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Mermaids in the Karoo

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Kelly Wheeler
April 22nd, 2010

While the idea of mermaids in the Karoo may sound completely ridiculous, it is something that is firmly believed by locals.

Many Klein-Karoo residents have reported seeing a mysterious woman with blue eyes, pink cheeks and a fish-tail, lounging beside deep mountain pools. She simply sits and combs her long, death black hair before disappearing and leaving you to questioning your sanity.

Is the Karoo Mermaid just another myth like all the others that surround the ancient continent of Africa? Or is there something to the stories of a beautiful fish-tailed woman haunting this arid region?

Where she came from

As with all myths, the origin of the Karoo Mermaid is open to both interpretation and embellishment. Just over 250 million years ago, the Klein Karoo was not the desert that it is today - but rather a world that existed under the sea. Receding waters left us with the Cango Caves and the legend of a Mermaid. Is she a remnant of this bygone aquatic era left behind to remind us of another time?

In 1875, a farmer named Mr D Ballot from Molensrivier recorded a story told to him by an elderly bushman. This bushman spoke of spirits that lived under the water at Eseljagtspoort near Oudtshoorn and took the form of women or animals and were believed to grab anyone who passed by and drown them in the watery abyss. Is the Karoo Mermaid a figment of African folklore that still survives into the 21st Century?

Two centuries after the first discovery of the Cango Caves, a flood desecrated the Klein Karoo area. In a few traumatic days in 1996, everything from cattle to crocodiles were flushed out the desert and sent back to the Indian Ocean. Is this elusive Mermaid a flood victim left stranded in the desert once the waters ran dry?

Is she real?

The sceptics...

San rock paintings located in the driest of Karoo areas depict Mermaid-like creatures, suggesting that she has been around for longer than any of us can comprehend.

Sceptics argue that the San paintings are rather images depicting a ritual that a Shaman conducts to ask for relief from a drought. The so-called Mermaids are actually Swallows that have long been associated with rain.

Other people argue that the Karoo Mermaid is simply a variant on a Western myth that infiltrated African culture to protect children from drowning. The Mermaid has always been a warning - especially to sailors - to forgo temptation. Stories of Mermaids drowning young children in deep, bottomless ponds ensured that children would resist temptation and stay away from dangerous waters.

The convinced...

Many other people point out that the San people were known for directly depicting what they saw - not interpretive rituals. The Mermaid/Swallow images were also often shown to be holding something, convincing many that they had arms and not wings - implying that these were creatures encountered and recorded by the San people.

Other people say that the Karoo Mermaid is a reminder to our scientific age of the importance of water. Traditionally Mermaids have been symbolic of the power of the feminine and their mirrors a reflection into the soul. Their less sinister role was to encourage sailors to explore the realm of the unconscious and reach a higher state of consciousness.

Today, this ancient water spirit is argued to be re-emerging to return us to that state of higher consciousness. The Karoo Mermaid now exists to rejoin us with the Earth and give us the courage to save our own planet - defying scientific explanation in the process.

Have you seen the Karoo Mermaid? Do you believe? Let us know in the comment section below.

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Mermaid

Submitted by Krulkop on Tue, 05/11/2010 - 09:16.

Hey this is no ordanary fish "mermaid" it is a Transvestite

Mermaids

Submitted by Leon on Sun, 04/25/2010 - 13:25.

That is why our country is in such a state. Some people believe in mermaids and the others believe they can run a country.

I have never heard of a male

Submitted by Eugene on Fri, 04/23/2010 - 15:11.

I have never heard of a male mermaid. How do they multiply???

Are they Black?

Submitted by Michael on Fri, 04/23/2010 - 08:26.

I am really curious as to what colour these mermaids are reported to be?
They have black hair, but what of there skin?
Are they african mermaids or european mermaids in africa?

The Karoo Mermaid

Submitted by Mukhode Ramovha on Thu, 04/22/2010 - 16:06.

Yes! i Believe in the Karoo Mermaid. old people don't lie, and Myself by origin im From Vnda Culture were were we heard about mapungubwe area the place of Transparent life when we were still young the grannys used to tell stories about that place and the peaople who leved and how rich was that palce(gold,iron and silva), and the scientist descoverd it exactly the granny told us in the story.

Nice to know

Submitted by kimstories on Thu, 04/22/2010 - 11:08.

Thank you. I love knowing things like this. There are too many mermaid stories for there not to be some base of fact, somewhere.

If I can Belive

Submitted by Adk on Fri, 09/04/2009 - 23:35.

If I can believe in Aliens, then I can beleive that there are Mermaids. And I rest my case.

mermaid of Gong-gong

Submitted by Anonymous on Sat, 08/08/2009 - 20:45.

About 10 km out of Barkley West on your way tp Cape Town there is a rural area called Gong-Gong. This is where my father was brought up. He claims that he saw a mermaid there years ago. Black hair combing her hair with fins instead of legs basking on a rock. This was at the only waterfall in the area. As he moved closer she realised his presence and slipped into the water and dissapeared. The thing is he is a very quiet man and will not say anything to make him look foolish. I believe him and think perhaps a this phenomonem needs to be investgated.

mermaid / Mamlambo

Submitted by Anonymous1 on Fri, 08/07/2009 - 10:34.

a bit bit dissapointed with some of the comments here.
for one this is not a myth nor is it something western, anyone who grew up in rural South Africa will have seen one or met someone who has. obviously not everyone can see them just like ghosts you could be walking together and one person sees it and you dont.(by the way ghosts are real2, if you havent seen one you havent experienced fear)
all rural areas with big rivers running through them have these at times they can even be dangerous and they have the ability to change their visibility to attract people.
point is they exist and if you see one make a point or running to the opposite direction and far away from the waters

Respect the Mermaids

Submitted by Anonymous on Sat, 06/20/2009 - 07:35.

Directed to Felix Motlokwa: You may aswell ask the Christians to show you the vitual clippings of Jesus that they confess he is alive today. Like Islam does not allow vitual clipping so is the same with Batau-BaMasemola who respect the Mermaids(Mamokebe). If you are realy seeking the truth vistit the Village of Ga-Masemola in Limpopo and ask anyone around the area to see "Mamokebe" at the following fountains: Mmotong, Mmamalatjie, Tisana, Kgwaadi, Matikiring and Mmabodibeng.

Being in a diverse country like South Africa please Respect the Mermaids.

mermaids

Submitted by FELIX MOTLOKWA on Wed, 06/17/2009 - 10:02.

If i can see vitual clippings i would believe 100%
besides that they are fairy tails,.

Respect the Mermaids

Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 06/16/2009 - 14:01.

I love this article! Correction:Mermaids is not a western thing that was introduced in Africa! We do have Mermaid in Africa and we refer to as "LEDIMO" or "MAMOKEBE". Right in the hot land of the northern part of South Africa we still see Mermaids even today. To the native African people of Batau in Ga-Masemola Mermaids are reaspected and believed to fill our swamps and fountains with water during dry seasons without rain. There in Ga-Masemola you will fountains that never run dry because of Mermaids.( The fountain of Mmotong, Mmamalatjie, Tisana and Kgwaadi).

Mermaids in the Karoo.

Submitted by NB on Tue, 06/16/2009 - 13:38.

Shame.

Mermaids

Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 06/15/2009 - 21:06.

Most people that have had experience with ayahuasca shamanism (Peru, Equador) will tell you that as spiritual entities are as real as any other spirits. The San using other methods of gaining access to this spirit world did however access the same realm in their unique ways and it should thus not be discounted that the depictions are of nothings other than the spirits encountered in this realm.

Mermaids

Submitted by Bass Monkey on Mon, 06/15/2009 - 16:20.

I love these type of Old Traditional/Legends stories and myths...please publish more for us to read.

San Art

Submitted by gt24.editor.kelly on Mon, 06/15/2009 - 16:10.

Hi M Botha,

Thank you so much for that extra bit of info. I didn't come across that in my research and it sounds fascinating.

Although I am sure many people would still rather believe that the images do depict mermaids! :)

Kelly

San Art

Submitted by M. Botha on Mon, 06/15/2009 - 16:02.

I just have to point out that the so called mermaid San paintings are defenitely not mermaids or swallows. I studied and traced san art with a well known scholar for many years and learnt a lot about their art in the process. The so called mermaid figures are of shamans in trance. When one goes into trance one either goes "light" or "heavy". When they went "light" they depicted the shamans with feathers or wings but when they went "heavy" they were depicted with fish fins as in the painting in your article. San art is mostly about trance and their mythology and you can check this with WITS University's cognitive archeology department.

Karoo Mermaid

Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 06/15/2009 - 15:56.

Do you generally get your spirits out of a bottle..?

Karoo mermaid

Submitted by Awesome on Mon, 06/15/2009 - 15:27.

What a story!!! Wouldn't it be wonderfull if its true. It will give us all something awesome to believe in (on earth) again.
Great story. A real-life "fairy-tale"

Good Stuff...

Submitted by Karoo Legend on Mon, 06/15/2009 - 14:20.

It's good stuff they drink in the Karoo... ;-)

I have a "get away from the city" house in the Karoo and love it there. I would strongly propose the same for all country lovers. The Karoo is rich with diverse culture, colourful history and fascinating folklore.