Mermaids: The Myths, Legends, & Lore

Hola Merfolk!

One of my favorite collections of mermaid stories is Mermaids: The Myths, Legends, & Lore by Skye Alexander. The book is gorgeous with details of an aquamarine cover and the same color used for the print and illustrations. It’s not just stories but quotes, poetry, and art for the mermaid obsessed.

Alexander mentions science tells us all life came from the sea. We even look like mermaids when starting in the womb. The duality of mermaids lures us. They have a protecting side and destroying side. She points out it is mostly men who see them and are drowned.

Mermaids from different cultures are shared. In the section Mermaids of the Far East, there is a merman story called Hoori, The Fisherman/Merman. This is a good story that comes from Japanese mythology and not what I expected. The legend goes that there were two royal brothers, one named Hoderi, a great fisherman, and one named Hoori, a renowned hunter.

Hoderi loaned his lucky fishhook to Hoori to see if it would make him a great fisherman. It did not. Hoori lost the hook. Hoderi made his brother go after it.

While under-the-sea, Hoori met Toyotama, daughter of the sea god, and married her. They lived happily in a underwater palace. After three years, Hoori missed Japan and returned home with the fishhook given to him by the sea god.

Toyotama turned out to be pregnant with Hoori’s son and asked him to build a house that she could give birth in. She informed Hoori not to look as she gave birth, but he couldn’t help himself and saw that she was a dragon. When Toyotama realized that Hoori broke his promise she returned to the sea. The mermaid’s sister raised the baby. It is believed that one of their children, Jimmu Tenno, is Japan’s first emperor. I guess the baby would be a merman. And does Hoori become a merman to stay at the palace? And how does he become a merman?

Mermaids: The Myths, Legends, & Lore is a pretty coffee-table book that stretches the imagination.

Make Waves!

Oceans of Love,

Melissa Ceseña