Iara (siren)

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Iara or Uiara (from the Tupi language 'y-îara, Portuguese senhora das águas "mistress of the water" or Mãe-d'água "mother of the water") is a siren in Brazilian mythology . She has green eyes and lives in the rivers or lakes, where she sings irresistible songs at night, especially in the moonlight. It is said that she has such a beautiful and touching voice that she enchants the men who follow her into her realm at the bottom of the water. For fear of the Iara, the Indians avoid staying on the bank in the evening. When an Iara dies, its waters dry up.

myth

Before Iara became a siren, she was an Indian warrior, the best of her tribe. Her siblings envied her as she was always praised by her father, a pajé , and decided to kill her. When they sneaked into their tent at night, Yara heard them and had to kill her in self-defense, whereupon she fled for fear of her father. Her father sent for her. When she was found, she was thrown into the Solimões at the mouth of the Rio Negro as a punishment . The fish brought her back to the surface and at night the full moon turned her into a beautiful siren with long hair and green eyes. It is also said that she is the goddess of fish.

reception

In the modernist Brazilian novel Macunaíma - The hero without any character by Mário de Andrade and in the film Macunaíma based on it, the title hero Macunaíma becomes the victim of an Iara. He sees a beautiful naked girl swimming in a pond, but does not notice the breathing hole in her neck that would have betrayed her as Iara. He jumps into the water and is pulled down.