MERMAID -The JALPARI OF INDIA

The word mermaid is a compound of mere, the Old English word for "sea", and maid, a woman. The male equivalent is a merman.Mermaids are mythological aquatic creatures with a female human head and torso and the tail of a fish.

Mermaid in folklore, sea-dwelling creature commonly represented as having the head and body of a woman and a fishtail instead of legs. Belief in mermaids, and in their counterpart, mermen, has existed since earliest times. They are often described as having great beauty and charm, which they use to lure sailors to their deaths (seeSiren). In some legends they assumed human shape and married mortals (see Mélusin ). The origin of the mermaid is thought by some to be the dugong (see sirenian).

Legend and myth :

The Land Baby, by John Collier(1899)Legends of these half-human, half-fish humanoids have circulated for millennia, even as far back as 5,000 B.C. It has been widely suggested or implied that manatees or dugongs could be behind the myth of the mermaid. An example supporting this theory would be that Christopher Columbus had logged that he had seen mermaids on his journey to the new world, but thought they would be more attractive. These large aquatic mammals are notable for the way in which they carry their young, cradled in their arms much as a human would carry a baby. It is possible that sailors seeing these unfamiliar beasts for the first time, would assume that they had in fact stumbled across some sort of humanoid species, and consequently spread their accounts of the sightings through their homelands on their return from voyages. It has even been posited that the traditional image of a mermaid with long flowing hair could be attributed to manatees breaking the ocean surface underneath patches of seaweed, and giving the unfamiliar observer the impression of having long hair. Sightings from first-hand witnesses generally describe mermaids who do not talk and have green or black hair.

MERMAID AND TSUNAMI:

During Tsunami many mermaids were found dead on the sea coast. Mermaid In Tsunami It has actually been reported that the "mermaid mummy" found after the Tsunami (and the one that looks like a creepy Jar Jar Binks) are both sculptures created by talented artist Juan Cabana. He sold the mermaid creations on Ebay for over $1,550.00 US dollars. Apparently the buyers then used these sculptures to try and stir the media.

If it really appears than we have to really work on this