THE legend of Iara, also known as legend of the mother of water, is part of Brazilian folklore. It is a folkloric legend of indigenous origin, coming from the Amazon region.
Despite being from this region, the Legend of Iara is known throughout Brazil.
Iara or Yara, from the indigenous luara, means “the one who dwells in the waters”. She is a mermaid (half female, half fish) that lives in Amazonian waters. The figure of Iara is often confused with the African orixá Iemanjá, the queen of the sea.
With long black hair and brown eyes, the mermaid Iara emits a melody that attracts men, who are surrendered and hypnotized with her singing and her sweet voice.
Depending on the Brazilian region, the representation of India may differ, for example, in the color of her eyes and her hair, which is sometimes dark and sometimes light.
The story of the mermaid Iara
Legend has it that Iara was a brave warrior with an enviable beauty. For this reason, the brothers were jealous of her and decided to kill her.
However, at the time of combat, due to the fact that she has warrior skills, Iara manages to reverse the situation and ends up killing her brothers.
Faced with this, very afraid of the punishment of her father, the tribe's shaman, Iara decides to run away, but her father manages to find her. As punishment for the death of his brothers, he decides to throw her into the river.
The fish in the river decide to save the beautiful young woman by transforming her into the mermaid Iara. Since then, Iara has inhabited the Amazon rivers, conquering men and then taking them to the bottom of the river, who drowned.
It is believed that if a man manages to escape from Iara's charms, he will go mad, in a state of torpor and only a shaman will be able to cure him.
Also get to know other Brazilian folklore legends:
- Brazilian folklore: legends, games, songs, dances and parties
- Indigenous Legends
- Açaí
- Saci-Pererê
- Curupira
- Boitatá
- Headless mule
- pink dolphin
- Werewolf
- Negrinho do Pastoreio
