The Mermaid

09 FEB 2020

[Today's post is a continuation from the last post, with some more mermaid information gleaned from the internets and inspired by the Mythic Creatures exhibit at the Witte Museum in San Antonio, TX] 

One of the mythic creatures highlighted by the Witte Museum’s special exhibit was Lasirenn, the mermaid. This caught my eye, because the Spanish translation for mermaid is La Sirena. La Sirena is also one of the cards in Lotería, the traditional Spanish lottery game, also known as Mexican Bingo. She is card number six.

Lotería is a lot like Bingo, but the caller not only calls out the number on the card, but he or she also says a little rhyme or riddle about the picture on the card as well. Here's an example of what might be said when La Sirena is pulled: 

"Numero Seis! La sirena! Con los cantos de sirena, no te vayas a marear."

Number 6! The Mermaid! Don’t be swayed by the songs of the mermaid.

But the Spanish La Sirena of Lotería fame was not the La Sirenn at the Witte. This La Sirenn was the mermaid of the people of the island nation of Haiti. Lasirenn has various spellings: Lasiren, La Siren, or Lasyrene. She is one of the three Ezili sisters in Haitian mermaid myths. All three symbolize female power and problems but only Lasirenn is actually a mermaid. She is the mystical mermaid living underwater. There was a Haitian Voodoo chant about Lasirenn at the exhibit: 

Original (Haitian French):

Lasyrenn, Labalenn,

Chapo’m tombe nan lanme’.

M’ap fé karés ak Lasyrenn,

Chapo’m tombe nan lanme’.

M’ap fe dodo ak Lasyrenn,

Chapo’m tombe nan lanme’.

To see Lasirenn underwater is like catching a glimpse of something mysterious, something huge, powerful and sudden. The repeated line in the poem, " My hat falls into the sea" means you're about to be consumed by an insight and/or drown!

Lasirenn is described in opposites: she is black and white. She is also Labalenn, the whale (killer whales are also black and white). She is usually nice, but she storms like the sea in her aspect as a whale. As a woman, her hair is black or blonde, but always very long and shiny. She is always combing her long hair, as in other mermaid myths. She is related to the African goddess Mami Wata in form and attributes.

In her mermaid myths, Lasirenn captures people and pulls them underwater. As poetic as “My hat falls into the sea” sounds, it means to follow Lasirenn underwater. Some merely drown, others return alive but altered by their time with the sea goddess. Most of the returnees are women. Those who follow Lasirenn disappear for three days, three weeks, or three years and when they return they are changed. Their skin is paler (a big deal in the Haitian culture), their hair longer and straighter, and they have gained secret knowledge of healing. These returnees are disoriented after their time with Lasirenn. At first, they cannot speak and don't even remember what happened to them. After some time the story emerges, of being instructed by Lasirenn under the water.

Where does she live? Under the sea? No. She lives on the other side of the mirror. She appears white and black. Where did you see her? Ah, you were on the other side of the mirror! 

Artwork from the Smithsonian American Art Museum: 
Michael Cummings, Haitian Mermaid # 2, 1996, machine pieced, quilted, and appliquéd commercial and hand-dyed cotton, synthetic and antique fabrics, found objects, sequins, and beads, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Dorothy Dent Goodson, 2002.59

Most images of La Sirenn show her with a mirror and a comb. Mr. Cummings displays an interesting take on the myth. I am ever grateful to the Witte Museum for opening up my eyes to this version of the mermaid myth. Who knows what stories I will spin based on my trip to the Witte, but I definitely will keep in mind that all creatures, even mermaids, can come in all shapes, sizes, and colors.