Wabanaki Mythology Archives

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.

Gallery

Sources

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

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How to Invite The Ne Hwas

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.