Mermaid in the Philippines

Philippines is an archipelago, with 7,107 islands, covering 115,831 square miles. Obviously, the country is surrounded by water - the South China Sea or the West Philippine Sea, the Pacific Ocean, the Philippine Sea and the Sulu Sea. Actually, by looking the map of the country, you'll notice that the widest area covering the nation is water, not the land itself. Well, it is also obvious that the people here believe in Sirena (siren; mermaid) and siyokoy (merman). That's why, there are urban legends connected with the sea.

Stories

[Taken from Internet:]

It was believed by the folk that when a mermaid is captured (and held captive), it results in a big flood. After "Ondoy," it is said that more people went to the Manila Aquarium than usual to check whether a mermaid was, indeed, in one of the display tanks. Two friends who regularly go to Dumaguete, and one who lives there, also relate that when the seaside city went underwater from heavy rains four years ago, fishermen up and down the coast marched angrily to the Silliman Marine Science lab armed with oars. They were soon joined by farmers carrying pitchforks, whose farms had been inundated. They demanded the release of the mermaid that the marine biologists had purportedly been keeping in a tank (for study?). Poor director Alcala of the marine science department had to rush to the scene in his pajamas to open the tank area! Only then would the folk believe that there was no mermaid imprisoned there. In Dagupan, Pangasinan, a mermaid statue with a fountain used to be in front of the old City Hall until it was torn down during a remodeling. "Mermaids were part of our childhood and our history," says Norma Liongoren. "The rivers criss-crossing Dagupan were said to be her tears. The sirena was the bogey we were frightened with to make us obey." One of the Hundred Islands of Alaminos was the location of the first "Jezebel" movie (which has had many incarnations). A mermaid statue still exists there. Legends about mermaids are prevalent all over the Philippines. As in Angono, sightings are still reported of a mermaid with long hair, perched on a rock, luring sailors and swimmers with her singing, then drowning them. (The dugong, says John I. Teodoro, with its hairy body, looks very much like a fat mermaid.) A science (?) education (?) building under construction had a glass dome, it was rumored, to become the tank for a sirena. This was a news in yahoo.com by Gilda Cordero-Fernando in Manila/Philippine Daily Inquirer | Asia News Network – Sun, Dec 18, 2011 Here she summarized the urban legends about the mermaids captured here in the country.

Merman / Mermaid Carcass Found on Beach Emailed photos purportedly show the carcass of a merman (or mermaid) washed up on a beach variously said to be located in Venda, South Africa; Cebu, The Philippines; Malaysia; and Fort Desoto Beach, Florida. Description: Viral images Circulating since: July 2006 Status: Fake Example: Email contributed by Anil R., Aug. 24, 2006: Fwd: FW: believe it or not Good morning all.............. THIS IS FOUND IN THE PHILIPPINES SHORE OF SORSOGON. AND THIS IS FOR REAL, WE DO HAVE THIS KIND OF CREATURES IN THE PHILIPPINES. BELIEVE OR NOT ITS UP TO YOU!!!!! This creature was found along the shores of Sorsogon.

Mermaids were very controversial. No one knows the truth if they definitely live or they were just a product of imagination and folklore. Many say they're real, but some say they don't. The AAH (Aquatic Ape hypothesis) is one explaining the origin of these creatures. That, some time in the past, some of our ancestors adopted the wet area than the dry ones. It also explains the possibility that some of our body parts were connected with them. Example, our hairless body, unlike the other terrestrial mammals, we're not covered with fur, just like the other mammals who evolved from aquatic ancestors, and even with dolphins and whales. There were many explanations though I can't enumerate and explain them clearly.

Actually, there was this rumor from overseas, about the Discovery Channel's documentary concerning mermaids which were entitled Mermaid: The Body Found. It was a part of Animal Planet's Monster Week. Although, this is not connected to the legend I had posted above, still it deals with a mermaid. This is for the sake of the other people who haven't heard or read the truth yet. [Click Here[1][2]]

Source:
http://ph.news.yahoo.com/philippine-urban-legends-093005285.html
http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/bl_merman_carcass.htm