Salado, Texas Mermaid Legend

[MermaidRanoria]

I don't know if you guys know this but Salado, Texas has its vary own mermaid legend about a Native American mermaid name Sirena.

The Statue:
15687
The last time I visited the spot was right after the damage was done to to statue, but I've seen it many years ago and thought it was pretty cool. I've put the link below to info about Sirenas. From what I can tell they are trying to still raise money for a new statue. Wouldn't it be neat if the Texas mercitizens gathered to help support the cause? If you're in the area its worth stopping by and checking out. Salado is on the stretch of I35 about 50 minutes north of Austin.

This site has info on where you can find various mermaids used in artistic mediums. Maybe you have a local mermaid legend you didn't even know about.
http://mermaidsofearth.com/mermaid-statues-mermaid-sculptures/public/sirena-the-indian-mermaid-statue-in-salado/#.Un9Bu_nrzuY

[SeaSister]

Aww that's such a sad story (as most mermaid legends are, unfortunately). I was just curious about the name though... Sirena isn't a Native American name, right? It simply means mermaid in Italian and I believe Spanish as well. Or was the original name too difficult to pronounce so they just translated it into Spanish?

[MermaidRanoria]

I agree, it is a sad story.

You know SeaSister I'm not sure really. I don't think Sirena is a Native American name. Maybe they went with the name because Sirena because it derives from Greek as 'enchanter'? Don't quote me exactly because I could be way off base. I did think it peculiar to pick a non Native American name, but then again Sirena could be of authenticity. I've never seen any further information about her in Salado. Maybe I should do some more digging and see what I can come up with.

[Echidna]

Sirena is most definitely not a native american name.
They might have "translated" it, so to speak.

All languages derived from Roman use some form of "sirena" for mermaids.
Germanic languages use the term mermaid/Meerjungfrau, etc. (aka woman/maid from the sea)

Asian languages (and maybe native american too) usually call them "woman-fish" or "man-fish".

Greek is an exception, as they call mermaids "gorgones", linking them to powerful serpent- and seamonsters.

[MermaidRanoria]

Sirena is most definitely not a native american name.
They might have "translated" it, so to speak.

All languages derived from Roman use some form of "sirena" for mermaids.
Germanic languages use the term mermaid/Meerjungfrau, etc. (aka woman/maid from the sea)

Asian languages (and maybe native american too) usually call them "woman-fish" or "man-fish".

Greek is an exception, as they call mermaids "gorgones", linking them to powerful serpent- and seamonsters.

Thanks for the info. Vary informative. I didn't think that the name was legit, but I couldn't say for sure. I'm also not sure about the legitimacy of it being a Native American tale either. I know the Tawakoni had made a settlement there, but I've never actually heard of this 'legend' coming from the tribe itself. Here is a link to an event that happened earlier this year that talks with the original artist and the effort to replace Sirena:
http://m.kdhnews.com/living/ae/music/salado-saving-sirena/article_abcb42f8-50a5-11e2-ae4e-0019bb30f31a.html?mode=jqm

I also checked the PALS facebook to see if its been recasted. It doesn't look like. Even if the story behind it isn't really Native American it's still pretty neat.

[Echidna]

Even if the story behind it isn't really Native American it's still pretty neat.

Oh, it might very well be.
Many tribes have legends of mermaid-like creatures, especially in the North.

Most of them have more snake-like traits though.
Snake Spirit Maidens belong to a whole order of a mermaid-like species, and are linked to water and rain.

There is a ceremony, where the tribe does the Snake Dance, which emulates the mating of snake maidens of the water, and snake youths (male) of the sky.
(During this dance, live snakes were handled carefully, and set free after the dance ended.
From the way the snakes slithered away into freedom, oracles determined how plentiful the harvest would be.)

The idea that male and female serpent spirits (which also can shapechange into human forms) are connected to water and sky respectively is very old, and has probably been brough over from Asia even before the first tribes migrated to America.

[Mermaid Oshun]

I am SO HAPPY I saw this thread. This is beautiful. Thank you for posting this it is adorable! Reminds me of the story of Persephone.