In honor and continued support for the current situation in Ukraine, our next Monday Morning Mermaid lesson is on the Ukrainian mermaid folktale, ‘Nastasia of the Sea’.
” You have captured me, but you have not captured my love. If you wish to capture that, you must find my coral necklace.”
Originally, I posted this back on November 30, 2015 (crazy!) with just a very basic description of the story involving a loyal and wise horse, a lad named Tremsin, the Burning Bright Bird, a greedy nobleman, and the lovely maid of the sea, Nastasia. It was #24 of my Monday Morning Mermaid Lessons.
What was interesting when I went to revisit this post, I saw a comment from a girl with Ukraine family origins. I reached out to her (despite this post being over 5 years ago) to see if she still had the diorama art she mentioned, and also in what way to support her family in Ukraine during this tragic time.
(Link will be provided at the end of the blog.)
I took the time to reread the story again. It is a unique story about rising up to challenges and falling in love. Tremsin is repeatedly threatened to protect his life while trying to earn the love of the sea maid, Nastasia. Thanks to his ever reliable and wise horse, he manages to do it all following his horse’s advice. (I don’t know why when I read it again, it vaguely reminded me of ‘Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream coat’.) Honestly, I feel like the horse at the end should get rewarded, yet it does end that everyone lives happily ever after in both the land and sea.
While I don’t know the backstory and inspiration of this Ukrainian tale, reading about the endless challenges Tresmin goes through, you can’t help but tie it together with the REAL challenges the Ukraine’s are currently facing. It is a story of solid perseverance and also gives hope. Maybe that is what this folktale is all about. Reminding us and confirming the unbelievable endurance and strength our fellow Ukrainians brother and sisters have.
I strongly suggest if you have a moment, to read this tale. Feed yourself a little Ukrainian culture. I promise it won’t disappoint. Furthermore, please check out @worthnotwaste on Instagram to see how you can help her friends and family and the rest of the Ukrainian country.
https://linktr.ee/worthnotwaste
Ukrainians do share a little mermaid history with their destructive neighbor, Russia.
The Rusalka, Rusalky of Ukraine. They are attractive water nymphs with long green or blonde hair. They are rumored to be the souls of drowned girls or unbaptized children. (Religion fear spilling into Mermaid lore…interesting.)
There is a superstition swirling around that in early June, Rusalka’s are the most dangerous. Ukrainians don’t go swimming in fear of the Rusalka drowning them.
I hope you enjoyed this little mermaid history homage to the Ukraine. Remember to check back every Monday for more, and later in the week for some other blog posts in relation to mermaid approved beauty, recipes, travel, and more!
We post this not to make light of thr current situation, but to enlighten the courage of the Ukrainian people. We support their fight…amd we are also looking out for those in Russia that do not support this war and have bravely protested.
Great Read!!!
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Thank you! Next week we are going to do our Russian Mermaid history. Not because we support Russia, but because we understand there are a lot of Russians who do NOT want this war and don’t agree with the choices their government is making. We support and admire the bravery of those Russians that have protested. We feel for them.