Introductory Waterfolkology literature or books Masterlist
This is a list of books which, in my opinion, tend to be swell for introducing waterfolk, for example merfolk, mermaids and mermen and the like.
All of them are pretty good to get introduced into waterfolk only. While I still have many more in my shelf, most of them are pretty limited for getting introduced. What I refer to is being thrown into this topic like being thrown into a cold pool. "Beyond Faery" by John T. Kruse for example only explains British waterfolk and not all the other ones that one should know about. Basically, I cherry-picked some books for this list. I wrote down some of my personal pros and cons, mostly like a bullet list. Questions are welcome. My personal favorites are more on the surface of this list. Cited sources, accurate information, included lesser known or mentioned information (this is more based on my own intuition from what I have read on what is "mentioned less", take it with a grain of sea salt), and different topics are a high-priority, yet folklore being a more major one. I'm pretty critical, but that is because I have a soft spot for more accurate and reliable sources that cite their information and whatnot. Some information in even the greatest literature tends to be biased. I do sound pretty dry here, but I cannot turn the tide for this one, sadly.
Many are well-researched meanwhile others are not so much. Of course no book can include literally everything when being more general about this topic. Some are older, but still have accurate information because usually folklore is something that is not based on the most up-to-date information, yet some information is. They are not meant to be one's one and only source because most do never manage to portray something in the entirety, leaving information out or giving us wrong information. Literally almost all of them include the false sighting of John Smith. That's why such a wide variety of literature is pretty good. Some books are out-of-print. I got many second-hand.
All of this is my own opinion and one should also read other reviews when sea-riously considering what to get. There are so many of these and one should really think twice about what one should get, at least physically. One can try to lend a book from a library or get it in E-Book format, of course.
>>Mermaid and Other Water Spirit Tales From Around the World<< by Heidi Anne Heiner:
Pros: Essential and satisfies my critical side. A treasury of more accurate and literal accounts of waterfolk in folklore taken from more direct sources. (Obviously not the original sources, but mostly the directly translated ones). Even includes full older articles like "Sea Fables Explained" or the waterfolk section of "Superstistions of the Sea and Sailors". Includes various notes on sections in order to add or explain some things about each sourced text. Directly cited sources. Includes lesser known waterfolk like the Kaffirs of Xhosa belief on pages 732-735. Includes many different versions of some tales like the ones of "The King's Son and Messeria". Includes ballads and all their different versions. Is not afraid to leave direct, lengthy and repeating things inside (It is okay to sum such lengthy tales up, but I am happy that such a book exists when one needs to check the actual account).
Cons: Some language of the past might make it harder to understand some sources. Need to look up some vocabulary. Stories like "The Little Mermaid" or "Undine" included within the sea of oral tradition, out of the tide.
>>The Penguin Book of Mermaids<< edited by Christina Bacchilega and Marie Alohalani Brown:
Pros: Essential. Scholarly and descriptive. Includes direct and accurate source texts and important notes to explain a source or to describe it. Makes it clear what is literary and what is not by giving it a separate section. Has some lesser known literary tales. Includes many lesser known waterfolk like the karukayn from North Australia or Persian watermaidens. Cited sources nicely.
Cons: Only includes one version each for the ballads.
>>The Mermaid Atlas: Merfolk of the World<< by Anna Claybourne and illustrated by Miren Asian Lora:
Pros: Quite essential as it dives into a wide range of waterpeople from across the world's waters with a substantial fishing net cast into the sea of these books. Mentions more obscure waterpeople like the lamiak, Ji-Merdiwa, Sumpall, Avatea, Lobasta, Peru waterfolk etc. Introduced me to many of the aforementioned waterpeople from obscure depths and uncharted waters. Illustrations are nice to look at and they do depict them well to an extent. Succinct, yet descriptive about each type of waterperson. Includes sightings and makes it clear that those featured are only some of them.
Cons: No sources for any information are stated and one is left to search by oneself in order to get the full wave. Included one literary waterperson, namely the little mermaid and mixed it up with all the other ones from oral tradition. It's a bit out of the tide.
>>Mermaids: The Myths, Legends & Lore<< by Skye Alexander:
Pros: Includes many lesser known waterpeople like Squant the sea-woman to whom it introduced me. Goes into folklore, but also symbolism and other topics alongside. Mentions lesser known waterfolk sightings. Many obscure waterfolk depictions, but only all of them in teal. Has somewhat good reference pages.
Cons: Some things are mentioned twice. No direct sources cited for any sections alongside for the depictions. Information tends to be scattered around and mixed together in the book and thus is not very easy to follow.
>>Merpeople: A Human History<< by Vaughn Scribner:
Pros: Essential. Partly made available online on articles like "What Merpeople Say About Us" on Nautilus, "Mermaids and Tritons in the Age of Reason" on the Public Domain Review and also some interviews. Descriptive, academic, scholarly. Written by a historian. Dives into many a many of obscure sightings and puts forth many ideas on that topic. Has much information on all the different frauds and includes much more obscure information. Goes into some folklore and influence on pop-culture with many great examples. Great waterfolk depictions, including some lesser known ones. Sources cited for depictions and information. Explains the fraud of John Smith's "sighting".
Cons: Does not include all too much folklore from around the world, covers only more basic knowledge in that section. Primarily only focuses on sightings and hoaxes etc.
>>Solving Mysteries with Science: Mermaids<< by Lori Hile:
Pros: Dives into sightings and theories including answers on the existence of waterfolk. Has somewhat lesser known information, hoaxes, and sightings. Covers why one might have believed in them. Has some folklore still. Succinct.
Cons: Mostly only about waterfolk sightings and hoaxes.
>>Sea Enchantress: The Tale of the Mermaid and Her Kin<< by Gwen Benwell and Arthur Waugh (1961):
Pros: Academic, scholarly, and very well-written. It's descriptive and written by scholars, obviously. They were members of the British Folklore Society and devoted several years to research this topic alone. Somewhat essential. Many diverse topics ranging from the shallow takes on waterfolk that they are "only sirenians" up to different sightings and folklore from the entire world. Includes lesser known waterfolk like the Finnish Aino in the Kalevala and the nixen in the Nibelungensage from Germany or the almost obscure Jalpari of the Punjab district in Kulu in India's mythology. Includes a small variety of diverse depictions ranging from illustrations to sculptures, but only in black and white. Has a list of waterfolk depictions in British cathedrals and churches. Dives into some more 20th century popular waterfolk media.
Cons: Sometimes only describes waterfolk with not-so-much detail. Short sources are cited, but not always, only rarely. Has a tendency to be more talking about European waterfolk than others, especially those of the British Isles. Fewer waterfolk from other countries. Does not acknowledge the misconception of Dagan, the supposed fish-god. Just assumes that Dagan is a fish-god while he most likely is not, more of an agriculture god.
>>Mermaids: Art, Symbolism, and Mythology<< by Alex Müller, Christopher Halls, and Ren Williamson:
Pros: Academic, thorough, and scholarly. Written by scholars. Includes a big list of references and sources for the depictions. Dives into different topics like the ancient waterfolk of Mesopotamia and Greece, waterfolk in early Christianity, some sightings and explanations, art and modern 21st century influence. It has many nice and essential depictions from the past and even sculptures. Describes in neat detail how some depictions came to be and where they are featured etc. Has a graph showing how the sirens changed from half-bird to half-fish with many variants.
Cons: No directly cited sources in the text. Mostly only more well-known waterfolk.
>>Mermaids<< by Beatrice Philpotts:
Pros: Descriptive. Has nice waterfolk depictions including lesser known ones. Goes into folklore and sightings with some hoaxes including answers. Some lesser known information like the supposed sea-god incarnation of King Chen.
Cons: Almost no directly cited sources. Information is quite mixed together.
>>The Mermaid Handbook: An Alluring Treasury of Literature, Lore, Art, Recipes, and Projects<< by Carolyn Turgeon:
Pros: Dives into many things from folklore to 21st century fashion and pop-culture like the name above suggests. Sources cited for the depictions and some of the texts included like smaller poems. Includes few lesser known older depictions of waterfolk. Mentions some somewhat not very well-known waterfolk like Dahut of the city of Ys or the Ben-Varrey. Some interesting speech or interviews by people on the topic of waterfolk like "A Young Man's Guide to Picking Up Mermaids".
Cons: No directly cited sources in the folklore section, not even in the back. I was quite surprised by that. While it does have a bibliography, it does not give direct citations. Does not always cite depictions on those large two page spanning ones. Mixes "The Little Mermaid" and "Undine" literary tales to the oral tradition folklore seaction with the Melusiné, it's a bit out of the tide. On page 86 it says that "it's impossible to catalogue the endless types of glitzy aquatic hybrids that exist in almost every culture", that is not very true because Theresa Bane, for instance, made a whole encyclopedia of humanoid mythical beings from the entire world. If one is daring to do so, it is possible.
Notes: Cozy list of seaweed at the end, it's nice. Interesting DIY projects.
>>Scaled for Success: The Internationalisation of the Mermaid<< edited by Philip Hayward:
Pros: Available online on ResearchGate. Descriptive. Dives into many topics like folklore and pop-culture. Includes lesser known information like about the Filipino sirenas that they could control water etc or the types of yawkyawks like the ngalworreworre of the Wugularr people in North Australia. Dives into 21st century media that have not been regarded by the Western world. Diverse. Good bibliography. Lesser known depictions included.
Cons: There tend to be no directly cited sources. Some depictions have low quality.
>>Seduction and the Secret Power of Women - The Lure of Sirens and Mermaids<< by Meri Lao:
Pros: Descriptive and academic. Goes into mythology of the sirens and their interesting evolution. A bit of other Greek mythology waterfolk alongside. Includes many interesting and more obscure aspects and theories. Has some information about waterfolk aside from the European ones. Includes some obscure waterfolk like the Morrigan from the swamps of Pilgar. Section on sightings with some lesser known information like those sightings of Sicilian seamen. Many interesting lesser known depictions of waterfolk. Cites sources for depictions and some information.
Cons: Language is more complex, need to look up vocabulary. Does not go into many different waterfolk from around the world. More basic knowledge on general waterfolk, but more complex knowledge focusing only on the sirens. No directly cited sources for some information.
>>Creatures of Fantasy - Mermaids<< by Kathryn Hinds:
Pros: Goes into folklore from around the world including some lesser known waterfolk like the Halfway People, the watermaid of St. Brendan or the mermaid of the Iona Isle in Scotland. Dives into some sightings. Has some lesser known depictions.
Cons: No cited sources for information and depictions. Mixed up a sighting with folklore from other countries at the back. Mostly shallow and not all too many details included.
>>Mermaids and Mermen<< by Shannon Knudsen:
Pros: Goes into folkloric waterfolk from the world in folklore also with some lesser known ones like the Gwenhidwy, Halfway People or adaro. Includes information like sightings and frauds such as the more obscure Filipino incident of waterfolk being claimed to be held in a lab in 2009. Some vague pop-culture at the end.
Cons: Not much detail and quite shallow in some aspects. No cited sources, only very vague references.
>>Mermaid Folklore<< by Elizabeth Andrews:
Pros: Includes lesser known waterfolk like the yacaruna. Has some interesting sightings included. Depictions do represent the waterfolk well to an extent.
Cons: Mixed up sightings with folklore oftentimes. Literally no cited sources. Includes much literary information that it does not discern from the folklore. Misconception about shellycoat being humanoid, John T. Kruse in his "Beyond Faery" clears up that it's just a foal. In some tides it's more of a fictional retelling. Sometimes hard to read when text is printed on images of paper notes on the paper. Least suggested.
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