Mermaid
Ringkasan
Putri duyung adalah makhluk laut dalam cerita rakyat berbagai budaya, digambarkan berkepala dan bertubuh perempuan dengan ekor ikan, dan dipandang membawa nasib baik sekaligus bahaya bagi pelaut.
The mermaid is a sea creature of folklore across many cultures, described with a woman's head and body and a fish's tail, and seen as bringing both good fortune and danger to sailors.
Kisah dan tradisi
Putri duyung digambarkan sebagai makhluk laut yang berkepala dan bertubuh perempuan dengan ekor ikan di bawah pinggang. Kisahnya telah ada selama ribuan tahun dan tersebar di berbagai budaya. Dalam cerita rakyat pelaut, ia melambangkan keberuntungan sekaligus bencana, dan sumber museum menyebutnya makhluk yang secara moral ambigu. Dalam cerita rakyat Denmark yang dicatat dalam sebuah himpunan folklor, Havfrue digambarkan kadang baik dan kadang jahat. Nelayan melihatnya menyisir rambut emas dengan sisir emas; kemunculannya menandakan badai dan kegagalan menangkap ikan, dan ia dipercaya dapat meramalkan masa depan. Pasangan jantannya, Havmand, dianggap makhluk yang cukup baik dan murah hati. Di tempat lain, kisahnya mengambil bentuk berbeda. Di Shetland, perempuan laut tidak dapat kembali ke keluarganya tanpa kulit anjing lautnya; di Irlandia, topi Cohuleen Driuth berperan serupa. Cerita Yunani tentang Thessalonike menyebut ia memunculkan badai bagi kapal yang menjawab salah. Di Asia Tenggara, Suvannamaccha dikisahkan membantu Hanuman. Putri duyung kerap tertukar dengan siren, yang dalam mitologi Yunani awal berwujud setengah perempuan setengah burung. Sebagian laporan penampakan putri duyung pernah dikaitkan dengan dugong, kerabat manatee. Legenda Atargatis di Suriah dan ukiran di Kastil Durham termasuk jejak tertuanya.
The mermaid is described as a sea-dwelling creature with a woman's head and body and a fish's tail below the waist. Her stories have existed for thousands of years and span many cultures. In sailor folklore she represents both good fortune and disaster, and a museum source calls her morally ambiguous. In folklore from Denmark recorded in a folklore collection, the Havfrue is described as sometimes good and sometimes evil. Fishermen see her combing golden hair with a golden comb; her appearance prognosticates storm and ill success in fishing, and she is believed able to foretell the future. Her male counterpart, the Havmand, is regarded as a rather good and beneficent being. Elsewhere her stories take different forms. In Shetland the sea-maiden cannot return to her family without her seal-skin; in Ireland a cap, the Cohuleen Driuth, plays a similar role. The Greek tale of Thessalonike says she conjured a storm against ships whose sailors answered wrongly. In Southeast Asia Suvannamaccha is said to help Hanuman. Mermaids are often confused with sirens, which in early Greek mythology were half-women, half-bird creatures. Some reported sightings of mermaids have been associated with dugongs, relatives of the manatee. The legend of Atargatis in Syria and the carving in Durham Castle are among the earliest traces.
Konteks budaya
Bagi pelaut, putri duyung adalah lambang yang berubah-ubah seperti laut: di sebagian budaya melambangkan kehidupan dan kesuburan di samudra, di budaya lain melambangkan sifat perusak air. Ia sering dijadikan hiasan haluan kapal karena dipercaya menenangkan laut.
For sailors the mermaid is a symbol as changeable as the sea: in some cultures she signifies life and fertility within the ocean, in others the destructive nature of water. She often appeared as a ship's figurehead because she was believed to appease the sea.
Fakta utama
- Budaya / Culture
- Lintas budaya / belum dipetakan
- Kawasan / Region
- Transregional
- Era
- Stories of mermaids have existed for thousands of years; one of the earliest legends appeared in Syria around 1000 BC.
- Klasifikasi / Classification
- Hybrid
- Habitat
- Water
- Kemampuan / Abilities
- Meramal masa depan, Menandakan badai, Memikat pelaut, Berganti wujud dengan kulit anjing laut, Memberi penyembuhan (Mami Wata)
Nama lain / Alternate names
Havfrue, Merrow
Tahukah kamu? / Did you know?
Penggambaran putri duyung tertua di Inggris ada di kapel Norman Kastil Durham, bersama dua macan tutul dan beberapa adegan berburu.
The earliest depiction of a mermaid in England is in the Norman chapel of Durham Castle, alongside two leopards and several hunting scenes.