Mami Wata, or La Sirene, is a water spirit venerated in West, Central, and Southern Africa and in the African diaspora in the Americas.
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27 Facts About Mami Wata
2.
Mami Wata is understood to be a foreign spirit by Africans, and the recognition of her and her name is a recognition of Africans comprehending worlds other than their own.
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3.
Mami Wata is often described as a mermaid-like figure, with a woman's upper body and the hindquarters of a fish or serpent.
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4.
The existence and spiritual importance of Mami Wata is deeply rooted in the ancient tradition and mythology of the coastal southeastern Nigerians .
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5.
Mami Wata often carries expensive baubles such as combs, mirrors, and watches.
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6.
Mami Wata's is inevitably grooming herself, combing her hair, and peering at herself in a mirror.
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7.
Later, Mami Wata appears to the thief in his dreams to demand the return of her things.
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9.
In Cameroon, for example, Mami Wata is ascribed with causing the strong undertow that kills many swimmers each year along the coast.
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10.
The illness is evidence that Mami Wata has taken an interest in the afflicted person and that only she can cure him or her.
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11.
Many traditions hold that Mami Wata herself is barren, so if she gives a woman a child, that woman inherently becomes more distanced from the spirit's true nature.
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12.
An entire hierarchy of the Mami Wata priesthood exists in this region to officiate ceremonies, maintain the shrines, conduct healing rituals, and initiate new priests and priestesses into the service of various Mami Wata deities.
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13.
Mami Wata's is the lover of Papa Bois, a nature spirit.
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14.
In Southern Africa, for example, Mami Wata is sometimes said to be able to fly around in the form of a tornado, an adopted aspect from the khanyapa water spirit.
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15.
Mami Wata's was first mentioned in Dutch Guiana in the 1740s in the journal of an anonymous colonist:.
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16.
Mami Wata's is described as a strong-willed, sensual siren who possesses the ability to drown those enticed by her.
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17.
Similar to many other depictions of Mami Wata, Lasirenn is often shown gazing at herself in a mirror, a symbolic representation of her beauty.
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18.
Mami Wata's is often associated with queer relationships among Black women.
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20.
Mami Wata has proved to be a popular theme in African and Caribbean literature.
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21.
Mami Wata's has a tattoo of a snake on her body and receives a watch and a mirror as gifts in the series, two items generally associated with Mami Wata.
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22.
Trumpeter Hugh Masekela recorded a song titled "Mami Wata", which appears on the CD version of his album The Boy's Doin' It.
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23.
Mami Wata appeared in the second season of the Canadian television show Lost Girl on Showcase Television.
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24.
Mami Wata's is referred to in the television show River Monsters while Jeremy Wade is fishing in the Congo River in the episode Congo Killer.
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25.
Mami Wata's is referred to again in the "Body Snatcher" episode set in Guyana.
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27.
Mami Wata is a pivotal character in the second and third books in the Tristan Strong series by author Kwame Mbalia.
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