BBC: Mermaids

Do you believe in ghosts, Gerorgina?

Well, I've never actually seen one- not even at Halloween. 

How about dragons then? Or fairies and elves?

Have you been reading fantasy books, Neil? Lord of the Rings?

I have been reading a book, Georgina, but not Lord of the Rings. My book is about an amphibious creature- a creature that lives both on land and in water. 

Some kind of Frog- Man?

You've almost got teh idea, Georgina, but think woman, not man; and fish, not frog. 

That's right! Mermaids are magical creatures, half- woman, half- fish, that feature in the myths and legends of many cultures around the world. 

Like the Sirens, whose seductive singing shipwrecked Odysseus and his sailors in ancient Greek mythology. 

The Sirens are perhanps the most famous, but certainly no the only, mermaids we'll be hearing about. But before we dive into the programme, it's time for my quiz questioin. The book I've been reading was, of course,The Little Mermaid. 

Yes, I've seen the Disney movie. The mermaid is called Ariel. 

Right- but the movie was based on a fairy tale written by Hans Christian Anderson. It became so famous that a statue of the Little Mermaid was built in the harbour of Andersen's birthplace- but where? Was it: 

a) Amsterdam   b) Copenhagen   or c) Oslo?

I'm going to say b) Copenhagen. 

Ok, Georgina, I'll tell you the answer later. Disney's defenceless mermaid, Ariel, seems the total opposite to the seductive, dangerous Sirens in the Odyssey. In fact, descriptions and stories of mermaids have always changed from place to place. 

One mermaid- like character found across Africa and the Americas is named, Mami Wata. Here's British writer, Marcelle Mateki, talking about the origins of this legend to BBC World Service programme, The Forum:

Even the name, Mami Wata, which is pidgin English for 'Mother Water', so it's loosely translated from pidgin English as 'the mother of water' and the characteristics that are commonly shared when speaking about Mami Wata across the West African coast is that this deity is the protector of the water kingdom. 

The name 'Mami Wata' comes from Nigerian pidgin English- a language which has developed from a mixture of two language and is used as a way of communicating by people who do not speak each other's languages. 

Marcelle says that 'Mami Wata' means 'the mother of water' when lossely translated- translated in a way that carries over the basic ideas but using words which may not be so accurate. 

Mami Wata is also described as the protector of the water kingdom and a detity- a god, goddess or other divien being. 

Another version of a mermaid- like creatures, called Slkies, are found in the remote Orkney Islands, north of the Scotish mainland. The Selkies can take human form and marry men but every now and then they return to their watery kingdom under the sea. 

Cristina Bacchilega is co-editor of The Penguin Book of Mermaids. According to her, these defferent versions of mermaids share something in common- they force us to question our relationship to water and other beings s in the natural world- and even to question how we see ourselves. 

Here's Cristina explaining more in the BBC world Service's. The Forum:

The beings, not just mermaids but Selkies and water deities and other water spirits are often shape- shifters, they have a certain kind of fluidity of being... So do we apporach this world with humility, or do we really uphold a kind of anthropocentric view, human- centered view of life?

Mythical creatures are often shape-shifters- they have the power to change into a different shape or form. 

Moving between the sea and the Earth, mermaids link two natural worlds. Cristina thinks that, as humans, we should approach them with humility. 

Someone who has humility is not proud and doesn't think they are better than others. 

Well, Neil, I don't think I'm better than a ghost, a water spirit or a mermaid- it's just I've never seen one. But then agadin, I've never seen electricity- and I believe in that!

Maybe, it would help if you saw a statue of a meramid, if not the real thing?

Maybe- but where would I find one?

In may quiz question I asked where you'd see the statue of Hans Christian Andersen's Little Mermaid. What did you say, Georgina?

I guessed b) Copenhagen. 

Which was the correct answer! The Little Meramid statue is found in Andersen's birthplace of Copenhagen. And it really is little- only 1.25m high!