What is an Irish mermaid called?
Merrow (from Irish murúch, Middle Irish murdúchann or murdúchu) is a mermaid or merman in Irish folklore. The term is of Hiberno-English origin.
What does a Merrow look like?
Merrows are practically regular mermaids in the Irish folklore, despite the fact that they are more of a race of sea-beings. they are often described as having green, or white skin, and sea-colored hair. They have webbed fingers, and the same type of tail as a mermaid.
Is selkie Scottish or Irish?
They are found in folktales and mythology originating from the Northern Isles of Scotland. The folk-tales frequently revolve around female selkies being coerced into relationships with humans by someone stealing and hiding their sealskin, thus exhibiting the tale motif of the swan maiden type.
Is a Merrow real?
Merrow Men There is actually very little documented about these loathsome creatures, however they have been described in stories as being covered in emerald scales with a stunted body and limbs. They have green course hair, grotesque pointed teeth and bloodshot eyes.
What is a merfolk?
Definition of merfolk : a legendary people of the sea having human head, trunk, and arms and the tail of a fish — compare mermaid, merman.
What are Scottish mermaids called?
The ceasg [kʲʰɛsk] is a mermaid in Scottish folklore with the upper body of a beautiful woman merging with the tail of a grilse (a young salmon). She is also known in Scottish Gaelic as maighdean na tuinne (“maid of the wave”) or maighdean mhara (“maid of the sea”).
Are there male selkies?
Male selkies are described as being very handsome in their human form, and having great seductive powers over human women. They typically seek those who are dissatisfied with their lives, such as married women waiting for their fishermen husbands.
What is an Irish Silkie?
In short, the legend of the selkie is Ireland’s concept of a mermaid. What is a selkie? Also called the seal people, the sea people or the mermaid – a selkie is a marine legend that tells of people who are half fish, and half-human. In the water, they are seals, but on land, they shed their skin and take on human form.
What is the male version of a mermaid?
Mermen, the male counterparts of the mythical female mermaids, are legendary creatures, which are male human from the waist up and fish-like from the waist down, but may assume normal human shape. Sometimes they are described as hideous and other times as handsome.
Can mermaids read minds?
By their abilities Sirens – Dangerous spirits of the sea that can conjure storm and fog, foretell death, read minds and wreak havoc of every level. For a long time, they were one of the sources of blame for many shipwrecks and deaths on long sea journeys.
What is a mythical sea fairy?
Sea Fairies are a species of tiny humanoid creatures with butterfly wings, which fly above the oceans of planet Etheria and emit a luminous glow.
Do selkies have powers?
In the Shetland, the sea-folk were believed to revert to human shape and breathed air in the atmosphere in the submarine homeland, but with their sea-dress (seal-skin) they had the ability to transform into seals to make transit from there to the reefs above the sea.
What is the Irish mermaid story?
One particularly frightening story of the Irish mermaid tells the tale of male merrows who capture the drowned souls of sailors and trap them in pots. These pots are sunk at the bottom of the sea, never to release the poor sailors’ souls…unless a willing human being were to release them.
What are some of the most interesting mermaid stories you know?
Probably my favorite story of a real mermaid encounter is the story of an Irish man who found two dying merrows on the seashore. Apparently they washed up to shore from a bad storm. One was badly hurt and the other was dead. The man wanted to help the merrow and took the merrow home to nurse it back to health.
Why are there so many water legends in Ireland?
The oceans, lakes, and rivers were mysterious to our ancestors. And therefore bodies of water were feared and often the subject of fairy tales and frightening legends. The selkies and merrows weren’t the only water beings in Ireland and Scotland.
Are there mermaids in other cultures?
In fact, if one digs deep enough, one may find a story of a mermaid in almost every culture and ancient society around the world…though they might call the mermaid something different depending on the region.