The Nymph and the Nix
Watonos
Folktales and myths involving Swan Maidens are widespread, indicating an archaic origin. Whenever Swan Maidens are mentioned, they share the characteristics and roles associated with water nymphs. Sometimes, they are directly referred to as such, in the Rig Veda, the Swan Maidens are called Apsaras, which are water nymphs, and in the Śatapatha Brahmana, the Apsaras are said to "swim about in the shape of swans."
While the narrative rarely moves beyond the desire of a mortal man for a woman of unnatural beauty, we also find a desire to create a link to the otherworldly, through the divine woman. This could be the achievement of immortality, assimilation into the Otherworld, or the birth of a culture hero.
Such heroization is predominately found in Indo-European traditions.
Greek mythology has many mentions of water nymphs, such as Naiads and Oceanids. Homer often mentions encounters between herdsmen and nymphs, which in every case lead to the birth of royal Trojans or their allies. Water nymphs were often married to mortals. Indeed a great many Greek heroes seem to derive from such unions. Such parentage must have been considered at least partly divine. A good example would be Achilles. His mother being Thetis, who is described as a shape-shifting sea goddess that was captured and forced to marry the mortal Peleus.
This divine nature of the nymphs and their manifestations as migrating water birds can be explained through the link that is often found between birds, water and the Otherworld. The Slavic Otherworld Vyraj is not only said to be the place where the dead go, but also where migrating birds go every winter. This conceptualization of the Otherworld gives us an important perspective on Swan Maidens. The departure towards the Otherworld, could give them the role of psychopomps. This allows us to understand the sometimes deadly interaction with nymphs, that would later become more commonly associated with the Nix or similar mythic entities, such as the Slavic Rusalki.
The return of the swan after a long winter heralded the coming of the light, it is therefore not surprising that Urvaśı, the Swan Maiden in the Rig Veda, is considered to be the same as Ushas, the Vedic dawn goddess. Max Müller translated Urvaśı as "the dawn", and Monier Monier-Williams proposed the etymological meaning which links her to Ushas. Urvaśı even says "I have marched forth, like the foremost of the dawns."
The Epic of Gilgamesh is the earliest known narrative that has many of the common recurring elements that are found in myths involving water nymphs: a divine young woman functions as a guide beyond the “waters of death” to an island where immortality can be obtained. The protagonist comes across the Ale-wife Siduri “young woman” by the sea shore. Gilgamesh explains to her that Enkidu has died and how he learned to fear death. She explains that only the gods can live forever and that man should enjoy life while he has it and he should look after his family. Gilgamesh is not dissuaded and insists on continuing his quest. He ends up at the isle of Utanapishtim, who tells him of a rejuvenating plant at the bottom of the sea. Later, having first obtained and subsequently lost the plant, he resigns to mortality.
The interaction between Gilgamesh and Siduri provides the moral of relinquishing an unrealistic goal. We see a similar moral in the first part of a Dravidian folk tale, where prince Jagatalapratapa is forced into exile for his unrealistic daydreaming about the daughters of the gods. Both Gilgamesh and Jagatalapratapa eventually succeed despite their goals having been deemed unrealistic. Here it develops as the usual Swan Maiden narrative, in this case involving the daughter of Indra. When a man takes her garments, whether white robes or feathered cloak, the bathing Swan Maiden is unable to fly away and forced to marry the protagonist. This Dravidian tale is undoubtedly derived from that of Purūravas and Urvaśı ̄ (Ushas) found in the Rig Veda.
Most Swan Maiden myths revolve around the eventual departure of the Otherworldly maiden and the inability of the man to follow her. This emphasizes the finite nature of a mortal’s life, and that such a union cannot be forced by the mortal. The Swan Maiden in Wayland’s myth is referred to as a valkyrie in the equivalent Norse myth, which reveals the role of the winged maiden as a go-between to the Otherworld, a psychopomp.
As such, the capture of the Swan Maiden could be seen as an attempt to stave off death. In the Nibelungenlied a clear connection between the Swan Maidens and the Otherworld is also established. Here Hagen comes across maidens bathing in the Danube and takes their clothes. They’re said to “Sway like birds in the water” and offer him a prophecy in return for the garments.
“Who rides onward has death at his hand ... You are doomed ... Only one of you shall return alive” Note that this prophecy only deals with the foreknowledge of death.
In the middle ages, the water nymph is continued in Chronique de Melusine by Jean d'Arras. A spirit of a sacred spring or river, Melusine is the daughter of the fairy Pressyne and king Elinas of Albany. In the chronicle, the king comes across Pressyne in a “Fontayne” in a forest, he is captivated by her song and beauty, and he “remembred of nothinge worldly”. They get married, but Pressyne leaves her husband, taking her daughters to the isle of Avalon after he breaks an oath never to look at them bathing. Other stories involving Melusine have her marry a noble only after he makes an oath not to see her bathe; each time, she leaves him after he breaks his oath. She is usually depicted as a serpent or fish from the waist down, but is also sometimes depicted with wings. As seen, a restriction is sometimes placed upon the Swan Maiden's lover. Common taboos within these tales include: a silence broken, seeing or being seen by the other naked, or asking certain questions.
In the Irish narrative Serglige Con Culainn, the hero Cú Chulainn saw two birds flying over a lake, linked together by a golden chain. By singing a gentle song, they put all the men who were there to sleep, Cú Chulainn rose up and threw his spear at the birds. After he injuring one, the birds flew away, and went beneath the lake. Then he fell asleep, only to be awakened by two women who then proceeded to whip him until he was near death. The women were the nymphs Liban and Fand, from Mag Mell, the island of delights. After a year Cú Chulainn had not recovered from the ordeal and Liban offered to heal him in exchange for his service on Mag Mell. There he fell in love with Fand, but she re-united and left with her former husband Manannán mac Lir “Son of the sea”. Cú Chulainn returned to his wife Emer, similarly Odysseus departed from the islands of the nymphs Calypso and Circe and returned to Penelope.
The well known story of Odysseus, where he is held captive by Calypso, also has strong resemblances to the interactions between Gilgamesh and Siduri in that "the lone female plies the inconsolable hero-wanderer with drink and sends him off to a place beyond the sea reserved for a special class of honoured people."
Circe is also clearly a Greek equivalent of Siduri. Like Calypso, she is described as a nymph or goddess. Both attempted to make Odysseus their immortal husband. We can see a stark contrast, as Siduri tried to dissuade the hero from immortality. Though Calypso and Circe also attempted to dissuade the hero from continuing his quest, immortality was practically forced upon their guest. Circe later sent him on his way to Hades. Again we see the connection to the Otherworld.
Abduction is the privilege of the more powerful over the weaker, as we can clearly see in the abductions of mortals by nymphs. The same is true for the abduction of Orion and Tithonos by the dawn goddess Eos. While Eos’ relationship with Orion ends up with the gods killing him on the island Ortygia, Tithonos suffers a terrible fate when he is made immortal without eternal youth.
While the abduction by the divine is conceptually similar to death, certain deaths were thought of as a selection by the gods and were associated with a transition into immortality: being struck by lightning, swallowed by the earth, or drowning.
“He was taken by the nymphs” became a common expression among the Greeks, when an unfortunate death occurred, specifically when a child had drowned. It was widely known that mortals chosen by nymphs would become holy through heroization or immortalization.
By attributing the death to nymphs, people found comfort in the belief that the deceased had ascended in a way. It isn’t further explained why they weren’t simply regarded as taken to the land of the dead by a psychopomp, but it makes sense considering the recurring connection between water nymphs and the source of immortality. (Which will be handled in part 2.)
Another famous example of a mortal abducted by nymphs is found in the Argonautica. Hylas, the son of king Theiodamas and the nymph Menodice, daughter of the previously mentioned Orion, was Hercules’ shield-bearer. When he encountered water nymphs, Hylas was taken by them, never to be seen again. The danger associated with such an encounter is well illustrated by the Sirens. Sleeping outdoors, especially beside a spring or under a tree, was therefore considered ill-advised, because those places were associated with nymphs. Many Greek accounts also mention men suffering sickness, impotence, or death after a sexual encounter with a water nymph, further expanding the dangerous connotations.
In Slavic myth, the bird connected to the Otherworld, Sirin (Greek Siren) has become a separate entity from the nymph. The first water nymph was Kostroma. The twins Kostroma and Kupalo heard the song of Sirin, the bird of sorrow, and Alkonost, the bird of joy. Sirin abducted Kupalo and carried him into the land of the dead. Kupalo returned by boat, years later. Without recognizing each other, Kupalo and Kostroma fell in love, but when the gods told them they were related, they committed suicide, as they could not be together. Kostroma drowned herself in the forest lake. So she became a Mavka and, like the Nix would lure men to drown.
The Nix are shape-shifting water spirits and while they’re often helpful or friendly, they’re also often described as malevolent or dangerous, said to purposely lure people to a drowning death, which as mentioned, was in Greek mythology associated with nymphs. This is reminiscent of the Sirens, luring sailors to their death with their song. This musical quality was shared with other nymphs and is continued in many tales concerning Nix.
The Slavic Samodivas are described as ethereal maidens with long blonde hair, and in some cases, wings. They are typically dressed in feathered white gowns, which allows them the power of flight. As such, they appear like the typical Swan Maidens, but they would lure men with their songs and dance, ultimately leading to the death of those captivated. The Sirens’ half-birdlike appearance links them to Swan maidens as well. Interestingly, the abduction of the maiden Persephone into the Otherworld by Hades is used as an explanation by Ovid for the Siren’s appearance, stating that Demeter had given them wings to search for her daughter.
In the Nix we can see the manifested danger associated with the Otherworld: death. And while many of the negative associations can be seen as Christian demonization, the unfortunate consequences linked to the Sirens cannot be explained in such a manner.
Next we will visit the otherworldly island and look at its connection to the quest for immortality
Finally, in part three, we will see how certain archetypes are connected to all of this.