Mermaid (pronounced mur-meyd)
(1) In folklore, a female marine creature, having
the head, torso, and arms of a woman and the tail of a fish. The less well-known masculine equivalent is a
merman.
(2) Slang term for a highly skilled female
swimmer.
Mid-1300s: From the Middle English mermayde (maid of the sea), the construct being mere + maid. From the Middle English mere, from the Old English mere (sea; inlet; lake), from the Proto-Germanic mari derived from the primitive Indo-European móri. It was cognate with the West Frisian mar, the Dutch & Low German meer and Norwegian mar (only used in combinations, such as marbakke). It was related to the Latin mare, the Breton mor and the Russian мо́ре (móre). Maid is from the Middle English mayde or maide, an abbreviation of maiden. Ultimate source is the Proto-Germanic magaþs (maid, virgin) and there were links to the Dutch meid & Magd. The fourteenth century image of the "fabled marine or amphibian creature having the upper body in the form of a woman and the lower in the form of a fish, with human attributes" appeared most often in conjunction with the idea of a creature "usually working harm, with or without malignant intent, to mortals with whom she might be thrown into relation".
Mermaids became a popular sign displayed by taverns and inns (and not just those in ports or coastal towns) in the early fifteenth century and Mermaid pie, first sold in the 1660s, was a sucking pig baked whole in a crust and documented from 1825 was the mermaid's purse (the baked egg-case of a skate, ray, or shark), a dish (an aquatic take on the culinary tradition of haggis) thought of Scottish origin. The merman (fabulous sea-creature, man above and fish below (literally "man of the sea)) dates from circa 1600; the gender-neutral merpeople from 1849 and merfolk (inhabitants of the sea with human bodies and fish-like tails) from 1846. The recent male gender formations never caught the public imagination in quite the same way and seem pointless add-ons to the myth, al la Barbi's Ken.
Садко в Подводном царстве (Romanized as Sadko v Podvodnom tsarstve) and commonly called Sadko although known also as Sadko in the Underwater Kingdom (1876), oil on canvas by Ilya Yefimovich Repin (1844–1930), Russian Museum, Saint Petersburg.
Repin painted Sadko (an imposing 127 in × 90.6 inches (3.225 x 2.3m)) while living in France. The artist was inspired by an epic-length Russian poem, depicting the merchant and musician Sadko who must choose for his wife one of the daughters of the Underwater King. Biographers have noted the subject an uncharacteristic one for Repin and have suggested his choice of a tale from Russian folklore may have reflected the homesickness he felt after three years in self-imposed exile although it exhibits too the influences of the artistic and social milieu of Paris's Montmartre. At the time, Repin was ambivalent about the state of Russian art and for some time, Sadko sat abandoned in his studio but the society painter Alexey Petrovich Bogolyubov (1824–1896) thought it so compellingly Russian he prevailed upon Tsesarevich Alexander Alexandrovich (1845-1894; the future Tsar Alexander III (1881-1894)) to commission it, prompting Repin to finish the work.
The bylina (an oral epic poem) which inspired the painting was from north-west Russia and recounts how Sadko had been brought to the realm of the Underwater King to perform a recital which went well, so well the king danced with such delight that he caused a devastating storm. To show his appreciation, the king offered Sadko the choice of one of his mermaid daughters to take as his wife but following the advice of a saint, Sadko refuses three times three hundred daughters before accepting the last, named Chernavushka. In the painting, Sadko appears at the right, watching the mermaids flow past his gaze, the unchosen at the front of the procession looking more disappointed than the fish John West rejects. Chernavushka, last in the aquatic queue is shown glancing at her man. At the time, the work received a mixed reaction. All acknowledged the technical skill displayed in the execution but it appealed only to Russian traditionalists, those critics who moved in more liberal circles and were attracted more to realism than a mystical allegory of an undersea kingdom thought it sentimental "folk-art" and urged Repin to return to the naturalistic style with which he'd established his early reputation.
Mermaids are real: The Disneyland mermaids.
In summer, between 1959-1967, women dressed as mermaids were employed to splash around four hours a day, operating from a coral reef in the middle of the Submarine Lagoon at the Disneyland Resort in California. The criteria to qualify for selection as a Disney mermaid included having long hair and being able to swim, the other qualifications not listed on the advertisements but presumably implied by the nature of the appointment. Those lucky enough to succeed in the first stage of the recruitment process needed to prove their prowess in the hotel pool and, upon demonstrating adequate aquatic adeptness, were given a job which included their tails. The weekly salary was US$65 which was above average for the time, their other perk being the right to swim in any of the park's many pools (without their tails).
For a few weeks, prior to the opening in June, the mermaids practiced in Submarine Lagoon, surrounded by construction activity, neither the lagoon or the Matterhorn yet complete and were warned to keep their distance from the submarine, since there was no barrier and the installation contained what were described, ominously, as "moving parts". After opening, the mermaids would swim around the submarine, giving guests a memorable experience under and above the surface, performing tricks such as flips and turns with their tails. Their costumes consisted of a starfish top and a remarkably life-like neoprene tail which could be seen shimmering in the water by those aboard the monorail which transported guests between the park and the Disneyland Hotel.
An integral and important part of the lagoon’s design was a centrally-located rock which was artificially heated, vital because the water was cold and on cooler days, the mermaids really needed the warmth. The rock became the hangout spot for the mermaids to warm up in the sun and chat amongst themselves, itself something of a tourist attraction and one of the park’s more photographed scenes although the volume of the crowds gathered to enjoy the view did create congestion. That was manageable but the programme had to be closed in 1967 after a number of mermaids were found to be suffering illness, caused by a combination of prolonged exposure to diesel submarine's exhaust fumes and the highly chlorinated water. After an absence of many years, mermaids can again be seen in the lagoon but, unlike the flesh, blood and neoprene originals, today’s creatures are animatronic creations.
The “sturgeon incident”, Xishuangbanna Primitive Forest Park, Yunnan, China, January 2025.
In the twenty-first century, being a mermaid remains hazardous, the dangers including some not covered by most OHS (occupational health & safety) guidelines. In January 2025, aged 22, Russian national Masha was working as a mermaid in the aquarium at Xishuangbanna Primitive Forest Park in the PRC’s (People’s Republic of China) Yunnan Province when a large sturgeon appeared to attempt to “chomp” on her head. The quick thinking mermaid swam away with only minor injuries although it appears the fish may have swallowed her goggles and nose clips. Children in the audience were said to be “shocked”.
The source of the most prized and expensive caviar, sturgeons are among the largest freshwater fish and the largest can grow to 24 feet (7.2 meters) in length and weigh over 3500 lb (1500 kg) although most are typically between 7–10 feet (2–3 meters) and weigh several hundred pounds; an ancient species, they can live over 100 years. Generally shy, there’s no history of them attacking people although the largest (like the Gulf or Atlantic sturgeon) have sometimes caused injuries (and even fatalities) by leaping from the water and colliding with someone unfortunate enough to be in their path. Bottom feeders, they live on small aquatic organisms like crustaceans, insects and molluscs; lacking teeth, they use their suction-feeding ability to suck up food from the river or lakebed, relying on their barbels (whisker-like sensory organs) to detect prey in murky water.
The munched-on mermaid was offered about US$100 in compensation for “moral damages” but was also warned not to discuss the “attack” and reminded of the consequences of posting material on-line which could be construed as “being a troublemaker” but unfortunately for Xishuangbanna Primitive Forest Park’s relationship with the CCP (Chinese Communist Party), customers who had filmed the attack within minutes uploaded the footage to TikTok’s domestic sister app Douyin, from which it spread worldwide. Moscow news services reported that so expendable did Russian mermaids appear to be that although injured and in some pain, Masha was required almost immediately to return to the water where presumably she maintained a cautious distance from the big fish. In Russian, Masha is an affectionate diminutive of Maria, from Mary, the English form of Maria, the Latin form of the Greek Μαρία, María (or Μαριάμ) & Mariam, found in the Septuagint and New Testament. In the Hebrew the name meant “rising water” and in Russian “star of the sea” so there may have been an element of nominative determinism with Masha destined to be a mermaid or at least something aquatic. Masha can also mean “willpower” or “bitterness” and, in the circumstances, she might need one to overcome the other.
