Marfa good historical review!
i additional few.
The first was the Babylonian god mermaid Oannes. He still could not decide what form to adopt, have tried many things and ended up becoming a creature with the head and torso of a man, and instead got down fish tail. The first was a female mermaid Atargate - Syrian goddess of the moon, and fishing. Then these shapes and forms dispersed across countries and
continents.
In Greece, the first settled naiads. Every river, every stream had their own boss. Merry Protecting Water Tribe, healers and prophetesses blithely splashed in the clear springs. The water became capable of giving immortality and youth. And in the air, circling the siren from the Greeks, female birds. Even in the V century, "Physiologist" - a Greek treatise on the animals -
argued that "the image of a female sirens to the navel, the other half of the bird." But in the "Bestiary" (XVI century), described as the siren-poluzhenschiny poluryba. And the Spaniards sirens - so they began to call their river maidens - have come with tails. Their faces are ugly, but the voice
beautiful. Over time, the image became so popular that the sirens call team of marine mammals, which includes dugongs, manatees and Steller's sea cow, completely exterminated by the end of the XVIII century.
The Indians of Brazil so sincerely believed in the existence of these housewives waters that have convinced the Europeans in their reality. In the XVII century priest Anshietta reported to the authorities, as many Indians iarami drowned, but was hoping that the triumph of true faith will make women sing small fish. However, a century later, the Dutchman van Baerle Gaspar testified that beauty with long
hair and fish tails continue zatselovyvat fishermen to death - "not out of malice, but by passion."
At one time a professional interest in mermaids harbored Catholic missionaries. It was important to establish, it is still people or fish. If they are human and they have a soul, they ought to bring the word of God. But first, it was necessary to catch even one. It is no coincidence therefore, in the memoirs of missionaries, one can often read about such attempts.
Capuchin missionary told me that on the way to the Congo, they saw from the deck, as "people of the sea", a mermaid with tritons, the algae were collected at the shallow bottom. The ship dropped anchor, and unnoticed were lowered net, but mermaids, seeing the human treachery, skillfully avoided them. "None of them caught!" - Stated the capuchin with clear annoyance.
Another missionary, an Italian father, Francis of Pavia, who visited Angola in 1701, did not believe it at first, when the locals told him that they inhabit the lake mermaid. Then, to prove to him, were caught in a network and charged him. The missionary looked at it in detail and described in his notes, adding that a day after she was caught, she unfortunately died.
Clarify whether the soul of the mermaids, it was important to have in Angola because the natives are not just catching mermaids, and often eat them. Whom do they eat, after all, fish or people?
To answer this question the church was never close as in 1560, when the coast of the island Mandara, near Ceylon, the Dutch ship immediately caught a seven mermaids. Jesuit fathers who find themselves in those places, of course, tried not to miss an opportunity to find out whether people are and whether they have a soul. But the researchers were drowned in the discussions and no conclusion could not come.
For a more definite conclusion was reached by M. Boske, personal physician to the Dutch viceroy in Goa, who turned in the same place. Putting the matter as their professional knowledge of anatomy, and a scalpel, in his opinion, he argued that the mermaid caught off the island of Mandara, not only externally but also on the internal structure similar to all people. Obviously, he did not cut to the quick. Because all nymphs, which are immediately placed in large tanks of water, a few days died.
Equally brief was provided and the fate of others, they just fell into captivity. Triton, or "sea people", was taken in 1682 near the seaside Italian town of Sestri, near Genoa. At the same time, many citizens had the opportunity to examine it close. "During the day, - wrote a contemporary, - he was seated on a chair, which strongly suggests that his body is quite flexible and has joints that do not exist in fish. He lived only a few days, uttering plaintive cries and cries and all that Time had not eaten or drunk. "
Despair is the cause of bondage was, or food that they were offered, and they could not accept, but all the inhabitants of the sea, which could catch it, live with people they could not.
In January 1738 the newspaper "London Daily Post" reported to his readers that in the bay near the town Topskhem, Devon, caught a mermaid. It is then shown to the public in the cities of Exeter, Bristol and Bath. It is unknown how long she had lived in captivity and what happened to her afterwards.
Although, if you believe the testimony of those years, met a mermaid in the sea is not uncommon for people, they were still strange creatures. That is why, when, in 1531 in the Baltic Sea have caught a mermaid in the network, it was immediately rushed to send as a gift to the Polish king Sigismund II. The King and the whole court had occasion to see it with my own eyes. Unfortunately, too long. On the third day of the prisoner died.
I found only two reports of mermaids, who managed to survive for a while in captivity.
In 1430 in Holland, the storm washed away a dam, and many lands were flooded by the sea. Residents had to travel by boat. One morning the girl from the town of Edam in the boat swam to milk the cows. In shallow water, in mud, they saw a mermaid, stuck there. They took her with him, and she went to live with them. Mermaid lived with them for fifteen years. However, to say she was never able to. But they taught her to wear a dress, knit and eat with them. In addition, as good Catholics, they taught her to worship the cross. The latter, says the chronicle, gave occasion, when she died, a Christian to bury her.
On the other mermaid, which is also living in captivity have survived not only record, but even her portrait, which was filled with "famous Sue Gauthier" from life in 1758 in Paris. Here she was exposed for all to see in a large aquarium at the fair on the outskirts of Saint-Germain. They fed her, wrote a contemporary, bread and fish. She was "very flexible and happy to deftly splashing in a tub of water, where it was kept. Resting it upright in the position. Appearance as she is ugly and nasty." Looking at the picture, come down to us, it's hard to disagree.
Probably not the people who would not have been stories about the inhabitants of the waters, and meetings with them. And in memory of this, in these stories is always a scene of love mermaids and humans. With a happy end, as in humans, this love ends in marriage. But, also like the people, for whatever reason, happens to a different outcome.
The Scots say that once lived in their lands shepherd named Manx. Mermaid noticed and loved it. Once she hugged him so hard that he nearly cracked bone did not, he broke away and pushed her away. Of course, the rough shepherd, that with him? But the mermaid, hurt and offended, do something to explain it! She threw a stone at him, so much so that he fell, and died a short time pobolel. And all because it might be different.
Even worse, when in a relationship that relate to only two, others interfere. And while they do it the best of intentions, but usually not good. Narrated by Tuvan shaman (recorded recently, a few years ago): "We had people Saygyr Tayono. He met with a mermaid. He played where the river bank, in the spring there he met with the ineffable beauty. He played every day, and then they goodbye, and where it goes, he did not know. Suddenly, he became a different person. Others have noticed that he does not eat, not eat. A little shepherd work, loves to go to where the river. He did not talk to anybody. Why do not eat - the parents do not know. then invited to this great shaman Tangaka Baran: we have such a boy was not eating, not drinking, not eating. And loves to go there, to the river. Then the shaman rite performed, and drove a beautiful mermaid-. If great shaman did not, he would become a victim of the beautiful mermaid, and he would have died long ago. Who is this mermaid met - he was on that connection will never go away. Here. At least his heart is pounding in another, it will be feel differently. "
Indeed, it would have had it, or maybe in a different way, it's hard to say. Especially when the person continues to live in his world, and his girlfriend in another, and they occur only on the edge of the contact between these two worlds.
In different nations, and in Russia, there are many such meetings "bylina" "They said he served a one in the navy, and she, a mermaid, came out, sang songs. So she told him so much that love. And love for her is real. And amassed a child. And what a sailor to do it with a bring, because she can not speak, and the child can not speak. and forwarded it on another ship. It comes, he looks where he is. And it shows: left. missed much ". (Recorded in 1990, the village Horoshovo Novgorod region).
However, not necessarily that all ended with sad. In Russia, people believed that if the mermaid to baptize, or at least put a cross on it, it becomes a person and can live among the people. In the more water it does not pull. Persuasion is easy to carry to the field of mythology, if there were no stories about what really happened. In these cases, as you can see, this is all about the same "river" or "meadow" mermaids.
but such cases are referred to other researchers. In Orel supposedly married to a mermaid. In the Kaluga region in mermaid married a shepherd: "The priest baptized her, and it was an ordinary woman." "Such cases are also in the province of Vladimir, where even two guys married christened mermaids." ("Ethnographic Review", 1914)
These cases, again, implies a more human-like "river" or "meadow", the mermaids. The memory of such a marriage in other countries. In Greece, according to researchers who have a family, keeping a record of generations of their distant ancestors. In the enumeration of this rare, but still found some mention of the river mermaids - Nereids.
In Scotland, where the memory of ancestors is also highly revered, and from century to century they are recorded, it is believed that one of the clans, Maclaren (Maclaren), descended from the marriage, a mere mortal and mermaid.
In Ireland, too, have some kind of, Machaire, leading, according to legend, the origin of its mermaid. And on the coast, also in Ireland, there is a village, all of whose inhabitants are descendants of this marriage.
The descendants of this marriage is in Canada, one of the Indian tribes. There, over several generations kept the memory of the leader, who caught a mermaid in the river, led to his wigwam and his wife did.
What was once the evidence of these was much more convincing, too, has its own meaning. This happens whenever some sort of disappears from the face of the earth. (Here it is more accurately used, perhaps, to say - "the face of the waters"). It is difficult to say more to blame - whether the initial hostility of the people, whether the contamination of the seas and inland waters, or what else. However, judging from some reports in recent years, some of these creatures have survived, continuing to live somewhere in his element, like thousands of years ago. But in this case since, as dangerous for the human race has bred them to the world, they have learned to hide from us, they learned that animals, birds and other wild creatures. And rightly so.
I can not say about another version. In recent years, scientists are increasingly writing about the multidimensionality of our world. On the topic of this book come out, and articles. We are talking about parallel universes, which may have are close to ours. However, some believe that the space between the E and the worlds are a kind of "portals", tunnels, road junction. From time to time there are reports, testimony, and even finds creatures that biologists find it difficult to attribute whatever was species existing on Earth. Some researchers accept the idea that perhaps these creatures come to us from these parallel worlds and other ages.
It is possible that mermaids - also one of those creatures do not belong to our world.
Available to them through some transitions, "portals", they sometimes appear here. And then in the same way in our reality goes back to her. And we do not follow them in any way. And, perhaps, the glory of God.
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