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Jengu

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Tradition / Region: Sawabantu Mythology, Cameroon Mythology
Alternate Names: Miengu (plural), Bisima; Liengu (Bakweri), Maengu (plural)
Category: Mermaid

The Myth

In the rivers, lakes, and along the shores of the sea in Cameroon dwell the jengu—water spirits of beauty and power.

They are said to appear as radiant beings, often like mermaids, with long flowing hair and shining gap-toothed smiles. Their presence is linked to clear waters and hidden depths. They live beneath the surface, in the currents and tidal places where the worlds of the living and the spirits meet.

The jengu are guardians of the waters and intermediaries between humanity and the ancestors. When illness strikes, when fate turns uncertain, or when guidance is needed, people call upon them. They are believed to heal disease, grant prosperity, and influence destiny. Those who honor them with devotion receive good fortune; those who neglect them may lose their favor.

Among the Duala and other Sawabantu peoples, the jengu are honored through sacred rites and festivals. When the ruling families of the Ngondo declare that the time has come, offerings are gathered from the villages. Trained spiritual specialists prepare themselves through ritual purification and ceremony.

On the night before the festival, these priests perform sacred rites on the islands of the Wouri River. At dawn, the tribute is displayed before the chiefs. Then a jengu specialist carries the offering into the water, swimming out beyond sight. There, beneath the surface, the gift is presented to the miengu.

When the priest returns, he brings back a message from the spirits—a prophecy concerning the year to come.

Among the Bakweri, the jengu also play a role in a young girl’s passage into womanhood, marking her transformation and linking her life to the power of the waters.

Thus the jengu remain: spirits of the deep, bringers of healing and fortune, moving unseen between the living and the ancestral world.

Gallery

Sources

Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Jengu. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved February 14, 2026, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jengu

Interpretive Lenses

Religious Readings
  • Christian Ascetic Deep Dive
Philosophical Readings
  • Nietzschean Deep Dive
Psychological Readings
  • Jungian Deep Dive
Esoteric Deep Dive
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Political / Social Readings
  • Marxist Deep Dive
Other
  • How to Invite The Jengu

Nibiinaabe

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Tradition / Region: Anishinabe Mythology, American Mythology
Alternate Names: Nibinabe, Nibanaba, Nibanabe, Nibiinaabeg (plural), Nibiinabekwe (female form)
Category: Mermaid

The Myth

In the lakes and rivers of the Anishinaabe lands live the Nibiinaabe, the water people.

They are shaped like human beings from the waist up, but below they bear the tail of a fish. They dwell beneath the surface of deep waters, moving silently through reeds and currents where the light fades into shadow.

The Nibiinaabe are seldom seen. At times, a ripple in still water or a fleeting shape beneath the surface is said to be one of them watching. They are not drawn to villages, nor do they linger near busy shores. Loud noises drive them away, and the crash of drums or shouting will send them retreating into the depths.

Some say that on quiet evenings, when mist lies low over the water, they rise near the surface and sing softly to one another in voices that blend with the sound of waves against the shore.

Among the Ojibwe, the Nibiinaabe are honored as a clan symbol. The Mermaid Clan bears their name, and their totem remembers these beings of the water—guardians of lakes and rivers, neither wholly human nor wholly fish, but belonging to the living spirit of the waters themselves.

Gallery

Sources

native-languages.org contributors. (n.d.). Nibiinaabe. In native-languages.org, from https://www.native-languages.org/nibiinaabe.htm

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 Nibiinaabe

Nommo

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Tradition / Region: Dogon Mythology, Malian Mythology
Alternate Names: Nummo
Category: Mermaid

The Myth

In the beginning, the sky god Amma created the first living being: Nommo.

Nommo was not like humankind. He was amphibious and radiant, formed with both male and female nature within him. He belonged to the waters and carried within himself the life of the world.

After his creation, Nommo transformed and multiplied, becoming four pairs of twin beings. These were the Nommos, the first ancestors.

But one of the twins rebelled. This being sought to break free from the harmony Amma had established and brought disorder into the universe.

To restore balance, Amma made a sacrifice. One of the Nommos was offered up. His body was dismembered and scattered across the world. Wherever a piece of him fell upon the earth, sacred places were established. These became shrines, marking the spots where the life of Nommo touched the land.

Yet Nommo was not destroyed.

He descended from the sky in a great vessel, accompanied by fire and thunder. When he reached the earth, he created water and entered it, for he could not live without it. The waters became his dwelling.

Nommo then divided himself again, giving his own body to humankind as sustenance. The world drank of him, and in doing so, received life. He gave human beings their vital force and the principles by which they live.

From him came order, knowledge, and sacred authority. From him also came the first Hogon, the spiritual leader of the Dogon.

Thus Nommo remains the ancestor of humanity, the master of water, the one whose body became the nourishment of the world.

Sources

Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Nommo. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved February 14, 2026, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nommo

Ekke Nekkepenn

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Tradition / Region: Danish Mythology
Alternate Names: Ekkehard Nekkepenn, Eke Nekepen, Eckeneckepenn
Category: Mermaid

The Myth

Beneath the waves of the North Sea lived Ekke Nekkepenn, a merman who dwelt on the seabed with his wife, Rahn.

One day, a ship bound for England was caught in a violent storm. As the vessel struggled against the waves, Ekke Nekkepenn rose from the depths and called to the captain, begging for help. His wife Rahn was about to give birth, and he needed a human woman skilled and kind to assist her.

The captain’s wife, brave and compassionate, agreed. The merman led her down into the depths, to his home beneath the sea. There she helped Rahn deliver the child safely. In gratitude, Ekke Nekkepenn gave her gold and silver before returning her unharmed to the surface.

The captain and his wife reached their home in Rantum on the island of Sylt, safe and prosperous.

Years passed. Rahn grew old, and Ekke Nekkepenn began to remember the beautiful woman who had helped him. Desire stirred in him. He resolved to claim the captain’s wife for himself.

One day, when the captain’s ship sailed again, Ekke Nekkepenn persuaded Rahn to grind salt upon the seabed. As she worked, a great whirlpool formed in the sea. The vortex seized the ship and dragged it down, along with its crew.

Now free to pursue his plan, Ekke Nekkepenn rose from the sea, taking the form of a handsome sailor. On the shore at Rantum, he met Inge, the captain’s young daughter. Against her will, he placed golden rings upon her fingers and hung a chain about her neck.

“You shall be my bride,” he declared.

Inge wept and begged to be released. Ekke Nekkepenn answered that she could win her freedom only if she learned his name by the next night.

No one on the island knew the stranger’s name. In despair, Inge wandered along the shore the following evening. From the distant dunes at Hörnum she heard a voice singing:

Today I brew,
Tomorrow I bake,
The day after that my wedding I’ll make.
My name is Ekke Nekkepenn,
My bride is Inge of Rantum,
And none know my name when I am alone.

Inge hurried back to the meeting place. When the sailor appeared, she faced him and said, “Your name is Ekke Nekkepenn, and I remain Inge of Rantum.”

At the sound of his true name, the merman’s power over her was broken. Enraged and thwarted, Ekke Nekkepenn vanished back into the sea.

Yet it is said that when storms rise suddenly off the coast of Sylt, and whirlpools churn the water, Ekke Nekkepenn still stirs in anger beneath the North Sea.

Sources

Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Ekke Nekkepenn. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved February 14, 2026, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ekke_Nekkepenn

Ningyo

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Tradition / Region: Japanese Mythology
Alternate Names: Mermaid, human-fish
Category: Mermaid

The Myth

The Ningyo is a mysterious aquatic creature believed to inhabit the sea, rivers, and other bodies of water. It is commonly described as a being with a human head and a fish’s body, although its appearance varies between accounts. Some depictions resemble creatures that are half-human and half-fish, while others portray a fish with a human face. Over time, the influence of Western stories and imagery contributed to the familiar depiction of the Ningyo as a beautiful woman with a fish’s tail.

In Japanese tradition, sightings and captures of Ningyo were sometimes regarded as extraordinary events. One early account describes human-like creatures appearing in a river in Ōmi Province in 619. Another tells of fishermen in Settsu Province catching an unknown creature that was neither entirely fish nor human. Such beings were also described in later tales, including an account of a fish with a human-like head caught in a fisherman’s net in Ise Province.

According to the latter story, the creature behaved remarkably like a human. When people approached, it made sounds and shed tears. The local inhabitants cut off and ate some of its flesh, which was said to taste exceptionally good. Nothing unusual happened to those who ate it, and the account presented this as an example of what a Ningyo might be like.

Ningyo were sometimes considered valuable enough to be presented to powerful rulers. Their appearances could also inspire religious ceremonies and prayers, particularly when they were interpreted as warnings of coming disasters. In some traditions, a Ningyo’s arrival was considered an omen of war, storms, earthquakes, or other calamities.

One account describes a Ningyo washing ashore at Akita in 1213. Divination interpreted its appearance as a sign of impending military conflict, and prayers were performed in Kamakura. In another story, a Ningyo was discovered in Tsugaru in 1247, prompting further religious observances. These events were associated with political unrest, reinforcing the belief that the creatures could foretell upheaval.

Other legends connected Ningyo with natural disasters. A story from Wakasa Province tells of a fisherman who killed a Ningyo, after which violent storms and a great earthquake devastated a village. The creature was regarded as a messenger of the deity Asami Myōjin. Such accounts suggest that harming a Ningyo could bring terrible consequences upon those responsible.

Not every Ningyo was considered an ill omen, however. A tradition associated with Ryūgū-ji, the Dragon Palace Temple in Fukuoka, tells of a Ningyo that washed ashore at Hakata in 1222. Divination interpreted its arrival as a sign of the nation’s enduring prosperity. The creature was believed to be a messenger from the Dragon Palace beneath the sea, and a structure built to bury it eventually became associated with the temple’s name.

Ningyo also appear in Buddhist legends. One story associated with Kannonshō-ji Temple in Ōmi Province tells of a fisherman who was reborn as an ugly Ningyo because of the killing of living creatures in his previous life. The temple was said to have been established following his plea for salvation. This tradition portrays the creature as a being suffering the consequences of its former actions and seeking spiritual liberation.

Perhaps the best-known legend associated with Ningyo is that of Yao Bikuni, the Eight-Hundred-Year-Old Buddhist Nun. According to the story, a woman gained extraordinary longevity after eating Ningyo flesh. Her tale helped establish the belief that consuming the creature could grant a long life, even though other traditions associated Ningyo with misfortune and disaster.

From the early modern period onward, Western ideas increasingly influenced Japanese depictions of Ningyo. Illustrations of beautiful women with fish-like lower bodies became more widespread. At the same time, fabricated Ningyo specimens were displayed as curiosities, often made by joining the bodies of fish and monkeys. Their promoters sometimes claimed that eating the flesh would extend one’s life or that merely looking at the creature could protect against epidemics. Specimens and mummified figures were also sold as souvenirs, including to visitors from overseas.

The Ningyo occupies an uncertain place in Japanese folklore. Its appearance could signal prosperity or disaster, its flesh was believed to grant longevity, and its presence could inspire both reverence and fear. Whether encountered as a strange creature from the water, a messenger of the Dragon Palace, or a being seeking salvation, the Ningyo reflects the many ways in which Japanese traditions connected the mysteries of the aquatic world with human fate.

Sources

tyz-yokai.blog.jp contributors. (n.d.). Ningyo. In tyz-yokai.blog.jp, from https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1077741608.html

Mélusine

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Tradition / Region: French Mythology, Luxembourg Mythology
Alternate Names: Melusine, Melusina
Category: Mermaid

The Myth

Mélusine is a female freshwater spirit associated with holy wells and rivers. She is usually depicted as a beautiful woman with the lower body of a serpent or fish. Some depictions give her wings, two tails, or both. Her legends are particularly associated with northern and western France, Luxembourg, and the Low Countries.

In the literary tradition recorded by Jean d’Arras in 1393, Mélusine is the eldest of three daughters born to Pressine, a fairy, and Elinas, the King of Albany. When Elinas breaks his promise never to see Pressine while she is giving birth to or bathing their children, Pressine leaves him and takes her daughters to the Isle of Avalon.

On her fifteenth birthday, Mélusine learns why her mother abandoned their father. Seeking revenge, she persuades her sisters to help her imprison Elinas and his riches inside a mountain. Pressine is furious that her daughters have punished their father and imposes different punishments upon them. Mélusine is banished from Avalon and cursed to take the form of a two-tailed serpent from the waist down every Saturday. If a man marries her, he must promise never to see her on that day. Should he keep his promise, she can live contentedly with him. If he breaks it, she will remain a serpent and appear in her monstrous form to the noble family, lamenting for three days whenever a descendant dies or the family’s fortress changes hands.

Mélusine settles in a forest near Coulombiers, by a stream close to Poitiers. There she encounters Raymondin, Count of Poitiers, who is distraught after accidentally killing his uncle. She comforts him, and they eventually marry after he agrees never to see her on a Saturday.

For ten years, Raymondin honours his promise. During this time, Mélusine bears him ten sons and oversees the construction of magnificent castles, bringing her husband wealth, lands, and power. Some versions describe their sons as physically deformed, although their parents love them.

Eventually, Raymondin’s family encourages him to grow suspicious of Mélusine’s private activities on Saturdays. He breaks his promise and secretly watches her bathing, discovering that her lower body has taken the form of a serpent. He initially conceals what he has seen. However, after one of their adult sons murders his brother, Raymondin publicly blames Mélusine and calls her a serpent.

Mélusine transforms into a dragon, gives Raymondin two magical rings, and flies away, never to be seen again in public. According to the tale, she returns at night to nurse her two youngest children, who are still infants.

Mélusine’s story became associated with several European ruling dynasties. Medieval literature and folklore claimed that the House of Lusignan, the House of Anjou and its descendants the Plantagenets, and the Limburg-Luxemburg dynasty descended from her. Her legend combines motifs of water nymphs, mermaids, guardian spirits, fairies, and supernatural women whose mysterious nature becomes a source of conflict when their human partners violate a forbidden condition.

Sources

Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Melusine. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved February 14, 2026, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melusine

Grindylow

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Tradition / Region: British Mythology
Category: –
Related figures: Mermaid, Swamp dweller

The Myth

In the marshes and stagnant ponds of northern England, something waits beneath the surface.

The Grindylow is said to dwell in meres, bogs, and reed-choked pools—especially in Yorkshire and Lancashire. It is described as a small, humanoid creature with scaly green skin, sharp claws, pointed teeth, and long, sinewy arms ending in unnaturally long fingers. Those arms are its most feared feature.

The Grindylow does not roam far from water. It hides below the murky surface, patient and unseen. When a child wanders too close to a pond’s edge, when small feet slip on wet stones or lean too far over still water, the creature strikes. With its powerful grip, it seizes the victim and drags them down into the dark.

Few tales describe what happens beneath the water. The horror lies in the suddenness—the splash, the grasp, the disappearance.

Gallery

Sources

Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Grindylow. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved February 14, 2026, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grindylow

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 Grindylow

Amabie

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Tradition / Region: Japanese Mythology
Alternate Names: Amabiko, Amahiko
Category: Mermaid

The Myth

Amabie is a mysterious Japanese yōkai resembling a mermaid, with a mixture of human and fish-like features. It has long hair, a scaly body, a beak-like mouth, and three legs. Its body shines with a brilliant light that can be seen from the shore, making its appearance in the sea an extraordinary and unsettling sight. Despite its unusual appearance, Amabie is regarded as an auspicious creature whose image can protect people from disease.

The only recorded sighting of Amabie took place in Higo Province, in what is now Kumamoto Prefecture, in April 1846. For several consecutive nights, a mysterious light appeared over the sea. Eventually, a government official went out to investigate the phenomenon. As he approached the glowing waters, a strange creature emerged and introduced itself as Amabie.

The creature delivered a prophecy, declaring that a bountiful harvest would continue for six years. It also warned that disease might spread among the population. If an outbreak occurred, the official was instructed to show Amabie’s image to people everywhere, as doing so would protect them from harm. Having delivered its message, Amabie returned to the sea.

The encounter soon became known through a printed illustration and an account of the creature’s prophecy, which were distributed so that people could learn about its appearance and protective power. Amabie’s image became associated with protection against illness, reflecting the desire for supernatural safeguards during periods when devastating diseases threatened communities.

Amabie’s identity and name remain mysterious. Its story closely resembles those of other prophetic yōkai, including the Amabiko and Jinja Hime, which appear to deliver predictions concerning harvests and disease before disappearing. Like Amabie, Amabiko is associated with a three-legged body and the belief that reproducing and sharing its image can protect people from illness. It is possible that Amabie represents a regional variation of Amabiko or that its name arose from a copying error, although its precise origin is unknown.

Amabie belongs to a broader tradition of supernatural beings whose appearances offer warnings about the future while providing people with a means of protection. Its combination of prophecy, brilliant light, and unusual anatomy distinguishes it as a mysterious guardian of human well-being, emerging from the sea to deliver a message before vanishing into the waves.

Sources

Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Amabie. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved February 14, 2026, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amabie

Ne Hwas

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Tradition / Region: Wabanaki Mythology, American Mythology
Alternate Names: Nehwas, Newas, Niwah
Category: Mermaid

The Myth

In the waters of the Passamaquoddy homeland, there is a spirit remembered as Ne Hwas—a being of river and sea, half woman and half fish, moving between the world of people and the deep places beneath the surface.

One story tells of two young girls who wandered too close to the water’s edge. They were drawn by the shimmer of the tide and the distant singing that seemed to rise from beneath the waves. Whether through curiosity, longing, or enchantment, they entered the water—and did not return as they had been.

When they were seen again, it was in the currents. Their bodies had changed. From the waist down, they bore the glistening tails of fish. Their hair flowed around them like riverweed, and their voices carried strangely across the water. They were no longer bound to the shore.

Some say they had become spirits of the water, Ne Hwas, belonging now to the hidden world beneath the surface. They swam through inlets and along rocky coasts, appearing at times to fishermen or children who lingered near the tide pools. They were not cruel, but neither were they fully human anymore. The water had claimed them.

Those who glimpsed them told of sadness in their eyes, as though they remembered the warmth of the land but could never quite return to it. And so their story remained—a warning and a wonder—about the deep waters, and how those who step too far into their mystery may find themselves changed forever.

Sources

native-languages.org contributors. (n.d.). Ne Hwas. In native-languages.org, from https://www.native-languages.org/ne-hwas.htm

Lumpeguin

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Tradition / Region: Wabanaki Mythology, American Mythology
Alternate Names: Lampeqin, Lampekwin, Lumpegwen, Lumpeguinuwok (plural)
Category: Mermaid

The Myth

In the rivers and coastal waters of Wabanaki lands dwell the Lumpeguin, small and powerful water spirits. Some say they appear as little people with shining eyes and long hair dripping with river water. Others say they are like tiny mermaids, with human faces and fish tails flashing silver beneath the surface. They move easily between water and shore, belonging fully to neither.

The Lumpeguin are beings of quiet magic. They can multiply food from almost nothing. A scrap of bread may become a feast in their hands. A handful of snow may be baked into warm loaves. Some carry enchanted pots that never empty, feeding those they favor. Their gifts, however, are never given lightly.

Like many nature spirits, a Lumpeguin’s power is bound to a magical garment—an article of clothing that allows them to move between worlds. If that garment is stolen, the Lumpeguin falls under the power of the thief. In old tales, men—and sometimes even animals—have hidden these garments and forced Lumpeguin women to remain on land as wives. Though they may live for a time among humans, their hearts remain with the water. If they ever recover their hidden clothing, they return at once to the rivers and are never seen again.

One tale tells of two Lumpeguin sisters who were captured in this way by Marten, a clever forest being. He hid their magical garments and claimed them as wives. The sisters lived with him, but they did not forget who they were. Through patience and cunning, they eventually regained their garments and set off on journeys of their own, traveling through forest and water alike, neither fully captive nor fully free until they reclaimed their power.

The Lumpeguin remind those who hear their stories that the spirits of the rivers cannot be possessed without consequence. Water gives life and sustenance, but it belongs first to itself. Those who try to bind it may hold it for a while—yet in the end, it always slips back to its own depths.

Sources

native-languages.org contributors. (n.d.). Lumpeguin. In native-languages.org, from https://www.native-languages.org/lumpeguin.htm