaid was made up of “simple” words that are old in English words'Sea' and 'Virgin'. There are many stories about Mermaids over the centuries, but there are the most common myths, according to some of them, Mermaids enchant people, sing songs to them, their singing distracts people from work, causing them to walk on the deck or drive their ships aground.

Other stories have Mermaids trying to drown men as they imitate a girl drowning. Some people believe that they carry men underwater without realizing that underwater people cannot breathe, while others say that they drown men out of anger.

First famous story Rusalka was in 1000 BC when a goddess named Atargatis loved the mortal Shepard, but later unintentionally killed him, feeling shame for what she had done, she jumped into the lake to take the form of a fish, but at the same time, she was still was beautiful on the upper half and became a fish on the lower half, thus creating the creatures known as Mermaids.

Another popular story is related to Alexander

Macedonian (Alexander the Great). According to it, his half-sister turned into a mermaid after her death. Rusalka, the story says that when the sailors met her, she asked the crew “Is Tsar Alexander alive?” (Alexander was her youngest beloved son) and if the crew did not answer correctly, then she raised a terrible storm, which could be fatal for the ship and the entire crew on board, but there was one single correct answer, thanks to which the crew could save their lives: “ He lives and reigns and conquers the world,” then she would calm the waters and wish the crew a good swim.

In Great Britain, seeing a mermaid was considered an omen, a prediction natural Disasters and more often than not, they are not the ones who cause it. Mermaids are also a sign of bad weather conditions. Most people agree that Mermaids are nothing more than a myth, but why then do so many people claim to have seen Mermaids all over the world?
Zoologists believe that these people actually saw Dugongs. Dugongs are mammals that use their arms to swim. Experts say that Dugongs can appear as Mermaids from a distance, although their resemblance is somewhat debatable.

Photo sea ​​creature- DugongIn 1493, Christopher Columbus reported sightings of three mermaids playing and jumping out of the water. He said that they were not as beautiful as they were described, although they had to some extent the appearance of a man.

The Corpse of a Supposed Mermaid Many people have tried to capitalize on the Mermaid myth by creating man-made hoaxes, such as stitching a monkey and a fish together to create what appears to be the remains of a Mermaid. Some even went so far as to use the actual bodies of the deceased and add fish tails instead of legs.

Sirenomelia also known as "Mermaid Syndrome" is rare disease, as a result of which the child is born with his legs fused together. This is a rare disease, on average it occurs no more than once in 100,000 births, and usually does not end fatally. If we take into account all the facts, there are also some findings that cannot be confirmed or refuted, and most importantly, that people sometimes are born with this syndrome. All this gives reason to assume that this is not just someone’s fantasy, but perhaps an alternative branch of evolution, a branch of civilization that lives in sea ​​depths and to this day.

Do mermaids exist in real life? This question has tormented people for many centuries. There is still no clear answer to this.

Some claim that they have seen these creatures with their own eyes, others that they are immaterial and live like spirits.

The appearance of mermaids is also described in different ways: their hair is either black, then green, or red; some claim that there are fangs, others do not; For some mermaids are beautiful, for others they are ugly. There is no description of a similar character either: they are both good and evil. The only similarity is the presence of a tail instead of legs.

Mermaids: myth or truth

Many people believe in the existence of mermaids.

There are references in official sources to the discovery of these creatures.

Mermaids and Modern Times

It was possible to catch and beat a mermaid to death in the 18th century. The news about this was published in an English magazine. They caught her with fishing nets. When rising to the surface, she made sounds similar to a human groan.

The creature turned out to be so scary that the panicked fishermen began to beat it.

He was preserved in alcohol and sent to the museum; later the corpse was thrown out due to loss of interest among visitors.

Some were able to taste this creature. So, in 1739, sailors caught a mermaid, fried her over a fire and ate her. The meat, according to them, is soft, tasty, tender, reminiscent of veal.

IN late XIX century in one of the American newspapers was message about a found mermaid. But there was no living evidence of this phenomenon. This event remained as a legend.

Mermaids exist: proof from the times of the USSR

The events that unfolded in 1982 remained a mystery for many years.

Several mermaids have been seen under the water of Lake Baikal. The military was sent there to train for special missions.

By order of their superiors, the military swimmers sank into the water to a depth of 50 meters. According to rumors, there were mermaids of enormous size there: they reached 3 meters in length, and their scales shone like silver. On their heads, witnesses saw strange headdresses that looked like round helmets.

As soon as the submariners descended to the required depth, they immediately encountered these creatures. According to them, this is definitely not people: they did not have scuba gear, special wetsuits, and their movement was much faster than a professional swimmer.

The team of eight people was given order to establish contact with unusual creatures. To do this, you need to catch at least one individual. The men were well prepared for the meeting: gear and equipment were all at the highest level.

However the operation failed. As soon as the scuba divers swam too close to the mermaids, they were instantly thrown ashore. Due to the sudden ascent, without stopping, the people participating in the special operation developed decompression sickness. Most became disabled for life, and three were not saved: they died within two days.

Proof of the existence of mermaids in modern times

Nowadays, evidence of the existence of mermaids appears periodically. Not as often as some enthusiasts would like, but nevertheless they happen.

• For example, at the beginning of 2016 year, an article was published in an Indian newspaper talking about the found girl with a fish tail.
• Was found in the city of Saharanpur girl with a fin like a fish. However, it later turned out that this was just a child with a rare disease - sirenomelia. Later baby died without living even a few days.
• In 2014, a woman resembling a mermaid was found near Mexico. Eyewitnesses called the police. They, in turn, called the expert service. The workers examined the monster and took it home. Then the rumors were divided into two parts: some say that the body was taken to an area where aliens and unusual animals are studied, others say that it was a dummy for the film “Pirates” Caribbean Sea" No evidence was provided for either version. It is still not known where the body went.

What mermaids are there in myths and legends?

U different nations There are legends about the existence of mermaids and descriptions of meetings with them.

Each nation has its own creatures: according to Western legend, they are kind, they help people, in Eastern legends, they are evil, they want to kill a person.

• Slavic mythology claims that mermaids help lost travelers. Since they were mentioned in different time, then this fact indirectly proves their existence.
• They are first mentioned in ancient Roman myths. In them, mermaids were called sirens, sometimes - nymphs, undines, and nereids.
• But according to European legends, these creatures have no physical bodies. These are spirits that control the waters of seas, oceans, and sometimes lakes. Later, these creatures began to be considered energy that can enter a person, control him, and help fulfill desires.

The image and appearance have not yet been determined. Scientists involved in mythology and mystical phenomena have their own opinion on this matter. They believe that this division in appearance occurred due to the fact that people saw these creatures at different stages of its development.

As it says popular belief, these creatures are girls who died due to unrequited love. Sometimes babies who died along with their pregnant mother turn to them.

Can people meet a mermaid in real life? What to do?

There is no clear answer to this question. There is always a possibility, even though some people say that mermaids do not exist. What to do to an ordinary person what if he meets a nymph? According to legends, you can ask a mermaid to improve your appearance and rejuvenate yourself. True, this only applies to women. Men, according to legend, most often die from these creatures. They are either drowned or scared to death.

You can ask a mermaid to improve her appearance on a full moon by performing a small ritual. There is no need to look for her in special places: her spirit can be summoned at any body of water located near your home. There are rituals that help the mermaid spirit penetrate a person, thereby increasing his power. This can be done in just a month.

Let's sum it up

The woman with the fish tail is half myth, half reality. On the one hand there is plenty of evidence different times about their existence. On the other hand - no no physical evidence. Some speculate on this topic. To quickly become famous, people create artificial mermaids. But they are quickly exposed.

It catches your eye extremely rarely: in places where there are practically no people. Those who met her had various kinds Problems: from disability to death. But some were still lucky - they helped them find their way home. Such creatures frighten people because their appearance is unusual. People can kill them out of fear, and there is recorded evidence of this.
However, let everyone decide for themselves whether to believe in this or not.

On June 1 comes Spirits Day - Mermaid Week, a time when, according to the beliefs of our ancestors, one could easily meet mermaids and mawoks. And if so, then let's talk about them.

Sea maidens were loved by mathematicians and sung by poets; fairy tales and legends are dedicated to them, but was it possible to unravel the mystery of these water creatures? Siren, Ondine, Little Mermaid - what is the difference, where did the story about mermaids-prostitutes begin and why to this day you should not go into the water during “mermaid week”.
Did these semi-terrestrial inhabitants really exist? If we summarize all the studies of cultural scientists, yes, but everything could be different than we imagine. The truth about real mermaids is somewhere in the middle. Everything is approximately the same as with the legends about dragons. “Fire breathers” seemed like pure fiction until dinosaur skeletons were studied. The image of dragons was conveyed by people - they encrypted reality into a fairy-tale code, which we are still unraveling.

The main characteristic of a mermaid is that she is not alone, she has many relatives. This is precisely why mathematicians loved mermaids; they argued: does a number give birth to a mermaid or does a mermaid give birth to a number?
Mermaids are growing exponentially, just start studying. There are so many water ladies in myths different countries that the German writer Andreas Crass created a “mermaid encyclopedia” in which he described about 20 species of half-man, half-fish. He writes about naiads, nereids, melusines, sirens, who are distant or close relatives of each other
Andreas Crass also talks about the historical background, for example, the story of the sea dwellers in Homer's Odyssey. In the poem we're talking about about one of the types of underwater brethren - “sirens”. They serious challenge for sailors who are forced to sail past the island of “mellifluous sirens”. Men, hearing the singing, forgot about their home, wives and children - they derailed life and the ship. Odysseus, however, according to the story, once ordered his companions to plug their ears with wax and tie himself to the mast so as not to be tempted. But this is not about a wise decision, but about what real story formed the basis of the plot.
It may well be that sirens are an epithet for beautiful girls lung behavior that mastered the art of love.
The fact is that in the place that Homer writes about, there really was an island, but there were brothels there and, accordingly, there lived not underwater, but completely earthly creatures - ancient Greek prostitutes who lured sailors, promising such pleasures that they could forget your wife, children, and home.

What do fairy tales that involve mermaids and sisters talk about? Perhaps we are talking about unusual female muses, devoted and therefore radically changing roles: from muse to she-devil.
The sad and romantic fairy tale about the Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen is one of the most popular in childhood. However, her main character not a mermaid, but a sea maiden. Literally from Danish, the one we called Mermaid is called “Little Sea Lady” and this lady belongs to the class of “Sea Maidens”. They have family ties with mermaids, but they still aren’t. The Rusalka is a heroine of Slavic mythology who lives near bodies of water, while the Sea Maiden is the sister of her sisters and was born under water.
The mermaid, in the direct interpretation of the word, can be found on earth during Mermaid Week (adjacent to the holiday of Trinity) and she has legs. It is believed that mermaids came into the water from the earthly world: girls who died before marriage or during Mermaid Week, those who drowned, and less often, unbaptized children. Often the hearts of mermaids are broken, so they take revenge - they lure men into the water, from where the latter do not return. A clear description of them appearance no, sometimes these are young girls in white clothes and with long hair, Sometimes ugly women with large breasts, which they throw over their shoulders.
The progenitor of the sea maidens is considered to be the Babylonian god Oannes. He changed his shape for a long time, in the end he was a kind of merman - the head and torso of a man and a fish tail instead of legs. The first woman with a tail is the goddess of the Moon and fishing - Atargate.
But let's return to fairy tales.

Andersen's Little Mermaid has a tail and has never drowned; she is a "Sea Maiden" who lives in the underwater kingdom. According to the plot, when the underwater lady turns 15, she is allowed to look at the world above the water. From this moment the active development of the plot begins: the prince drowns, she saves the young man and it is love at first sight. Then the girl makes inquiries about people and learns from her grandmother about the delights human soul, which is reborn and generally immortal. A witch is called to help you feel human; she takes away the voice of the Little Mermaid. The agreement is signed, but the prince prefers the earthly girl to the voiceless water girl. The ex-mermaid is facing death and the sisters offer a solution - if she kills the prince, she will again become an underwater inhabitant. But it turns into foam. It seems that this is a sad ending, but as cultural experts explain, and in the text of the fairy tale itself, there is this point: the little mermaid becomes one of the daughters of the air, radically changing the element. And here he learns that with the dream of human legs not everything is so bad: she has 300 years to do good deeds and then be a person with an immortal soul.
The Brothers Grimm's "Mermaid in the Pond" is less harmless, although still beautiful. The impoverished miller promised to give the mermaid his newborn son for the returned wealth, but when the child was born, he changed his mind and began to hide the boy. One day, the prince, bequeathed before birth, already married at that time, approached the pond and was safely sank to the bottom. The wife was not happy about this fate, turned to the witch and rescued her betrothed from under the water. He survived thanks to the titanic efforts of another woman, who, it is possible, also had mermaid roots.
These fairy tales do not talk about prostitutes who lure with their voice and wonderful appearance; here we have another type of mermaid and another strategy: sacrifice and love for the sake of immortality, retribution for betrayal and failure to fulfill obligations.
In other stories and legends, a certain census of fears is also often traced: losing a loved one, betrayal, as well as self-doubt and jealousy. In fact, all representatives of the mermaid tribe - femme fatales, who are depicted approximately the way witches will be depicted later: with a mirror and fluffy hair.

There is a legend that lives today “thanks to” the disease “sleep apnea syndrome,” which is secretly called “The Curse of Ondina.” As the legend says: the “little mermaid” - a maiden named Ondina, placed a curse on her betrothed after he found someone else several decades later: “You swore to me with your morning breath! So know - while you are awake, it will be with you, but as soon as you fall asleep, the breath will leave your body and you will die."
Today, according to statistics, 10% of the male population of the planet suffers from “night apnea syndrome,” and about 40% are prone to this disease after 40 years. People suffering from it are able to breathe only while awake.
And yet, are mermaids a myth or reality? The legends about them excite human consciousness. Ideas about mermaids are contradictory, so it is difficult to say what they are: good or evil creatures? Each nation gives its own idea of ​​them. Let's look at the representation of our ancestors. How much modern performance about these aquatic inhabitants corresponds to the idea of ​​our ancestors. In Slavic mythology, creatures called mermaids are known. The image of a mermaid is originally Slavic. It is believed that the word mermaid comes from "river", "blond". Apparently, because of this, in the modern world, only water has become considered the habitat of mermaids. In Ukraine, mermaids were called Mavki, and in Belarus they were called Vodynitsa or Kupalka. Their main purpose is to protect forests, waters and fields. But how can you do this if you are only in water?
Mermaid image

The fact is that image of modern mermaids different from the mythological image. Slavic mermaid- This beautiful girl in a white dress. They never had a fish tail. Therefore, they could easily move on land, guard forests and sit in trees. The image of a mermaid with a tail came to people’s minds from literature and other art. But in Slavic mythology, “water girls” have legs. The tails belong to the sirens, whom many know from the legends of Odysseus.
Long flowing hair is an attribute that mermaids have in the mythology of all nations. Nowadays girls with loose hair on the street are the norm, but before this was unacceptable. There is even an expression:

"Walks like a mermaid (unkempt girl)."

This is a note for modern fashionistas.
In some places, mermaids have the image of girls with flowing green hair and long arms. But in folk tradition there is a completely different one the image of a mermaid - shaggy, ugly and overgrown with hair. All this emphasizes belonging to evil spirits. Large breasts are often mentioned:

"The chicks are big, big, it's scary."

In the work of E. Levkievskaya "Myths of the Russian people" stories are mentioned about how people have seen mermaids:

“We were told that a mermaid would walk around in the clothes in which she would be buried. My sister was walking through a field with her grandmother, there was a boundary line, a stitch in the middle of the field, the grandmother went ahead, and my sister walked along, picking flowers. She looked - and in live, a girl is walking. In a wreath, as they put away a dead girl, when they put her in a coffin - in a wreath, they hang a towel on her hand, in an apron. Her hair is loose, ribbons hang from under the wreath. Both the apron and the skirt - as they are buried. The sister shouted: “Grandma, look at the girl!” And then the life closed, and there was no one."

Mermaids are good or evil. How to become mermaids

So who are the mermaids? Good creatures or evil spirits doing evil. According to the Old Believers, when Satan fell from heaven, other creatures fell with him, including mermaids. From this point of view, it would be hard to call them good. But you still need to understand their origin. According to Slavic myths Drowned or young women become mermaids unmarried girls . Sometimes they talk only about the unbaptized, but this does not change the essence. Mermaids are the souls of drowned/unmarried young girls. It is impossible to bury such dead people in a cemetery, so burial took place outside the cemetery. And on Mermaid Week, the girl turned into a mermaid. When such dead people were buried, they cried not because the person had died, but because the deceased could now walk like a mermaid on the earth. There will be no peace. Now you can easily answer the question: how to become a mermaid. It is unlikely that anyone will want to apply to it of their own free will under such conditions.
They say about mermaids that they can seduce young people. So that in the future tickle to death or lure to water and drown. In villages they even intimidated children with mermaids so that they would not go into the deep parts of the river when swimming:

“If you go far from the shore, the mermaid will pull you under the water.”

This immediately creates an image of bad creatures. It is also believed that they like to steal threads, canvas and other things for sewing from women. This is due to the fact that mermaids walk either in torn sundresses or completely naked. So, for example, if you met a mermaid in the forest for a week, you would definitely throw her a scarf or open a piece of fabric.
There are not many ways to protect yourself from a mermaid. If you meet her, the first thing that is recommended is not to look her in the eyes. It is also believed that mermaids are repelled by wormwood or a prick with a pin (do not forget that these are ancient beliefs - approx.)

In addition to the negative things about mermaids, there are also some positive features. For example, mermaids love children and protect them in the forest from wild animals, and can also save a drowning child. Although this does not prevent adults from protecting children while swimming in the manner of a “bad mermaid.”
Mermaids are known for their cheerfulness. Everyone is familiar with their flirting and laughter from films. They are considered to be fun-loving creatures who love to play and enjoy life. Although their jokes seem funny only to themselves. For people, for example, putting out a fire is unlikely to seem funny. Mermaids love to dance around trees. If you see a tree in the forest around which no grass grows, it means that mermaids danced around it. When representing a mermaid, one sees the image of a girl sitting on the bank of a river or on a tree branch, combing her hair. This is exactly what A.S. Pushkin writes:

"There are miracles there: a goblin wanders there,
The mermaid sits on the branches;"

It is also known that mermaids love to make wreaths. For this they use flowers and tree branches. Residents of Polesie, for example, imagine a mermaid in the form of a young beauty with long hair and a wreath of flowers and herbs on her head. It’s difficult to imagine anything negative with such a description. The image is extremely positive and joyful.
Mermaids are most active on the night of Ivan Kupala on June 22-23. And on the day of Fevronia the Mermaid, the mermaids go deep into the reservoirs.

https://mistika.temaretik.com/1139885221339990841/rusalochka...

According to everyone, a mermaid is an unusual creature, main feature which consists of a human upper torso and a fish tail instead of legs. Due to constant exposure to water, their skin is pale, almost White color. They have an alluring temperament and an amazing deep voice, and they can sing. So who are mermaids? Do they really exist? Let's try to figure it out.

How to become a mermaid?

People know several hypotheses about the appearance of mermaids. So, according to one legend, it is impossible to become mythical creatures, because real mermaids are the daughters of Neptune, the god of water.

But part of the population believed that girls who were going to get married but never did for some reason became mermaids. Also, females could acquire a fishtail due to a broken heart by a loved one. Sometimes, according to legend, unbaptized children also became mermaids. Also, such a fate could befall a girl who, for some reason, was once cursed.

So who are mermaids? This the most beautiful creatures with an alluring voice and kind hearted? Or perhaps they are evil nymphs whose main goal is to drag more young people into the dark abyss of waters? And do they even exist?

Let's figure out who mermaids are

In the old days, people did not just believe in the existence of mermaids, without any doubt about it. These creatures were called differently: undines, sirens, devils, nymphs, pitchforks, swimmers. But the essence was the same - they were afraid of mermaids. People believed that they favorite place- this is the river bed. Thus, real mermaids, as you can see, prefer fresh water rather than salt water, contrary to popular opinion.

As they believed in the old days, water beauties attracted young men with the help of a beautiful melodic voice. The guys were fascinated and approached the undine, who began to tickle them until the victim lost consciousness. Then the sirens carried them into the depths of the sea. But young people who were aware of such tricks always carried a needle with them. It was believed that the nymphs were afraid of hot iron.

The erroneous opinion about who mermaids are is that they are creatures seeking to destroy as much as possible more people. Firstly, mermaids only attracted men. Secondly, they never touched the children. And according to some sources, mermaids even often helped lost children find the right path.

All these beauties have their own character and whims. So, depending on desire or mood, they can either save a drowning person or, conversely, drag him to the bottom. They are also greedy for bright things. Some mermaids simply steal them, and some may ask them to give them back.

In addition, beauties love various pranks. They entangle fishing nets, drag boats to the bottom and even break mills. They become especially playful in June during “mermaid week.” Now is the time when the Trinity holiday falls.

Do they really exist?

Many legends and fairy tales have been written about mermaids. There is no exact evidence of their existence yet, but many people are sure that there is no smoke without fire. After all, in the culture of the most different peoples of the world, the same young ladies of beautiful appearance and with a fish tail are mentioned.

There is also a legend that if a mermaid wants to find a soul, she needs to give up water forever. Few of the nymphs dared to do this. For example, one of the little mermaids once fell in love with a priest with all her heart, and her love was mutual. She cried for a very long time and thought about acquiring a soul. Even her lover begged her to give up water. But the nymph was never able to betray the sea.

There is a fairy tale about the mermaid Ariel very similar to this legend. Perhaps this is just a skillful copy of a beautiful story, or maybe the fairy-tale beauty really existed.

Sources of stories

The first stories about mermaids were told by sailors. Even the skeptical Columbus was sure that water nymphs were real. He repeatedly talked about creatures with a human top and a fish bottom.

Perhaps these stories are just the imagination of male sailors who have not seen women for a long time, which is why their subconscious painted such a wonderful picture. But if real mermaids exist, then they do not harm anyone, at least no one has heard of this in the last century.

Should we believe in their existence?

Despite the fact that many photographs of mermaids have now been published, not a single source can guarantee that they are not fake. In addition, nymphs were not always described as beautiful and charming creatures with an alluring voice. According to some sources, these creatures have one thing in common with ancient legends - the tail of a mermaid. Her body is masculine, and instead of a beautiful face there is a huge mouth and sharp teeth sticking out.

Little mermaids from oriental legends

Not only modern girls wondering how to become a mermaid. The Eastern Slavs also thought about this in their time. But after much thought, people came to the conclusion that it was impossible to become a mermaid on purpose.

The birth of the nymph took place already in the afterlife. And it could be a girl whose mother committed suicide while pregnant. At the same time, a sophisticated, extremely attractive little mermaid with long hair the color of sea mud and a wreath on her head grew out of her.

Nymphs lived not only in reservoirs. According to legends, they could choose clouds, the underground kingdom and even coffins. And only during “mermaid week” did the beauties come out of their hiding places to have some fun.

Is it worth meeting a mermaid?

There are many legends on this topic, but the most popular is that mermaids adore children and young men. But they simply cannot stand women and old people.

To avoid getting caught in the mermaid's net, you need to quickly get out of dangerous place until she started singing. You can determine its imminent appearance by the sound, which resembles the chirping of a magpie.

Legends also say that salvation from a mermaid is always imaginary. If a man knew her love, or she managed to kiss him and let him go, then very soon he will either become very ill or commit suicide. Special rituals and amulets were salvation from such consequences. Particularly persistent guys could try to scare away the mermaid on their own by hitting her shadow with a stick.

Also, beliefs say that nymphs are afraid of nettles like fire.

The little mermaid from a fairy tale

The fairy-tale image of the little mermaid Ariel has already been mentioned above. This is a character from the Walt Disney film adaptation. There, the little mermaid emerges from the sea for the sake of the handsome prince and her love for him. Having overcome all obstacles, they get married and live happily ever after.

But Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale is not so optimistic. The Little Mermaid saves the life of a handsome prince during a storm and falls madly in love with him. For the sake of her beloved, she makes a deal with the witch. Having gained the opportunity to walk on land, the girl loses her magical voice, which the prince remembered so much. At the same time, every step brings her unbearable pain. As a result, the Little Mermaid loses and turns into sea ​​foam. This is perhaps the most famous fairy tale about a mythical girl.

Mermaids are extremely popular heroes of myths, legends, fairy tales, cartoons, films and stories. You need to decide for yourself whether to believe or not to believe in the existence of nymphs. But even recognized researchers believe that it is not without reason that the image of the mermaid is so ingrained in existing stories.