We all have an idea who the mermaids are. This mythical image, rooted in the pagan era, is today perceived by most people as just a fairy tale. You can talk about mermaids endlessly. These amazing creatures with the body of a girl and the tail of a fish are mysterious and attractive. But how do mermaids give birth? This is a question of questions, which at first glance strikes with its childishness.
We will try to find the answer to it in the common Slavic mythology.
Who is a mermaid? origin of name
The image of the mermaid (as a spirit girl living near the water) is found in the myths of many peoples of the world, and he was also among our ancestors. However, in Slavic mythology, which has always revered the feminine principle of the universe, this image has become widespread.
There are many versions about the origin of the word "mermaid". Scientists associate it with the Slavic word "channel" and the name of some rivers.
The Ukrainian language has preserved their designation for us with the word “Mavka”; in the Belarusian language, living mermaids were called “baths”.
Image value
Monuments of Old Russian folklore tell us about the mermaid as a negative spiritual power. Mermaids can bring a lot of evil to a person, evidence of this is found in the scientific works of V.Ya. Proppa, D.K. Zelenin, who considered these creatures as the embodiment of the souls of women who died unnatural deaths, most often unfortunate drowned women.
For the first time, these representations were recorded in Ukrainian folklore (not without reason Nikolai Gogol wrote his famous May Night, dedicated to the fate of the drowned woman, based on oral traditions. In the same Ukrainian folklore, there was a perception that the spirit of water - water - can kidnap girls or women who are by the rivers and take them to their kingdom, turning them into mermaids.
But more often than not, all sources agree that such creatures are restless souls of people who committed suicide. They roam the earth in anticipation of the second coming of Christ.
The appearance of mermaids
Slavic mythology most often describes mermaids as beautiful girls with long flowing hair, walking naked. To hide their shame, mermaids try to steal at least some clothes from people, therefore, according to popular beliefs, they can steal their sundresses or pieces of canvas from girls and women who go to bed without praying and crossing themselves.
Moreover, the question of how mermaids give birth did not arise in Slavic mythology, because mermaids were represented with ordinary legs. By definition, they could not give birth, since they were no longer people of flesh and blood.
In general, in folk mythology, mermaids did not have a tail. The tail of the mermaid is a trait that appeared, most likely, thanks to poets and storytellers. Therefore, in popular beliefs, it is practically not mentioned that the mermaid has no legs, but it is often said that the mermaids walk with their hair straight (which was unacceptable for girls and women in those days).
IN AND. Dahl even recorded a proverb in which the unkempt girl was reproached and threatened with her the fate of a mermaid.
How do mermaids give birth? The issue relevant to our contemporaries
In the modern world, under the influence of literary works, ideas about mermaids have changed. A significant role in this was played by the tales of G.Kh. Andersen.
It was in his fairy tale The Little Mermaid that the tail of the mermaid played a very large role. Since then, they began to depict tailed. Even in popular cartoons, all mermaids have a pretty cute green fish tail.
Of course, having such a feature, it is unlikely to be able to give birth to children from a beloved prince. But the Anderson mermaid is already a fabulous character, she is kind and pretty, endowed with a human soul. Mermaids from Slavic folklore themselves are evil creatures, they are deprived of the usual human body, they are the servants of the evil water man and they seek to drown people themselves when they fall into the water.
Therefore, only modern children can be tormented by the question of how mermaids give birth. Our distant ancestors of mermaids feared and were wary of meeting them. We consider this image as fabulous, but the children of today's world believe that little mermaids are kind and beautiful water fairies who swim in the ocean and are waiting for a meeting with earthly princes.