My Mermaid Theory

[wabond]

I have a mermaid theory that mermaids were simply female breath-holding divers like the Haenyo and Ama divers of Korea and Japan. I believe these female breath-holding divers once existed all over the world, but were then persecuted like in the infamous Witch-hunts of the Middle Ages, and then written out of history. So today, we only have the mermaid myths from the folk-lore of the common-people to tell us about these remarkable women. My theory explains so many things, like. -

*Witchcraft, - Why witches and mermaids were the same people and why they were persecuted.
*The Aquatic Ape theory, - Why it is the best explanation of human evolution, and why this theory is not liked by male scientists.
*Why mermaids and not mermen? – Why most breath holding divers are women and why women's bodies are more adaptable to the marine environment than men.
*Modern day free diving and open water swimming, - Why women can compete on equal terms with men, in both these sports.
*The Sea people, - The story of the sea people like the ancient Phoenicians as well as the modern sea people like the sea gypsies of South East Asia. All of whom were/are breath holding divers.
*The Siren call, - What are the origins of the siren call.
*Mermaid tails. – Why people in the past thought that breath holding divers had fish tails, or even two tails, as well as the history of swimming aids.
*Arthurian. What the Arthurian legends of the ladies of the lake tell us about ancient mermaids.

Anyway if anyone is interested you can read about it in my blogs, videos and articles which are available at. –

Article. - http://www.bubblews.com/news/956509-origins-of-mermaid-myths-and-legends

Blog. - http://mermaid-williambond.blogspot.co.uk/

Videos - http://wabond.hubpages.com/hub/what-mermaids-really-are

[SeaGlass Siren]

Gasp!!! I share that theory too!!!!

[Echidna]

there have been extensive articles and discussions on this already:
http://mernetwork.com/index/showthread.php?6256-Origin-of-mermaid-legends

while the friendly, harmless mermaid type most certainly were female divers from all around the world, the shapeshifting, seadragon-like predator mermaids who eat humans clearly are something else.

[wabond]

Gasp!!! I share that theory too!!!!

Yes, a few people have thought like this. There was a Korean film called, "My Mother The Mermaid" which was about Haenyo divers. I suppose I have research the theory a bit more than most and written about it.

[wabond]

Thank you Caltuna for putting a link to the first article I wrote on mermaids. I wasn't aware that someone did this on this forum.

I do discuss shapshifters, sea-dragons and predatory mermaids in my mermaid writings as being part of the mermaid folk-lore. Shapeshifters, would be ancient mermaid who used swimming aids like mono-fins and flippers and this is the reason why in mermaid tales mermaids grew legs when they come ashore, (they take off their mono-fins) and grow fish tails when they go back into the sea. (put on their mono-fins once again). Sea-dragons could be the fact that Haenyo divers were called, "dragon wives", as the were the breadwinners of the family, while their husband looked after the house and children. As for predatory mermaids, this came from the siren myths. These stories were invented to discourage young sailor sailing their boats too far inshore to gawk at naked mermaids lying on rocks, and wreak their boats on hidden undersea rocks.

[Aziara]

I think the shapeshifting, maneater lore could also have been propaganda spread about the female divers, just like there were a lot of lies told about young women accused of being witches.

[Echidna]

Sea-dragons could be the fact that Haenyo divers were called, "dragon wives", as the were the breadwinners of the family, while their husband looked after the house and children.
Dragons have a very different connotation in Asia than in the western world.
"Dragon Wives" does not mean something like "house dragon" or such, or that the woman is the breadwinner lol.
It stems from an ancient chinese term and practice, namely to sacrifice girls and women to the River Gods (dragons) in order to pacify them.
The women were believed to be taken as concubines by the dragon kings, hence the term.

It was later also applied to women who could venture into the rivers and sea- forbidding, deadly places to the ancient humans, most couldn't swim-, because it was inconceivable anyone would survive there without being a favourite or concubine of the ubiquitous kings of the water realm.

It's also the reason why women did this job- not because women are so much better swimmers or freedivers, as you can easily see today, but because men wouldn't dare to go near the dragons, and women could as they trusted to be handled leniently. :p

[wabond]

I think the shapeshifting, maneater lore could also have been propaganda spread about the female divers, just like there were a lot of lies told about young women accused of being witches.

As far as I can make out witches and mermaids were the same people. The reasons I think this are explained in my article. http://wabond.hubpages.com/hub/Mermaids-Are-Real-Part-Five

[wabond]

As far as I can make out, Caltuna, women were better breath-holding divers than men, because a female body can withstand cold water better than a male body and because men male divers who swim in cold water every day would find it difficult to father children. As I explain in my article. - http://wabond.hubpages.com/hub/Mermaids-are-Real-Part-Two