Merfolk Of color Why is that there are none Known?

[Mermaid Maleficia]

:confused:I know it's strange that I bring it up but, as I go along in my mermaid journey I feel completely alone.
I don't really have many to relate to or I have anxiety to ask questions.
But, why is that there aren't any merfolk of color it kind bothers me a bit....

[AniaR]

depends on what you mean by known. I know many mermaids of all colours. If you're talking like, Hannah Fraser style known, consider that there are only a handful of mermaids at all that known, and we're a fairly small community.

Some awesome mers who aren't white...

Mermaid Cydney: https://www.facebook.com/MermaidCydney?fref=ts

https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/524836_463476597067118_1984310877_n.jpg

Blix aka Juku https://www.facebook.com/pages/Blix-Prince-of-the-Caribbean/348441028548834

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/575262_369577863101817_1260712785_n.jpg

My good friend JV https://www.facebook.com/pages/Massachusetts-MerRoyalty-JV/300548516705761?fref=ts

https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/65525_357847227642556_18640554_n.jpg

Caribbean Pearl

https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc1/740697_507217572655989_1378917904_o.jpg

and loads of others!

[Prince Calypso]

Yeah Sweety, your arent alone. There are quite a few of us.
WHERE"S MY PICTURE RAINA!? lol
Anyway if you do some research you would learn that the roman style view of the mermaid "the common" mermaid image
is actually from Africa.
the Romans/ Greeks who traded with Africa took their stories of the Fish wives and Fish husbands and mermaid Goddesses like Yemaya and Mami Wata
and combined them with their own myths of Sirens and sea nymphs thus why the two even though they are called by different names were often times if not always depicted as mermaids.

the Samaritan goddess Astarte who is commonly known as the first mermaid was actually just a leak from Africa as well since the two cultures for a while shared many similarities

so next time your feel alone or wonder why their are no black mermaid who are commonly depicted in media and art just remember that all of that comes from Africa and our culture.

[Mermaid Marissa]

You are definitely not alone :D I felt the same way being a mixed mermaid (I have yet to meet a native american or first nation mer but I have met many african american mers)

If you ever want to talk just send me a message :)

[Mermaid Varshana]

Blix' tail is one of the best things ever ^^; I also believe that Solitary Siren, draggersprez, and MerEmma are mermaids of varying color too!

[Alveric]

I know she's fictional, but I still count her, Aurora Yates.

11728

[Mermaid Dottie]

Sadly, I am White white white.... We've yet to find anything interesting in my family line, except that the Welsh can have an olive tone, and that's why my mom and my grandmother's cousin look Polynesian.
My husband is part Ute! Though he and our baby just look Irish.

[Phoenix Mermaid]

I'm a mixed mermaid too. So we are out there lol

[Echidna]

Anyway if you do some research you would learn that the roman style view of the mermaid "the common" mermaid image
is actually from Africa...
the Samaritan goddess Astarte who is commonly known as the first mermaid was actually just a leak from Africa as well since the two cultures for a while shared many similarities

eh, sorry, have to speak up here ;)

the Greeks and Romans had only little influence from Africa; more precisely, they were influenced by Egypt, who in turn had borrowed from Assyria, Babylonia, and ultimately, Sumer.

All later cultures borrowed most of their legends & gods (and pantheons) from this source (Sumer);
Astarte is the Greek name of the biblical Ashtoreth, the Akkadian Ishtar, and the Sumerian Inanna.
The goddess of love and fertility, the spring festival is dedicated to her, and you find her name (Ishtar- Easter) even in our day's version of this ancient holiday :p

That said; there are mermaid myths (as in, mermaids with fishtails) all over the world, and they supposedly mirror the appearance of each ethnicity accordingly;
therefor, ancient Chinese myths feature Chinese mermaids (their tails are more snake-like though; Indian Naga do more resemble dragons and seaserpents, as do merfolk from many other older European stories, before they were "cutesified"),
however from a purely scientific viewpoint, the existence of aquatic humanoids with a strong pigmentation is unlikely, since pigmentation is an adaptation to strong UV radiation, which water filters out.

[Mermaid Varshana]

There are lots of marine mammals with strong pigmentation. Look at orcas and pilot whales, sperm whales, hourglass dolphins, Bowheaded whales, Dalls porpoises and sea lions. Actually, dark sea animals are incredibly common.

[Mermaid Dottie]

I'm with Kakarotte on that one, actually. I think marine humanoids would have camouflage-type colorings. Like tigers, or leopards. Maybe they are totally sand-colored!

[Prince Calypso]

eh, sorry, have to speak up here ;)

the Greeks and Romans had only little influence from Africa; more precisely, they were influenced by Egypt, who in turn had borrowed from Assyria, Babylonia, and ultimately, Sumer.

All later cultures borrowed most of their legends & gods (and pantheons) from this source (Sumer);
Astarte is the Greek name of the biblical Ashtoreth, the Akkadian Ishtar, and the Sumerian Inanna.
The goddess of love and fertility, the spring festival is dedicated to her, and you find her name (Ishtar- Easter) even in our day's version of this ancient holiday :p

That said; there are mermaid myths (as in, mermaids with fishtails) all over the world, and they supposedly mirror the appearance of each ethnicity accordingly;
therefor, ancient Chinese myths feature Chinese mermaids (their tails are more snake-like though; Indian Naga do more resemble dragons and seaserpents, as do merfolk from many other older European stories, before they were "cutesified"),
however from a purely scientific viewpoint, the existence of aquatic humanoids with a strong pigmentation is unlikely, since pigmentation is an adaptation to strong UV radiation, which water filters out.

Really? I'm not even going to get into this right now.

[Mermaid Momo]

Hi there! Mermaid of color here :) also, did you guys know that most marine mammals are dark on the top light on the bottom? This is for survival purposes, viewed from underneath them they blend in with the bright water above them, viewed from the top they blend in with the dark water . :)

[Echidna]

There are lots of marine mammals with strong pigmentation. Look at orcas and pilot whales, sperm whales, hourglass dolphins, Bowheaded whales, Dalls porpoises and sea lions. Actually, dark sea animals are incredibly common.

Sure.
I was referring to the "human" part of mermaids.
As hybrids, their upper part is human; and in humans, pigmentation occurs as adaptation to sun rays.

If you're going the "marine animals"-route, then it'd be feasible for mermaids to be grey- or greenskinned, spotted, colourful (when living near reefs), all black or dark red (when abyssal), camouflaged, or as daggersprez mentioned, dark on the back, light on the belly.

That's just not how mermaids were described in any known culture, though.

[telzey.amberdon]

http://mernetwork.com/index/image.php?u=1711&dateline=1365025960&type=profile Mermaid Mandi!

[Mermaid Cascada]

Egypt is basically a part of Africa lol. I'm a mixed mer :D

[Mermaid Varshana]

That's just not how mermaids were described in any known culture, though.
Then again, the theory is that sailors mistook dugongs and manatees for voluptuous humanoid fishpeople.:confused:

Yeah, I can't figure that one out either.

[AniaR]

Calypso I can' find your FB page bahah

I actually do a workshop on mermaid myths from all over the world. I've put a huge amount of research into it and give it at multicultural festivals. I kinda disagree with some of the statements made here, cuz I've researched the hell out of it. And you gotta decide what "mermaid" defines etc. But yeah there's a lot. Sedna in Nunavut, Ningyo in Japan, Yemayah in part's of Africa, Selkies and Naids in Scottland and Ireland, (and here actually where I live), Nagas, Sirens, merrow.... there are SO many.

[devilkitten1]

This makes me want to ask my mother about West Indian mermaid lore since she's from the Carribean.

[Rain]

eh, sorry, have to speak up here ;)

the Greeks and Romans had only little influence from Africa; more precisely, they were influenced by Egypt, who in turn had borrowed from Assyria, Babylonia, and ultimately, Sumer.


I can see what you mean when you say that Egypt borrowed it from other cultures, but if you look at a globe, or go online and look at the world map. You'll see that Egypt is one of the many countries in Africa. So in the end, Prince Calypso was on the right track when he said they were influenced by Africa.

These are some of the countries that make up Africa: Algeria,Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina, Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad,Comoros, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cote d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Ethiopia Gabon Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, and the list goes on x.x

[Mermaid Marissa]

This makes me want to ask my mother about West Indian mermaid lore since she's from the Carribean.

You should! I'd love to hear it! :D I know a little about mermaids and my native american culture (sadly my grandmother died before I was 2 so I can't ask her for more info)

[Nyxie]

:confused:I know it's strange that I bring it up but, as I go along in my mermaid journey I feel completely alone.
I don't really have many to relate to or I have anxiety to ask questions.
But, why is that there aren't any merfolk of color it kind bothers me a bit....



i thought the same thing after a while...funny thing tho...i didnt even notice until i started looking for hair tips and color inspirations. Still, after realizing i couldn't find any darker mers...i started digging for images. after researching awhile , i gave up. but hey!! nice to know i wasnt the only one :) with that said..what do you do with your hair when you swim ?

[Aziara]

The only thing interesting about my ancestry is that I had an Irish great great grandmother and a Native great great grandmother... not sure which tribe, as the local priest only wrote 'savage' in the record. Didn't even write her name down. And the Irish girl was an orphan adopted by local Cajuns, and she was so young she couldn't tell them what her name was... They just called her 'pretty eyes' in French... fairly sure that my green eyes are a throwback to her.

[Joy&RaptorsUnrestrained!]

La Sirene (related to the Mami Wata legends) is also a mermaid of the caribbean who fits the "mermaid of color" (though my admittedly limited understanding is that most depictions describe her as being mixed, and having unusually fair skin).

Also, can we please stop the "whose tail is bigger" arguments, especially where ethnicity is involved? The earliest mer stories are from the middle East because the earliest civilizations (that we know of) were from there, so arguing that merfolk would be predominantly of any descent really doesn't make sense... merfolk are elements of HUMAN culture and folklore and mythology, not restricted or owing existence to any ethnicity. That's besides the point... what the founder of this thread was searching for is examples of mermaids of different ethnicities in popular culture today (honestly, little girls don't care about Ea or Atargatis, they care about Ariel and maybe the H2O girls and mermaid barbies). The way to make mermaids of color present in the popular mind is the same way to make mermen present... i.e. actually putting yourself out there in a tail, writing stories or making movie clips of merfolk fitting those qualities, and reassuring kids that anyone can be a mer if they want.

[Alveric]

What J&RU said. Merfolk are as universal as anything can be in humanity. Searching for their origins is as pointless as trying to discover who invented the bow and arrow or music. They are our common heritage.

[AniaR]

Joy hits the nail on the head. Thanks Joy. I wanted to say something similar but didn't because I couldn't think of a way to say it.

[Mermaid Maleficia]

Currently I let my hair sit out and since I am growing my hair out to my shoulders and since natural right now. :P So that natural condition greese and leave in condition right now :D until next summer.

[Mermaid Maleficia]

Well Learning from joy and raina and few others finding a bit more about the history of mers with a darker color of skin origin seems like I need go read a bit more. :D But, I think honestly trying to figure out the true way of there history since many facts lead different directions.

[Mermaid Maleficia]

depends on what you mean by known. I know many mermaids of all colours. If you're talking like, Hannah Fraser style known, consider that there are only a handful of mermaids at all that known, and we're a fairly small community.

Some awesome mers who aren't white...

Mermaid Cydney: https://www.facebook.com/MermaidCydney?fref=ts

https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/524836_463476597067118_1984310877_n.jpg

Blix aka Juku https://www.facebook.com/pages/Blix-Prince-of-the-Caribbean/348441028548834

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/575262_369577863101817_1260712785_n.jpg

My good friend JV https://www.facebook.com/pages/Massachusetts-MerRoyalty-JV/300548516705761?fref=ts

https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/65525_357847227642556_18640554_n.jpg

Caribbean Pearl

https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc1/740697_507217572655989_1378917904_o.jpg

and loads of others!


I am actually quite suprised I know about mermaid cydney she so lovely.

[Mermaid Maleficia]

OH THANK YOU DARLING! <3

[Mermaid Momo]

Currently I let my hair sit out and since I am growing my hair out to my shoulders and since natural right now. :P So that natural condition greese and leave in condition right now :D until next summer.
Im going natural too! My hair was at my shoulders when I started and it grew out about 4inches last year (but then I put another relaxer in it so 1 step back I suppose) and now I'm natural again, I have no idea how long it is now because basically my hair styles consist of braids,braids,and more braids lol

[Mermaid Maleficia]

Im going natural too! My hair was at my shoulders when I started and it grew out about 4inches last year (but then I put another relaxer in it so 1 step back I suppose) and now I'm natural again, I have no idea how long it is now because basically my hair styles consist of braids,braids,and more braids lol
Right now I am using castor oil along my head and no relaxer just all natural right now... I barely use heat soon I have to change up my shampoo and conditioner and need to hit the body shop up for some banana conditioner it does wonders on the hair.

[jukumerboii]

i made a Fb group called Merfolk of Color! https://m.facebook.com/messages/read/?tid=id.411099539003436&_mn_=12#!/groups/605841719439512?ref=m_notif&notif_t=group_activity&__user=100002721282960

[Mermaid Fenicia]

https://fbstatic-a.akamaihd.net/rsrc.php/v2/yz/r/aKhO2tw3FnO.png (https://m.facebook.com/home.php?refid=12)
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[Nashoba]

:confused:I know it's strange that I bring it up but, as I go along in my mermaid journey I feel completely alone.
I don't really have many to relate to or I have anxiety to ask questions.
But, why is that there aren't any merfolk of color it kind bothers me a bit....





Mermaid of color, here! I'm Native. :D

[deepblue]

You are definitely not alone :D I felt the same way being a mixed mermaid (I have yet to meet a native american or first nation mer but I have met many african american mers)

Well, I can't officially be a mer- I have no tail, and I probably won't anytime soon. But I'm Native American (a couple tribes, actually, though only enrolled in one, as that's the law) and Euro in blood. Another friend of mine would be a pro mer if she could, and she's a member of the Tlingit tribe, Killer Whale clan and HOW COOL IS THAT NAME? :) I hope she gets her tail one day.

[empressmone]

hello i am a mer of color. :Di am west and east indian . :)