Sirena Stories, the Mythical Mermaid of the Philippines

The sirena or mermaid and the facts surrounding this mythical creature are of Spanish origin. Using the 160 volumes of the Beyer Ethnographic Series, I was amazed that the maiden of the waters was predominantly unique to the Ilokano volumes.

I approached my Ilokana grandmother – Pacita Malabad Beyer with the question “Why is the sirena only found in the Ilokano papers, barely mentioned in the Tagalog papers and not at all mentioned in the Visayan and Mindanao papers?”

She replied, “The different rivers in the Ilocos region although calm and pristine on the surface have strong currents and undertows beneath. Through the years I heard accounts of swimmers drowning or in a half dazed state after escaping the grip of an unknown force which tried to drag them to the bottom of the river; having no other explanation for this phenomena the early Spaniards told the natives it might have been a mermaid or sirena.”

She also added, “The Ilokano term litao – the male deity of the waters, supports the Ilokano traditions and dialects; besides the word sirena is a Spanish word and has no Ilokano equivalent.”

The following sirena stories are my personal favorites the first one “ The Mermaid Queen “ is one of the oldest stories in the Ilokano volumes, dating back to the 1600’s; The sirena is described as a kind lady with supernatural powers rather than a half human –fish creature.  The second story “The Litao and Serena “intertwine the Ilokano’s and Spaniard’s beliefs into a love story that parallels the blending of the two cultures. Finally, “The American & the Sirena “came about during the American Years, adding humor and notoriety to the infamous water nymph’s character and persona.

 

The Mermaid Queen

San Carlos, Pangasinan

In the olden days, Binalatongan whose main product was mongo beans (balatong) hence its name. It was a wealthy settlement of 2,000 houses where ordinary people wore the finest Chinese silk for daily use and gold flowed in the rivers surrounding the region.

The name of their sovereign ruler was Maginoo Palasipas, who was unhappy in spite of his vast wealth and power brought by his exemplary rulership. His greatest desire was to be conquered by the heart of a woman and share his kingdom with a soul mate. This woman had to be the fairest of the fair, whose beauty and character was unmatched by no other. His loyal datus sought the fairest maidens in the land and presented their beauty to the King. Tagalog chieftains sent envoys with a message offering their secluded royal daughters to be his bride. Chinese, Japanese and Bornean merchants volunteered to sail back to their native lands to bring back princesses of pure royal blood. But he refused all their offers and suggestions.

 

One evening, Maginoo Palasipas strolled by the riverbank and laid down on the dewed grass to admire the fullness of the moon. He heard a faint and mystical melody from afar. Following the sound of the music, he came upon a maiden sitting on a rock with her back turned. She was combing her thick ankle length hair and sang with the most enchanting voice. He noticed a crown of pearls adorning her head and she wore a silk robe embroidered with gold beads, pearls and diamonds. The maiden instinctively turned around and he beheld the face of a goddess with flawless olive skin, blue green eyes like the waters and blood red lips. Instantly smitten Maginoo Palasipas asked who she was. She answered, “I am the mermaid of Binalatongan” Palasipas replied, “I have heard about your kindness towards my people. Thank you for guiding my fishermen back into shore during a storm, for rescuing Datu Angat’s only son from drowning and leaving a string of pearls to Datu’ Bakat’s widow after he was killed by raiding Tirong pirates.” By this time Palasipas got down on his knees and asked the mermaid to be his wife and rule as the Queen of Binalatogan. The mermaid smiled, nodded her head and gave her hand to the Palasipas. Renouncing her sea life and begun the long and glorious reign of the once mermaid and the powerful Maginoo Palasipas.

 

The Litao & Serena

Long ago, the beautiful Serena lived with her mother by the sea.  At the end of the day, she would sit on a rock to comb her long tresses while singing so sweetly. One day a litao heard her voice and fell in love with this mortal maiden. The merman wasted no time expressing his feelings; serenading her under the shadows of the moonlight and leaving flowers and treasures at her doorstep.  Serena’s mother grew fearful of the deity that sought her daughter’s heart, forbade her from leaving the house. Two weeks went by and Serena grew increasingly bored, angry and bitter from being kept indoors. One morning while her mother was distracted preparing breakfast, she opened the window and noticed a bright object sparkling by the water’s edge. Filled with curiosity, she crept outside and saw a diamond the size of a small coconut, dancing with the waves. As her fingers scarcely touched the waters a huge bubble enveloped her and transported her to the litao’s palace in the bottom of the sea. When she reached his abode, she gazed upwards and saw the sun shimmering like a glorious diadem. A soft voice called her name, turning her head, she saw a half-fish and half human creature whose eyes was filled with love and kindness. He showed her his kingdom and by the end of the day  Serena was in love and agreed to live with him at the bottom of the sea.  The litao explained she would have to drink a potion mixed with his blood to transform her into an immortal half-human and half fish creature like himself. However, he withheld the dark secret of the price he had to pay for her immortality – which turned him into a mortal for a hundred years. Piercing his wrist with a silver knife, he prepared the elixir and gave it to Serena to drink, within a few minutes her transformation was complete. After sunset, they went up to the surface and visited Serena’s grieving mother, who almost fainted from the shock of her daughter’s new form. But seeing their great love for each other, she blessed their union and the sirens lived happily in their underwater paradise for 100 years.  Their union produced seven beautiful daughters who now live in the various waters of the area. On the eve of the 100^th year, the litao whispered in her ear “A hundred years with you is better than eternity without you.” After disclosing his dark secret, he spent the rest of the evening consoling his distraught wife. Early the next day, the merman kissed Serena goodbye, swam near the entrance of their home where he turned into a rock. Serena, full of anguish at the loss of her husband, went up to the shore and transformed herself into a human. Hearing the sounds of a procession, she walked towards town and followed behind the carriage of the Virgin Mary; walking sorrowfully with tear filled eyes fixed to the ground. People wondered who the mysterious lady was. After the procession, a curious few followed the lady with the fishlike odor as she walked towards the river. When she came to the water’s edge, they surely thought she was going to drown herself. They watched in awe as the waters divided into two walls giving her passage into her underwater palace. The litao was soon forgotten by all except Serena who is forever grateful for the gift of immortality her husband gave her long ago.

 

The American and the Sirena of Amburayan

 This story is about the siren living in the Amburayan river in Tagudin. During the construction of the bridge which occurred during the American occupation. The chief architectural engineer was an American who made his home near the river. The mermaid who had never seen a man with light blonde hair, sky blue eyes and skin that turned into gold from the sun’s rays became obsessed with the young man. Each night she would sit under the window of his bedside singing and inviting him to meet her by the waters of the half finished bridge. By the end of the week, the mermaid felt insulted and wondered why the object of her desires never came to the water’s edge or even acknowledged her presence. Unaware of the fact that the American was very sensitive to foul smells and the rotten fishlike odor permeating from the mermaid’s skin made him sick to the stomach, causing him to pass out.  One night determined to find the cause of his fainting spells; he tied a bandanna to cover his nose and fully loaded his rifle. That same evening, the mermaid was intent in making the American her husband, changed herself into a human and knocked on his door. The American upon opening door was astonished at seeing a beautiful scantily clad voluptuous lady with ankle length hair standing at his doorway. The mermaid gazed at her paramour, who stood speechless at the magnificent sight before him. She leaned close to plant a kiss on his lips, the American who found no harm in accepting a kiss from this peculiar maiden removed his bandanna and to meet her eager red lips.  In less than a second he knew her to be the vile repugnant creature whose odor rendered him unconscious. The mermaid seeing the panic in his eyes grabbed his legs and tried to drag him towards the water’s edge. In the middle of their scuffle, he pulled the rifle trigger and the strange lady instantly vanished before the silver bullet could pierce her scaly body. The American frightened by this experience, quit his position, took the first ship back to the United States and never returned to the Philippines.

Source: The Beyer Ethnographic Series

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