Directory of Mermaids Resources

Home > Society > Folklore > Literature > Tales > Fabulous Creatures > Mermaids

Mermaids are commonly half woman (head, arms, and torso) and half fish-like (the midsection and below). In traditional folklore other mer beings or merfolk may be men, spirits, dieties, or have traits more animal than humanoid. Theorized origins of the mermaid range from belief to the health disorder sirenomelia to misconstrued sightings of sea mammals such as the dugong who some believe to be the source of the mermaid legends.

Resources in This Category

• Encyclopedia Mythica: Mermaid

  http://www.pantheon.org/articles/m/mermaid.html
  Descriptive summary.

• h2g2: Mermaids

  http://www.h2g2.com/approved_entry/A2766413
  Mythology, modern science, literature, and anatomy in relation to international and historic variations.

• Humanity: Mermaid Tales

  http://www.humanity.org/voices/folklore/mermaids/
  Collection of legends from different cultures around the world.

• Mermaid mummies

  http://www.pinktentacle.com/2006/08/mermaid-mummies/
  Article on reported mummified remains of Edo-period Japan.

• Obsidian Magazine: The Mermaid

  http://www.obsidianmagazine.com/mermaids.html
  Article by Peg Aloi, describing the mythos of mer creatures.

• Water Spirit Legends 1

  http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/water.html
  Mermaids, water sprites, and demons from various cultures.

• Water Spirits and Mermaids: The Copperbelt Case

  http://www.ecu.edu/african/sersas/Siegel400.htm
  A draft paper on African water spirits.

• Wikipedia: Mermaid

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mermaid
  Encyclopedic article on the female mythological aquatic creature, including sections on fiction, history, art and literature.

• Wikipedia: Nommos

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nommo
  Humanoid deities with fish-like tales, worshipped by the Dogon tribe of Mali.

Related Categories

• Home > Arts > Genres > Science Fiction and Fantasy > Themes > Fantasy Races and Creatures > Mermaids
• Home > Health > Conditions and Diseases > Musculoskeletal Disorders > Congenital Anomalies > Sirenomelia
• Home > Science > Biology > Flora and Fauna > Animalia > Chordata > Mammalia > Sirenia > Dugongidae

 

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