Mermaids

[Salty Dog]

Mermaids:
An imaginary, partly human sea creature with the head and trunk of a woman and the tail of a fish or cetacean. The word itself is Middle English (mere = sea and maid = young girl) is a legendary aquatic creature. Originally it seems there were just mermaids but as time passed we have counterparts for both sexes. The male are mermen and the collective noun is for these half fish/half humans is merfolk. Originally the Sirens of Greek mythology were simply beautiful women but later portrayals show them as mermaids. In some languages the word sirena is used interchangeably with mermaid.

By the 18th century, most people with any type of education considered tales of mermaids as nothing more than the work of over active imaginations, stories the old sea dog would tell to a young whelp to see if he would swallow the bait, so to speak. Yet some of the more superstitious and unschooled sailor may have fallen for the story.
As we enter the Caribbean, Pirates may have heard the legends of the natives of the islands. Among the islands, mermaids were known as Aycayía, (the girl with the beautiful voice). The legends in the Caribbean are similar to those from other places of the World. Sometimes Aycayía was good and other times she was bad.

In the earlier legends, Mermaids would seduce or lure men to their death. Sometimes this was done on purpose and other times by accidents. At other times sailors were killed while mermaids tried to save their lives.
Probably the best known story of mermaids is the Little Mermaid written by Hans Christian Andersen. The original has a less than happy ending. Walt Disney's The Little Mermaid brings a fresher, happier ending and introduces some new characters as well a happy ending.. Fortunately the animators at Disney did not use the mermaid contained here as a model for Aerial.

[Salty Dog]

As early as the 1500s there was conjecture that manatees were the source of the mermaid myth. Manatees like to float along the ocean surface in relatively shallow water and are not overly scared of humans or large ships. In fact there slow peaceful existence has led to their endangerment as a species. In fact a close relative of the manatee, the stellar sea cow is now extinct.

Despite this explanation, there is no solid evidence that pirates would have mistaken the manatee for a mermaid. From a side by side comparison, one would assume, it would take a very drunk pirate to mistake a manatee for a beautiful mermaid! It is more likely that the manatee-mermaid connections were specualtions made far after most learned men had discounted mermaid sighting as just another "fish story". Still, it is part of the mythos
With that said, this modern day speculation of a mermaid/manatee connection by historians, environmentalists and manatee lovers helps to bring awareness to the plight of the endangered animal. And that is a good thing.