📜 LEGEND · EXP. Nº0270
ACTIVE
Iara, the Mother of the Water
Iara, the Mother of the Water is a legend from Río Amazonas, Manaus (Amazonas), BR — a folk story passed down over generations. This file collects its origins, its meaning and how it has been retold.
Where does the legend of Iara, the Mother of the Water come from?
- Location
- Río Amazonas, Manaus (Amazonas), BR
- Kind of legend
- Myth
- Coordinates
- -3.119, -60.022
- Testimonies
- 0
- Last updated
LOCATION
What is the legend of Iara, the Mother of the Water?
In the Brazilian Amazon, along the banks of the great rivers, people tell of Iara, the 'mother of the water', a mermaid with very long green or black hair, brown skin and a beauty no man can resist. According to Tupí Indigenous folklore, at dusk she sits on the river stones combing her hair and singing in a voice so sweet it hypnotizes fishermen and river dwellers. Whoever hears her song is bewitched and throws himself into the water to join her, sinking forever to the riverbed, where he will live in her submerged kingdom. A popular version says Iara was once a brave warrior whose jealous brothers tried to kill her; she defeated them, but her father cast her into the river as punishment, and the fish and the moon transformed her into the beautiful water creature. More than a mere ghost, Iara explains drownings and embodies the respect and fear that Amazonian peoples feel for their immense rivers.
📎 Source: Enigma Atlas
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