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Why do so many water spirits look like mermaids?
Many people around the world tell of water creatures that are half-fish and half-human. These creatures are all different. But sometimes, they have odd details in common. Why do mermaids in Europe, Africa and the Americas all carry combs and mirrors? These details were passed from Europe to Africa to the Americas as merchants and slaves spread mermaid stories and art around the world. And in many cases, water spirits that weren't originally mermaids took on that form only after images of mermaids were introduced by outsiders.
Mami Wata
Mami Wata is one of the most popular—and powerful—African water spirits. She is most often portrayed as a mermaid, though she has other forms. Mami Wata heals the sick and brings good luck to her followers. But she also has a temper and will drown people who don't obey her, and she will cause confusion, sickness and visions in those she calls to serve her as mediums. Many followers seek her help by dancing until they enter a trance. Her name comes from the English words "Mommy Water," and it is fitting that she has a foreign name, since followers believe she comes from another world, the world of the sea.
Visitors from the Sea
Hundreds of years ago, numerous water spirits were said to live in West Africa. In stories told by the Igbo people and others, some water spirits were half-fish, half-human, but many looked like snakes or crocodiles. In the 1500s, ships with statues of mermaids on their prows began arriving from Europe. These strangers came from the sea, like the Africans' water spirits. Could the mermaids on these ships be carvings of water spirits?
Over time, the European mermaid legend blended with local stories, and more and more Africans came to portray their water spirits as half-woman, half-fish. Many of these stories merged into one, so the most powerful water spirit in many African countries is now known as Mami Wata.
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