Not all mermaids are European with blonde hair and blue eyes. While many mermaid stories come from Celtic and Scandinavian traditions, mermaids are part of many cultures all around the world. India, Greece, and Japan all have mermaids. So did the Arabs.
When I began my research for An Officer and A Mermaid, I didn’t want my story to be a retelling
of perhaps the most famous mermaid story, The Little Mermaid, by Hans Christian
Andersen and published in 1837. While I love that story, I wanted something new
and different.
I stumbled upon the story of Mami Wata quite by
accident but I was hooked immediately.
Because Mami Wata isn’t your average mermaid.
As the provider of riches, a spiritual and physical
healer, her dual nature allows her to be both a nurturing mother and a sexy
siren, the keeper of dangers and desires, dreams, hopes and risks. She’s an
immortal spirit that personifies polar opposites.
She’s also a snake charmer. Not a bad resume.
She’s the total package. In many ways, Mami Wata is
what many modern women strive to be.
The persona of Mami Wata is an ancient one which
began in Africa. Revered and worshiped by the peoples of southeastern Nigeria,
she traveled to the Caribbean and the Americas with slaves and traders. Her name is Pidgin English for Mammy Waters.
She’s usually depicted with a woman’s upper body and
the hindquarters of a fish or aquatic snake. Her hair is black, usually curly,
and she carries baubles like combs and mirrors. Unlike most African deities,
her skin is usually light or medium. A large snake, a symbol of divinity,
usually accompanies her, often wrapping itself around her breasts.
The best part? Unlike most European mermaids, she’s
isn’t trapped or under a spell. She doesn’t need a man to make her complete.
She’s the boss lady. She can appear as a beautiful woman at will, a woman who
loves beautiful jewelry and loves to admire herself in the mirror. Mami Wata
doesn’t have any self-esteem issues. Isn’t that refreshing? In addition, she’s
not shy about her sex drive. In fact, she’s often seen in African markets,
walking among the humans, looking for a man to take back into the ocean with
her.
A man from whom she might demand fidelity. Very
interesting that it wasn’t the other way round, huh?
See why I like her so much?
Even though her spirit is ancient and immortal,
she’s one progressive lady. Mermaid. Both.
She’s comfortable. Powerful. Beautiful. In the
driver’s seat. Or at the helm. Depends on the day.
It’s so interesting that Mami Wata came to the
Americas by way of many people who were enslaved, yet she’s a symbol of power,
duality and riches. In many myths, we write our hopes and dreams, as a culture,
into our characters.
It can’t be an accident that Mami Wata symbolized
material wealth, healing and divinity.
When you think about the history of the Caribbean
and the American South in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, it’s easy to
see how Africans needed a powerful lady, one who looked like them and understood
their cultural values to travel alongside them. To protect them, heal them,
bless them.
Of course, Mami Wata has complexities that are too
intricate to go into in a blog post, but you get the idea.
The main thing I discovered is that my perception of
mermaids was pretty shallow.
Pun totally intended.
An
Officer and a Mermaid opens on a sugar plantation in Haiti in
the late eighteenth century. Syrenna, the daughter of a wealthy planter, has no
idea how she will come to depend on Mami Wata when she’s transformed into a
mermaid in order to save her life. When
a Coast Guard Officer falls into her ocean two centuries later, Syrenna will
use the lessons of Mami Wata to find her way out of the sea and into love. On
her own terms.
An Officer
and a Mermaid will be out July 21. I really hope you like it.
But while you’re waiting for all these fabulous
mermaid stories featured in the Falling
In Deep Collection, you might want to dig into some of the mermaid legends
from the far reaches. There are some wonderful stories that will leave you
wondering why you didn’t know about them sooner.
Blaire Edens lives in mountains of North Carolina on
a farm that’s been in her family since 1790. When she’s not plotting, she’s
busy knitting, running, or listening to the Blues. Blaire loves iced tea with
mint, hand-stitched quilts, and yarn stores. She refuses to eat anything that
mixes chocolate and peanut butter or apple and cinnamon. She’s generally nice
to her mother, tries to remember not to smack her bubble gum, and only speeds
when no one’s looking. An Officer and A
Mermaid, part of the Falling In Deep Collection, will be available July 21.
Her book, Wild About Rachel, is available
now.
@BlaireEdens
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