What did sailors and pirates truly see when they told tales of sea monsters and mermaids? Were they manatees or dolphins? Are there sea dinosaurs that survived the flood? Let's dive into that.
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| Courtesy of storytrender.com This is a fake mermaid. |
Today we discuss what the sailors actually witnessed when they claimed to see mermaids, as well as what sea monsters could be or truly are. I'm going to go into the mythology first (in both categories) and then research what they could be. Ready to set sail? I know I am.
Mythology and Mermaids
Myths tell tales of sirens and giant sea monsters. Both are bad news. You have the possibility of either shipwrecking, drowning, or being eaten. Sirens are shown holding human skulls. They didn't pull those out of the sea at random. I'll let you put the pieces together on that one. While that was not every mermaid you found, you'd better keep wax to put in your ears anyway- just in case! Many gods and goddesses also had a tailed form and could be found at sea.
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| Courtesy of freedivinguae.com A Dungong - a sea cow |
Merpeople are indeed both genders and both dangerous and friendly. Sirens are the dangerous variety. By singing alone a siren can control sailors, causing them to crash ships into rocks. Some had wings and were cursed to be demons because they failed to prevent Persephone's abduction. After the crash, they would allegedly eat the sailors, which is where that human skull came from. Sightings of these creatures are indeed attributed to manatees (sea cows, essentially) who could look similar to fat merpeople if you didn't see enough of their face. Dolphins or Dungong are also possibilities.
Persian and Irish myths paint mermaids in a new light, claiming they can use legs or fins and be on both land (for a short time) and the sea. This is more like Ariel. They are shy, mystical, and good. They are curious about life on land. In this case, whether they are good or bad depends on your culture. Lots of tragic storms fed the evil interpretation of mermaids. It is likely that mermaids had nothing to do with many sailors' deaths; it is far more likely that bad weather conditions doomed the sailors to shipwreck and the sharks got a good meal.
Mythology and Sea Monsters
There are many monsters in mythology, countless in fact. They are almost always bad news. Mermaids varied, but not sea monsters. Do you want to hear about the world's largest mythical sea horse? His name is Jormungand. He's known for being wrapped around the world and holding his tail in his mouth. Ragnorak (apocalypse) will begin if he lets go of his tail, according to legend. He's Loki's child. Cthulu is another big name and he's from space. There is a writer who loves to talk about him. He's a humanoid squid with dragon wings. The Kraken is well known by anyone who's paid attention in literature classes and terrorizes sailors. It was probably just a giant squid in real life. A dogfish is referenced in Pinnochio. A sea bishop was found and given to a king, asked to be let go, made the sign of the cross, and went on its way. This is the only exception. Need I go on listing famous and known sea legends? I think you get my point. It's shockingly common. Maps with sea monsters on them marked unknown territory or dangerous seas.
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| Courtesy of Band Camp Kraken |
Did I miss Leviathan? No, I just don't count biblical references as mythological. Besides, Leviathan sounds more like a poetic metaphor for end times than anything else. Only God knows if that is a real monster or not and I don't know if I want to know. It's not like Nessy or other references that have sightings.
Back to the rest of the references, we find they are all from different cultures. One might just be fictional literature. At this point, I am convinced that bad weather is also to blame for this category of monster. Mythology often tried to explain the unexplained. Horrible waves and bad storms factor into that perfectly. Sirens and Sea Monsters are often put in the same category. There are also weird fish that are huge. Big squids, misidentified whales, misidentified sharks, and dinosaurs that could have survived the flood may be a believable explanation for the sightings that have come up.
What Are They Really?
Mermaids
Much like Bigfoot, there are "sightings" and people who chase this legend around. The world is not Gravity Falls, yet conspiracy theory abounds (and I'm guilty of finding it fascinating, whether it is real or fake). In the case of mermaids, the answer is no. You won't find merpeople in your lake anytime soon. Like I said before, manatees and other creatures are mistaken for merpeople quite often. Weirdly, there are still reported sightings. PT Barnum faked one by putting a monkey body on a fish tale, and then made people pay to see it. It was faked quite often, even at the World's Fair. Women swam in a fish tank and people paid to watch the performance (probably knowing it was fake).
Sightings? Yes, I said sightings. In AD 77 scaled bodies were found washed up on beaches. The Romans found them. Later evidence suggested they were seals. Christopher Columbus claimed to see masculine-featured mermaids. The area he was in was common to manatees and scientists think he saw those. Henry Hudson thought he saw one in the arctic ocean. A book about his adventures (written by his uncle) was thought to have been embellished to include that. In other words, it was a tall tale. Blackbeard saw one, too, and he was known for bending the truth to control his crew. He used the excuse to go to the Indies and steer his crew away from an area. In 1730 China had two encounters - one with fine multicolored hair and the other with webbed feet and hands. Both were rescued and went back to the sea (one left after her rescuer had died). It was thought that it was an encounter with a sea mammal of some sort.
Do you want more modern sightings? Okay, I'll tell you about those. 1880s Canada held a tale of three men and a native guide. The tourists thought they saw a dark-skinned woman with blonde hair rise out of the water and stare at them. The guide quit soon after because mermaids were bad luck and led to death. Pennsylvania in 1881 tells a tale of a man who saw a black-haired mermaid in the Susquehanna River tributary (Dugan's Run). She's allegedly there in the early morning or late evening and only goes up to her shoulders in the water. Henry Loucks, who found her, was trying to lure her out of her cave home. Loucks almost shot her, then considered that he didn't want to be tried for murder. The Kei Islands tale wasn't truly investigated, so this one is a mystery still. In 1943 Japanese soldiers reported mermaids, then one decided to make threatening (gurgling and burping) noises at them. Naturally, instead of leaving it alone, the village was ordered to kill the one that "attacked" them. The creature had spikes on its head, a human face and limbs, and a fish-like mouth. It was delivered to the Japanese soldiers dead. Again, not been investigated, so we don't know. Victoria, Canada in 1967 tells a tale of a blonde, oblivious mermaid with a porpoise tale eating raw salmon by a tour boat. Pictures of the incident could not be traced. No one, even at the price of 25,000 dollars, could capture her. In Hawaii, 1998, divers reported a naked woman with a fish tale swimming with dolphins. The one diver saw it again and claims to have photographic proof.
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| The mermaid sighting in Hawaii 1998 Courtesy of Jeff Leicher - found on pinterest |
Want more modern? Let's talk about 2009 Israel. There was a young mermaid reported in Haifa Bay by many people. No one has yet claimed the one million dollar reward for proving her existence. Zimbabwe in 2012 was a case where workers installing water pumps claimed to be chased off by mermaids. An exorcist came in to help, yet they couldn't resume work. Dams are unfinished to this day because they feared the mermaids would capture and drag them off. The workers refused to go back to work.
Sea Monsters
Sea monsters, much like mermaids, have sightings reported. Also, they might be dinosaurs. When earth flooded in the great flood I'd bet some lived (including sharks). Sharks are dinosaurs. Loch Ness is home to Nessy, allegedly, and she might be one (if she's real). Again, though, we do have to understand that God put so many fish in the sea that we haven't found them all. We never will, given the water pressure. Misidentifying unknown animals is the most logical explanation for sea monsters. Whales, sharks, and other huge fish tend to be a bit intimidating and sailors are kind of in their way, thus it makes sense they'd be less than happy. We're also small in comparison and we're scared. Sailors also might have been drunk at times or telling big fish stories. Dead fish washing up on beaches, unidentified at the time, were considered monsters.
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| Courtesy of Youtube |
That being said, let's talk sightings. The Kraken was described as a monstrous fish. It looked like a mix of fish and squid. It was a giant squid. One washed up one day and it was identified by science. 150-200 feet is indeed a monstrous size of fish. The Hydra (Hercules killed it) was said to actually be an octopus because it can regrow limbs, as well as tentacles possibly being mistaken for heads. It was hardly as threatening as they thought and we now know what it is. The Oarfish is not a common viewing pleasure, but it does explain the trope about a long sea serpent. It is the longest bony fish currently living, 45-50 feet long, and has spines running up and down its back. It is what we often think of as a sea monster. When washed onto shore it is likely to be seen as one.
I could go on about misidentified whales and species for a while. That is essentially what has happened. God didn't hand Adam a guidebook to pass on for generations. The extent of the animals on earth is not known. We can't cross off animals on our guidebooks and go "oh, we found the mighty fluferbat and now we can make a new discovery!" Nope, we instead get scared of what washes up on shore, despite the fact it could be harmless and just not be common knowledge. Sea monsters are and aren't real. We can prove that someone found something; we just don't know what they found until we study it. It sometimes turns out to be less than monstrous.
Conclusion
It comes down to the fear of the unknown. Most of us don't know what is in the ocean. The oceans hold freaky creatures that can kill you or be completely harmless. Sailors way back when knew even less. The seas were new to them. Can you blame them for encountering a new animal bigger than them and getting scared for their lives? The sea, like the jungle, can actively try to kill you.
I'll say this about mermaids, though - why are there sightings in the 2000s? The world may never know. Science can't show us evidence of these merpeople at this time. What I don't understand is why people in 2012 claim to have seen mermaids. It boggles my mind. The science answer for mermaids is no, however, so I'm going to put them in the same category as unicorns and possibly Bigfoot - unproven. I'll let you come to your own conclusions.
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