Cantos by Ericka Koehler

When I think of myths, Poseidon comes to my mind, who is considered the god of the sea and storms.

“A myth serves to explain the history of people or explain a practice, belief, or natural phenomenon (“Merriam-Webster Dictionary: Myth,” 2022).” While “a fairy tale is a story (like for children) involving fantastic forces and beings (“Merriam-Webster Dictionary: Fairy-Tale,” 2022).”

There’s a Peruvian myth that always called my attention. It is about pink dolphins that transform in mermaids. In the jungle of Peru, it says that men that disappear in the rivers is because they were following the women into the water. Those women are not complete humans, they are mermaids. This problem usually happens in the afternoon. When the sun starts going down, the pink dolphins transform their bodies. So, men may be careful, stay away from rivers because there is a chance that they could be enchanted by them, then die and disappear.

I believe the point of this myth is trying to explain why people disappear in the Amazonian jungle. And another purpose is to give an explanation to the body of those dolphins. If you look at them carefully, you will notice some have a body that appears a little humanoid.

References

Merriam-Webster Dictionary: Fairy-Tale (2022). Retrieved from:

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fairy-tale

Merriam-Webster Dictionary: Myth (2022). Retrieved from:

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/myth