Water spirit

Short description: Elemental spirit associated with water

A water spirit is a kind of supernatural being found in the folklore of many cultures:

## Contents

* 1 African
* 2 Celtic
* 3 Germanic
* 4 Ancient Greek
* 5 Japanese
* 6 Mesoamerican
* 7 Oceanic
* 8 Roman
* 9 Slavic
* 10 Thai
* 11 References

## African

Water Spirit mask from the Igbo people (Brooklyn Museum)

Some water spirits in traditional African religion include:

* Mami Wata is a transcultural pantheon of water spirits and deities of the African diaspora. For the many names associated with Mami Wata spirits and goddess, see Names of Mami Wata.[1]
* Owu Mmiri of some riverine people of Nigeria are often described as mermaid-like spirit of water.[2]
* A jengu (plural miengu) is a water spirit in the traditional beliefs of the Sawa ethnic groups of Cameroon, particularly the Duala, Bakweri, and related Sawa peoples. Among the Bakweri, the name is liengu (plural: maengu).
* A simbi is a mermaid-like or reptilian spirits from Kongo tribe and related to Vaudou religion.

## Celtic

In Celtic mythology:

* An Each uisge is a particularly dangerous "water horse" supposed to be found in Scotland;[3] its Irish counterpart is the Aughisky.
* The Gwragedd Annwn are female Welsh lake fairies of great beauty.
* A Kelpie is a less dangerous sort of water horse. There are many similar creatures by other names in the mythology including:
* the tangie (Orkney and Shetland)
* the nuggle also known as the shoopiltee or njogel (Shetland)
* the cabbyl-ushtey (Isle of Man)
* the Ceffyl Dŵr (Wales)
* the capaill uisce or the glashtin (Ireland)
* Morgens, Morgans or Mari-Morgans are Welsh and Breton water spirits that drown men.
* Selkie

## Germanic

In Germanic mythology:

* The Nixie (English) or the Nix/Nixe/Nyx (German) are shapeshifting water spirits who usually appear in human, or horse, form
* The Undine or Ondine is a female water elemental (first appearing the alchemical works of Paracelsus)
* Jenny Greenteeth in the folklore of Lancashire
* Peg Powler said to inhabit the River Tees in Yorkshire
* The grindylow in the folklore of both Lancashire and Yorkshire.

## Ancient Greek

In Greek mythology:

* Naiads were nymphs who presided over fountains, wells, springs, streams, and brooks
* Crinaeae (Κρηναῖαι) were a type of nymph associated with fountains
* Limnades or Leimenides (Λιμνάδες / Λειμενίδες) were a type of naiad living in freshwater lakes.
* Pegaeae (Πηγαῖαι) were a type of naiad that lived in springs.
* Nereids were sea nymphs.
* Sirens were bird-bodied women living in the sea near a rocky island coastline.

## Japanese

In Japanese folklore:

* Kappa (河童, "river-child"), alternately called Kawatarō (川太郎, "river-boy") or Kawako (川子, "river-child"), are a type of water sprite.
* A Hyōsube (ひょうすべ) is a hair-covered version of a Kappa.

## Mesoamerican

In Aztec belief:

* Ahuizotl; a dog-like aquatic creature that drowned the unwary.

## Oceanic

In the mythology of Oceania:

* Adaro were malevolent merman-like sea spirits found in the mythology of the Solomon Islands.

## Roman

In Roman mythology:

* Camenae were goddesses of springs, wells and fountains, or water nymphs of Venus (mythology).

## Slavic

Main page: Religion:Slavic water spirits

In Slavic mythology:

* A Vodyanoy (also wodnik, vodník, vodnik, vodenjak) is a male water spirit akin to the Germanic Neck.
* A Rusalka (plural: rusalki) was a female ghost, water nymph, succubus or mermaid-like demon that dwelled in a waterway.
* А Berehynia in ancient Ukrainian folklore is a goddess spirit that guarded the edges of waterways, while today it is used as a symbol for Ukrainian nationalism.
* Moryana is a giant sea spirit from Russian folklore.
* For potoplenyk, vila/wila/wili/veela, and vodianyk, see also Slavic fairies.

## Thai

* Phi Phraya (ผีพราย, พรายน้ำ), a ghost living in the water.
* Phi Thale (ผีทะเล), a spirit of the sea. It manifests itself in different ways, one of them being St. Elmo's fire, among other uncanny phenomenons experienced by sailors and fishermen while on boats.

## References

1. ↑ Drewal, Henry John (2008). "Introduction: Charting the Voyage". in Drewal, Henry John. Sacred Waters: Arts for Mami Wata and other divinities in Africa and the diaspora. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-35156-2. , p. 1.
2. ↑ "Serving Two Masters: The Case of the Self-Confessed Christian and Priestess of the Water Goddess". Daily Sun (Nigeria). 2007-07-30. http://www.imdiversity.com/Villages/Global/Global_News_Headlines/ServingTwoMasters.asp.
3. ↑ MacPhail, Malcolm (1896). "Folklore from the Hebrides". Folklore 7 (4): 400–04. doi:10.1080/0015587X.1896.9720386. https://zenodo.org/record/2393304.

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