Dion Jones

Prof J. Pressman

ECL 305; Literature and the Environment

7 September 2025

The ocean is a great and mysterious path—a vast world all its own, as a result, the merfolk and water spirits of this weekend’s readings from “The Penguin Book of Mermaids” utilize certain properties of the waters around us: reflection and obscurity. The divine beast-who-is-sometimes-a-deity Oannes reflects human qualities through his teaching of art, symbolic language, and sciences (pg 5). Simultaneously, Oannes embodies obscurity through his amphibious nature, hybrid body, and his returning to the Sea at night (pg 5). His power is either internal or an extension of his connection to other deities, making him greater than humanity, yet a resource/servant for/to us. 

The story of Kāliya the Snake/Naga manifests these two properties differently. The snake king possesses human-like recognition of divine figures and the power of speech but reflects human anxieties and conflict with wildlife. Human and divine encroachment and reproduction of environments creates the opportunity  for Kāliya to take over the pools which invites conflict. The presence of venom/poison as well as the presence of many snake wives causes a hazardous situation that led to the great snake’s defeat and banishment (pg 6). This story is  an argument against the spreading/ muddying of boundaries between humans/divine figures and the natural world.

The Tuna of Lake Vaihiria differs from the previous depictions in that it uses two opposing depictions of water spirits. If you count Maui as water spirit, then water spirits can act as a positive masculine figure who embodies human moral qualities but with superhuman capabilities. The eel instead plays the role of trickster, disguising his monstrous form in order to lord over the freedom and sexuality of his human bride (pg 13). In this way, the water spirits reflect the best and worst of adult human relationships.