Water spirits

In folklore, a mermaid is an aquatic creature with the head and upper body of a female human and the tail of a fish. Mermaids appear in the folklore of many cultures worldwide, including Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Africa.

creatures half bird and half woman who lured sailors by the sweetness of her song

In Greek mythology, the Nereids or Nereides ( ; ; , also Νημερτές) are sea nymphs (female spirits of sea waters), the 50 daughters of the 'Old Man of the Sea' Nereus and the Oceanid Doris, sisters to their brother Nerites. They often accompany Poseidon, the god of the sea, and can be friendly and helpful to sailors (such as the Argonauts in their search for the Golden Fleece).

In various Asian religious traditions, the Nāgas () are a divine, or semi-divine, race of half-human, half-serpent beings that reside in the netherworld (Patala), and can occasionally take human or part-human form, or are so depicted in art. Furthermore, nāgas are also known as dragons and water spirits. A female nāga is called a Nagini (Hindi: Nagin). According to legend, they are the children of the sage Kashyapa and Kadru. Rituals devoted to these supernatural beings have been taking place throughout South Asia for at least 2,000 years. They are principally depicted in three forms: as entir

thumb|A 12th-century sandstone statue of an apsara from Madhya Pradesh, India

thumb|Vodyanoy by Ivan Bilibin, 1934

Japanese mythical creature

thumb|Undine A novella Undines (; also ondines) are a category of elemental beings associated with water, stemming from the alchemical writings of Paracelsus. Later writers developed the undine into a water nymph in its own right, and it continues to live in modern literature and art through such adaptations as Danish Hans Christian Andersen's 1837 "The Little Mermaid" and the 1811 novella Undine by Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué.

water sprite from European mythology

thumb|Illustration of a bunyip by J. Macfarlane (1890)

mythical Greek deity, daughter of Triton

right|thumb|300px|The amabie. Woodblock printing in Japan|Woodblock print, late Edo period, dated [[Kōka 3 (1846).]] is a legendary Japanese mermaid or merman with a bird beak-like mouth and three legs or tail-fins, who allegedly emerges from the sea, prophesies either an abundant harvest or an epidemic, and instructed people to make copies of its likeness to defend against illness.

one of the Sirens in Greek mythology

thumb|240px|alt=Tammas flees the nuckelavee|The nuckelavee chasing an islander, painting by James Torrance (1859–1916). The nuckelavee () or nuckalavee is a horse-like demon from Orcadian folklore that combines equine and human elements. If one was looking casually, or under the cover of shadow in the night, it was thought to have the silhouette of a normal horseman. However, upon further inspection, it resembles a fleshless horse which sports one eye and fins on its legs, with a fleshless human head, torso, and arms longer than normal sprouting out the horse's back.

thumb|400px|Umibōzu, from the (pub. 1801) thumb|upright|The , a kibyōshi by . Here appears an umibōzu with scales and a fin.

fairy-like creatures from mythology and folklore (for sprites from a work of fiction see Q30318085)

thumb|The isonade as depicted in Takehara Shunsen's Ehon Hyaku Monogatari is an enormous, shark-like sea monster said to live off the coast of Matsuura and other places in Western Japan.

female mythological figure in northern Moroccan folklore

Goldberry is a character from the works of the author J. R. R. Tolkien. She first appeared in print in a 1934 poem, The Adventures of Tom Bombadil, where she appears as the wife of Tom Bombadil. Also known as the "River-woman's daughter", she is described as a beautiful, youthful woman with golden hair. She is best known from her appearance as a supporting character in Tolkien's high fantasy epic The Lord of the Rings, first published in 1954 and 1955.

right|thumb|upright=.85|"Nure-onna" (ぬれ女) from the Hyakkai-Zukan by Sawaki Suushi. right|thumb|upright|"Nure-onna" (濡女) from the Gazu Hyakki Yagyō by [[Toriyama Sekien]]

The each-uisge (, literally "water horse") is a water spirit in Irish and Scottish folklore, spelled as the each-uisce (anglicized as aughisky or ech-ushkya) in Ireland and cabbyl-ushtey on the Isle of Man. It usually takes the form of a horse, and is similar to the kelpie but far more vicious.

The is a mythical Japanese (ghost, phantom, or strange apparition) from western Japan. It is described as being a skeleton whale that is accompanied by unknown fish and weird birds. It takes its revenge against people who hunt whales or eat whale meat, and does so by cursing them with plagues and fire. It is also known as .

thumb|170px|Xana (Lamia, John William Waterhouse, 1909). The xana (Asturian: /ˈʃana/or [ˈɕa.na]) is a character found in Asturian mythology. Always female, she is a creature of extraordinary beauty believed to live in fountains, rivers, waterfalls, or forested regions with pure water. The origin of the Asturian word xana is unclear, though some scholars see it as a derivation from the Latin name for the goddess Diana. References to where the mythological xanas lived are still common in Asturian toponyms. They also appear in Eastern Galician and Cantabrian mythology (Anjanas).

thumb|Japanese mermaid (ningyo). Coiffed with nihongami hairstyle of the Edo Period. , is a creature with both human and fish-like features, described in various pieces of Japanese literature.

Suvannamaccha (; ; , ALA-LC: Suvaṇṇmacchā; , ; literally "golden fish") is a daughter of Ravana (Thotsakan) appearing in the Thailand and other Southeast Asian versions of Ramayana. She is a mermaid princess who tries to spoil Hanuman's plans to build a bridge to Lanka but falls in love with him instead.

Aztec mythological creature

Scottish mythological creatures

mythical creature

thumb|19th-century postcard showing Korrigans. In Breton folklore, a Korrigan () is a fairy or dwarf-like spirit. The word korrigan means in Breton "small-dwarf" (korr means dwarf, ig is a diminutive and the suffix an is a hypocoristic). It is closely related to the Cornish word korrik which means gnome. The name changes according to the place. Among the other names, there are korrig, korred, korrs, kores, couril, crion, goric, kornandon, ozigan, nozigan, teuz, torrigan, viltañs, poulpikan, poulpiquet, and paotred ar sabad.

thumb|Newspaper headline, 7 December 1955

Duck-footed seductress in Basque mythology

creature from english folklore

thumb|A shōjō rolling a ( barrel of sake).

elemental spirit associated with water

In English folklore, Grindylow or Grundylow is a creature in the counties of Yorkshire and Lancashire. The name is thought to be connected to Grendel, a name or term used in Beowulf and in many Old English charters where it is seen in connection with meres, bogs and lakes.

Mythical creature

In Slavic mythology, bolotnik (, ; from boloto, "swamp"), balotnik (), bolotianyk () or błotnik (Polish; [ˈbwɔtnik]; "mud" or "puddle") is a male swamp spirit. There are many descriptions of bolotnik. Usually he was portrayed as a man or an old man who has big, frog-like eyes, a green beard and long hair. His body is covered with dirt, algae and fish scales. The legends from the Vitebsk Governorate of Russia said that bolotnik is a dirty, fat, eyeless creature that motionlessly sits at the bottom of the swamp. In some accounts bolotnik is also said to have long arms and a tail. Just like the m

In Greek mythology, Bolbe (; Ancient Greek: Βόλβη) was a beautiful lake goddess or nymph, who dwelled in a Macedonian lake of the same name (modern Lake Volvi). Like other lake gods and goddesses, Bolbe's offspring were Limnades, nymphs who live in freshwater lakes. According to Athenaeus, Bolbe was the mother of Olynthus by Heracles.

thumb|upright 1.1|alt=illustration of a great auk|A great auk, which may be the source for descriptions of the boobrie The boobrie is a mythological shapeshifting entity inhabiting the lochs of the west coast of Scotland. It commonly adopts the appearance of a gigantic water bird resembling a cormorant or great northern diver, but it can also materialise in the form of various other mythological creatures such as a water bull.

Utopiec (plural Utopce), Vodník or Topnik is a name applied to Slavic spirits of water. The utopce are spirits of human souls that died drowning, residing in the element of their own demise. They are responsible for sucking people into swamps and lakes as well as killing the animals standing near the still waters.

right|thumb|280px|"Yamato Takeru's battle against an Akugyo" from Koura Urakawa's Kanpira Shrine Tour Akugyo (悪魚 or 悪樓, "evil fish") or daigyo (giant fish) or raichōgyo (thunderbird fish) is a type of sea monster or aquatic yōkai in Japanese mythology.

yōkai that appear above the surface of some body of water

thumb|180px|right|The Sazae-oni as illustrated by Toriyama Sekien are creatures from Japanese mythology, resembling large mollusks. They are a type of obake that forms when turban snails, especially Turbo sazae, reach 30 years of age.

The '''''' (Scottish Gaelic for 'washerwoman' or 'laundress'; ) is a female spirit in Scottish folklore, regarded as an omen of death and a messenger from the Otherworld. She is a type of (, anglicized as "banshee") that haunts desolate streams and washes the clothing of those who are about to die. is the French word under which these "night washerwomen" are perhaps best known. She is also called , 'the little washer', , 'little washer of the ford', or , 'little washer of the sorrow'.

Dzerassæ () is a figure in Ossetian mythology best known as the daughter of the water deity Donbettyr and the mother of several Nart saga heroes. She was the wife of Akhsartag. With him, she was the mother of the twin heroes Uryzmaeg and Haemyts. She was also the mother of , with . After her death, the archangel Uastyrdzhi revived her and they became lovers in her tomb. Her daughter, the Nart Satanaya, was born thereafter.

thumb|300px|A glashan featured in an Irish folktale retelling. Glashtyn (Manx English: glashtin, glashtan or glashan; or ) is a legendary creature from Manx folklore.

mythological feminine character

A jengu (pl. miengu, also called bisima) is a water spirit in the traditional beliefs of the Sawabantu groups of Cameroon, like the Duala, Bakweri, Malimba, Subu, Bakoko, and Oroko people. Among the Bakweri, the term used is liengu (plural: maengu). Miengu are similar to bisimbi (singular: simbi) in the Bakongo spirituality and Mamba Muntu, who is present in many West and Central African cultures.

Orcadian mythical being that lives in the sea during summer, when she confines the demonic nuckelavee to the ocean depths; each spring she battles with her arch-enemy Teran to gain control of the seas and the weather

In Hawaiian mythology, Nāmaka (or Nā-maka-o-Kahai, the eyes of Kahai) appears as a sea goddess in the Pele family. She is an older sister of Pele-honua-mea.

hag and water spirit in English folklore

spirit of the water

turkic water spirit

thumb|Pincoya statue The Pincoya is, according to local mythology, a female "water spirit" of the Chilotan Seas. The Pincoya is said to have long blond hair, be of incomparable beauty, be cheerful and sensual, and rise from the depths of the sea.

thumb|right|Ureia, guardian taniwha of the Hauraki Gulf|Hauraki people. Carving from the meeting house Hotunui, 1878 In Māori mythology, taniwha () are large supernatural beings that live in deep pools in rivers, dark caves, or in the sea, especially in places with dangerous currents or deceptive breakers (giant waves). They may be considered highly respected kaitiaki (protective guardians) of people and places, or in some traditions as dangerous, predatory beings, which for example would kidnap women to have as wives.

female water sprite in Turkish mythology

right|thumb|200px|Suiko, from the encyclopedia Wakan Sansai Zue (1712) compiled by . right|thumb|200px|Suiko, from one of Toriyama Sekien's illustrated series, [[Konjaku Gazu Zoku Hyakki. ]]

A Simbi (also spelled Cymbee and '''Sim'bi, pl. Bisimbi or Basimbi''') is a Central African guardian spirit of the water and nature in traditional Bakongo religion, as well as in African diaspora spiritual traditions, such as Hoodoo in the southern United States and Palo in Cuba. Simbi have been historically identified as water people, or mermaids, pottery, snakes, gourds, and fire. Due to the forced removal of Bantu peoples from Africa to the Americas, the veneration of simbi exists today in countries, such as the United States, Brazil, Cuba, and Haiti.

Shuimu (), or Shuimu Niangniang (), is a water demon, spirit or witch of Buddhist and Taoist origin in Chinese mythology. She is also identified with the youngest sister of the transcendent White Elephant (Buddha's gate-warder). According to Chinese folklore, she is responsible for submerging Sizhou (an ancient Chinese city located in today's Anhui Province) under the waters of Hongze Lake in 1574 A.D. and is currently sealed at the foot of a mountain in Xuyi District. However, different tales of Shuimu exist in different regions of China. For example, in Suzhou, Anhui she may be a demon godde