Mami- Wata - African deity of the water and of excess, she is seen as both a mermaid and a beautiful woman walking the streets of modern Africa. Mami Wata is described as having long dark hair, very fair skin and compelling eyes. She loves all things expensive, modern and beautiful. Mami Wata's colors are red and white.

There are many diverse African indigenous/religious traditions, but the most notable are the Mami Water spirits found in various regions along the western coast of Africa. “Maame Water�, also spelled “mami water�, has been a central character in many riverside and coastal communities in West African.

According to local lore, “Maame Water� is a sea goddess -- a source of absolute beauty and money. But, she has also been known to over-turn canoes and lure victims down to her watery kingdom. Fishermen consider "Maame Water" as sacred. She cannot be talked about openly except after certain rituals. Among fishermen in the Niger Delta in Nigeria, "Maame Water" is considered a "powerful woman who is very generous and very jealous". Nigerian folk stories are told about persons whose fortunes have changed dramatically when they married "Maame Water", the mermaid, but lost everything when they became unfaithful to her.

Sources: Excerpt from “Mermaids and End-Time Jezebels� by Rosalind Hackett, Sirenian International.

Mami Wata is also the pidgin English name of the spiritual force also known to Igbo-speakers as Ezenwaanyi (Queen or Chief of Women), Nnekwunwenyi (Honorable Woman), Ezebelamiri (Queen Who Lives in the Waters), and Nwaanyi mara mma (More Than Beautiful Woman.

In some parts of Zaire, she is called Mamba Muntu, or Crocodile Person, sirene or madame poisson. The northern Igbo people living in Oguta know the spirit's local manifestation as Uhamiri. This name is not translated, but it contains the root word mmiri, or water. By her names, then, the images which many Africans have of this spirit are female ones, or at least, as a being personified as partially female and partially fish or reptile. Mami Wata is usually represented, both verbally and iconically, as a woman, but as a woman of a very special type.

In southern Ghana, there are very few Mami Water shrines on the coast and rivers. Pentecostal-charismatic Christianity has become highly prominent and has succeeded in weakening, if not destroying neo-traditional cults. Mami Water cults are more common in the Volta Region, which is predominantly inhabited by the Ewe, who have close social, economic and cultural links with the Ewe in southern Togo. Mami Water shrines are a part of vodu, or in Northern Volta Religion trõ possession cults.

I've Heard of Mami Water...never seen one though.

Yeah, DSP got a good pic of one in the other room.

Didn't know the Nommos story was so wide spread.

http://www.mamiwata.com/index.html

They do exist!!!

Yes may be they exist, I can still remember the experience of my father when he was a life about Mami, in one of west Africa river, He was washing cloths inside the river back facing the river when people started shouting for he to run because a mami came out in the middle of the river and when my father looked back it was already inside the river all he can see was a disturbed water... They said it usually come out in a very quite environment in less busy time of the day.

Wow. I would've been out of there as fast as anything.

Was reading into African Cosmology the other day and apparently Mami Wata is the west African version of Auset/Isis.

Posted it here; http://www.bnvillage.co.uk/forum44/24773.html

Linguistics;

Mami = TheAmerican city -Miami

Wata = English language - Water

3 years ago, I went on a trip to the source of the myth of Mami water or Uhamiri to use its local Igbo dialect of Oguta Lake , east Nigeria.
The waters of the still blue lake are revered and feared in equal measure.
It flows all the way up into the river Nile in Eygpt.
I went for a wade in its water, not too far in though suddenely remembering the last thing my mother had shouted after me as I entered the cab heading to Heathrow.

I went for a wade in its water, not too far in though suddenely remembering the last thing my mother had shouted after me as I entered the cab heading to Heathrow.


Don't forget your lunch? confused3