Iara, also spelled Uiara, Yara or Hiara (, , , , ) or Mãe das Águas (, "mother of the waters"), is a figure from Brazilian mythology based on the ancient

Tupi Tupi may refer to: * Tupi people of Brazil * Tupi or Tupian languages, spoken in South America ** Tupi language, an extinct Tupian language spoken by the Tupi people * Tupi oil field off the coast of Brazil * Tupi Paulista, a Brazilian municipalit ...

and

Guaraní mythology The Tupi-Guarani mythology is the set of narratives about the gods and spirits of the different Tupi-Guarani peoples, ancient and current. Together with the cosmogonies, anthropogonies and rituals, they form part of the religion of these peoples ...

. The word derives from

Old Tupi Old Tupi, Ancient Tupi or Classical Tupi (also spelled as Tupí) is an extinct Tupian language which was spoken by the aboriginal Tupi people of Brazil, mostly those who inhabited coastal regions in South and Southeast Brazil. It belongs to the ...

''yîara'' = ''y'' ("water") + ''îara'' ("lord; lady") = "lady of the lake" (water queen). Depending on the oral tradition and the context of the story, she can be seen either as a water

nymph A nymph ( grc, νύμφη, nýmphē, el, script=Latn, nímfi, label=Modern Greek; , ) in ancient Greek folklore is a minor female nature deity. Different from Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature, are ty ...

, a

siren Siren or sirens may refer to: Common meanings * Siren (alarm), a loud acoustic alarm used to alert people to emergencies * Siren (mythology), an enchanting but dangerous monster in Greek mythology Places * Siren (town), Wisconsin * Siren, Wisc ...

, or a beautiful

mermaid In folklore, a mermaid is an aquatic creature with the head and upper body of a female human and the tail of a fish. Mermaids appear in the folklore of many cultures worldwide, including Europe, Asia, and Africa. Mermaids are sometimes asso ...

that lives in the

Amazon River The Amazon River (, ; es, Río Amazonas, pt, Rio Amazonas) in South America is the largest river by discharge volume of water in the world, and the disputed longest river system in the world in comparison to the Nile. The headwaters of t ...

Overview

01 - Divulgação de Lendas Brasileiras - Iara

According to the oral tale, Iara is a beautiful young woman, sometimes described as having green hair, light brown or copper-colored skin (as that of an Indigenous Amerindian from Brazil, or of a ) and brown eyes, with a tail similar as a freshwater

river dolphin River dolphins are a polyphyletic group of fully aquatic mammals that reside exclusively in freshwater or brackish water. They are an informal grouping of dolphins, which itself is a paraphyletic group within the infraorder Cetacea. Extant riv ...

, manatee or fish body (the Tupi word ''y'' did not have a distinct meaning, being used in general for any riverine or freshwater lacustrine place) who would sit on a rock by the river combing her hair or dozing under the sun. When she felt a man around she would start to sing gently to lure him. Once under the spell of the Iara a man would leave anything to live with her underwater forever, due to the fact that she was pretty and would cater for all the needs of her lover for the rest of his life. Other versions indicate that she slew the men and drowned them. According to the oral tradition of Brazilian folklore, Iara was a beautiful young indigenous woman in a tribe of patriarchal customs, who developed a talent for warfare and gaining admiration from all of her tribe and respect from her father, the chief of the tribe, but stirred up the envy of her brothers, who decided to sabotage her by murdering her during the night. The legend says Iara knew how to defend herself from the attacks of her brothers and accidentally killed them. Discovered by her father, she took refuge in the woods but was captured and punished for the murders of her brothers by being drowned in the river (some versions orals claim they killed her and dumped her body in the river, blaming the night goddess, Jaci, for her disappearance). Turned into a mermaid upon being saved by the nearby fish on the night of a full moon or by Jaci in some versions, she decided to take revenge on all men by seducing them and drowning them in the river. According to some folkloric accounts, those who survive end up going crazy, or survive with teeth marks on their neck.''

Aspects of the legend

It is often claimed that, until the 18th century, the Iara legend did not pertain to the image of a seducing, docile river

. Instead, it was originally about an aggressive and monstrous river

merman Mermen, the male counterparts of the mythical female mermaids, are legendary creatures, which are male human from the waist up and fish-like from the waist down, but may assume normal human shape. Sometimes they are described as hideous and other ...

known as Ipupiara ("freshwater monster"), which would readily devour fishers. Iara is immortal (like the nymphs of

Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the Cosmogony, origin and Cosmology#Metaphysical co ...

), but many of her lovers do age or die. It means that the Iara is condemned to live most of eternity alone. The legend of the Iara was one of the usual explanations for the disappearance of those who ventured alone in the

jungle A jungle is land covered with dense forest and tangled vegetation, usually in tropical climates. Application of the term has varied greatly during the past recent century. Etymology The word ''jungle'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''jaṅ ...

In Latin American mythology

The Iara is similar in nature to several other female figures of folklore from other regions such as

La Llorona ''La Llorona'' (; "The Weeping Woman" or "The Wailer") is a Hispanic-American mythical vengeful ghost who is said to roam near bodies of water mourning her children whom she drowned. Origins Early colonial times provided evidence that the lore ...

from Mexico and the Southwestern United States, the Colombian creatures La

Patasola The Patasola or "one leg" is one of many legends in South American folklore about female monsters from the jungle, appearing to male hunters or loggers in the middle of the wilderness when they think about women. The Patasola appears in the form ...

and the ''

Tunda The Tunda ( es, La Tunda) is a myth of the Pacific coastal region of Colombia and Ecuador, and particularly in the Afro-Colombian community of the Chocó department, about a shapeshifting entity, resembling a human female, that lures people into ...

'' and the

Deer Woman Deer Woman, sometimes known as the Deer Lady, is a spirit in Native American mythology whose associations and qualities vary, depending on situation and relationships. To women, children, and men who are respectful of women and children, she is a ...

of North America. All are females who at times function as sirens leading men to their death. This physical deformity marking an otherwise perfect woman is a common theme among siren figures in the Americas but it is usually one of the feet.

has hooves for feet, La

and the ''Tunda'' have deformed feet and ''La Llorona'' is often said to have no feet by those who see her.

Adaptations

Andrew Lang Andrew Lang (31 March 1844 – 20 July 1912) was a Scottish poet, novelist, literary critic, and contributor to the field of anthropology. He is best known as a collector of folk and fairy tales. The Andrew Lang lectures at the University ...

wrote an adaptation of the legend of Yara in ''

The Brown Fairy Book ''The Langs' Fairy Books'' are a series of 25 collections of true and fictional stories for children published between 1889 and 1913 by Andrew Lang and his wife, Leonora Blanche Alleyne. The best known books of the series are the 12 collections ...

''. American naturalist

Herbert Huntingdon Smith Herbert Huntingdon Smith or Herbert Huntington Smith (January 21, 1851 in Manlius, New York – March 22, 1919 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama) was an American naturalist and amateur conchologist who worked on the flora and fauna of Brazil. He wro ...

recorded a version of the legend of Yara, which he titled ''Oiará, The Water-Maidens''.

Legacy and influence

Iara (or Yara) is a very popular female name in Brazil.

In modern media

In the

film version A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dia ...

of the novel '' Macunaíma'' (1969), the eponymous protagonist meets his death at the hands of an Iara. He embraces her eagerly and sees too late the blow hole in the back of her neck that gives her away as the creature she is and not the beautiful woman he mistook her for. In 2021 Brazilian supernatural TV series, Invisible City, the protagonist meets an Iara but survives her drowning attempts. She tells him that she became an Iara after her lover killed and drowned her in a river, but she was resurrected. In the 2021

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

' ''

Wonder Girl Wonder Girl is the alias of multiple list of superheroines, superheroines featured in comic books published by DC Comics. Donna Troy, the original Wonder Girl, was created by Bob Haney and Bruno Premiani and first appeared in ''The Brave and the ...

'' comic book starring the future Brazilian

Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superhero created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton), and artist Harry G. Peter. Marston's wife, Elizabeth Holloway Marston, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byr ...

Yara Flor Yara Flor is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. She is one of the heroines to use the identity of Wonder Girl. Created by Joëlle Jones, she first appeared in '' Dark Nights: Death Metal'' #7 (January 2021). Y ...

, Iara was a great Brazilian warrior who was later transformed into a mermaid-like divine being as the protector of the

sacred waters Sacred waters are sacred natural sites characterized by tangible topographical land formations such as rivers, lakes, springs, reservoirs, and oceans, as opposed to holy water which is water elevated with the sacramental blessing of a cleric. T ...

. It was she who bestowed on Yara Flor her characteristic weapon of power, the Golden Boleadoras.Jones, Joëlle. ''Wonder Girl'' (Volume 3) #2. DC Comics. 2021. Iara appears in ''

AdventureQuest Worlds ''AdventureQuest Worlds'' (often shortened to ''AQ Worlds'' or simply ''AQW'') is a browser-based massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) released by Artix Entertainment in 2008. Gameplay Players are asked to choose from one of f ...

''. It was mentioned that Iara was knocked off the cliff into the river during a family scuffle and was turned into a mermaid by nature itself. In

Love, Death & Robots ''Love, Death & Robots'' (stylized as ''LOVE DEATH + R⬮BOTS'', and represented in emoji form as ❤️❌🤖) is an adult animated anthology streaming television series created by Tim Miller and streaming on Netflix. Produced by Blur Studio ...

season 3 (2022), a deaf warrior meets an Iara who lures his comrades with her screams, causing them to enter a dancing frenzy, rushing to her to ultimately drown in the lake.

Overview

Aspects of the legend

In Latin American mythology

Adaptations

Legacy and influence

In modern media

See also

Notes

Further reading