Tradition / Region: Brazilian Mythology
Alternate Names: Uiara, Yara, Hiara, Mãe das Águas (“Mother of the Waters”)
Category: Mermaid
The Myth
In the great rivers of the Amazon there lives a being called Iara, the Mother of the Waters. She appears as a beautiful maiden of the river, sometimes sitting upon rocks beneath the sun, combing her long hair and singing with a voice sweeter than any human song.
Men who hear her voice cannot resist it. Drawn by her song, they approach the water and follow her into the depths. Some are drowned at once. Others vanish into her underwater dwelling, where they remain with her until they grow old and die, while she herself never ages. Those who escape her spell return changed—haunted, restless, and forever drawn back toward the river.
One tale tells how a young warrior, son of a chief, heard Iara’s voice at a waterfall. Each night he returned to meet her, ignoring the pleas of his mother and the warnings of his people. At last the villagers saw him with the river maiden. Soon after, he disappeared forever into the waters, and no trace of him was ever found again.
Another story tells how Iara herself was once human. She had been a warrior of great skill, stronger and braver than her brothers. Jealous, they attacked her in the night, but she fought them off and they died by her hand. When her father discovered what had happened, he punished her by casting her into the river to drown. But the fish of the river or the moon-spirit took pity on her and transformed her into a river maiden. From that day on, she lured men to the water in vengeance for the injustice done to her.
Thus Iara is remembered as both enchantress and avenger, the beautiful woman of the river whose song still drifts across the Amazon at dusk, calling the unwary into the deep.
Gallery
Sources
Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Iara (mythology). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved February 14, 2026, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iara_(mythology)
Interpretive Lenses
Religious Readings
- Christian Ascetic Deep Dive
Philosophical Readings
- Nietzschean Deep Dive
Psychological Readings
- Jungian Deep Dive
Esoteric Deep Dive
- Hermetic Deep Dive
Political / Social Readings
- Marxist Deep Dive
Other
- How to Invite The Iara