The (or ) (plural: or ) is a siren or

nereid In Greek mythology, the Nereids or Nereides ( ; ; , also Νημερτές) are sea nymphs (female spirits of sea waters), the 50 daughters of the ' Old Man of the Sea' Nereus and the Oceanid Doris, sisters to their brother Nerites. They ofte ...

-like creature in

Basque mythology The mythology of the ancient Basques largely did not survive the arrival of Christianity in the Basque Country between the 4th and 12th century AD. Most of what is known about elements of this original belief system is based on the analysis o ...

. Lamiak are typically portrayed as living in and around rivers. They are depicted as beautiful, long-haired women with webbed duck feet, usually found at the river shore brushing their hair with a golden comb and seducing men. Mythology in coastal areas includes , a variety of lamiak who live in the sea and have fish-like tails, similar to a

mermaid In folklore, a mermaid is an aquatic creature with the head and upper body of a female human and the tail of a fish. Mermaids appear in the folklore of many cultures worldwide, including Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Africa. Mermaids are ...

Beliefs

Basque

myth Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...

ology depicts as generous, aiding those who give them presents by helping them at work. For example, if a farmer were to leave food for them at the river shore, they would eat it at night and in exchange finish ploughing his field. In some places, bridges were believed to have been built at night by , for example at Ebrain ( Bidarray,

Lower Navarre Lower Navarre (; Gascon/Bearnese: ''Navarra Baisha''; ; ) is a traditional region of the present-day French '' département'' of Pyrénées-Atlantiques. It corresponds to the northernmost ''region'' of the Kingdom of Navarre during the Middle A ...

), Azalain ( Andoain,

Gipuzkoa Gipuzkoa ( , ; ; ) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the autonomous community of the Basque Country. Its capital city is Donostia-San Sebastián. Gipuzkoa shares borders with the French department of Pyrénées-Atlantiqu ...

), Urkulu ( Leintz-Gatzaga,

), Liginaga-Astüe (

Labourd Labourd (; ; ; ) is a former French province and part of the present-day Pyrénées Atlantiques '' département'' of Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. It is one of the traditional Basque provinces, and identified as one of the territorial component pa ...

). In other myths, must leave if the bridge that they were building at night remains unfinished at cockcrow. People believed that k had left a river if a stone in the bridge was missing. Other beliefs claim that most disappeared when men built small churches in the forest. are also believed to be found on the other side of rainbows, where they are combing their hair. It is said that when the sunlight strikes their hair, the rainbow opens. Mythology also occasionally describes male . In those stories, they are described as strong and are attributed with the creation of

dolmen A dolmen, () or portal tomb, is a type of single-chamber Megalith#Tombs, megalithic tomb, usually consisting of two or more upright megaliths supporting a large flat horizontal capstone or "table". Most date from the Late Neolithic period (4000 ...

s at night. It is also said that they can enter a house at night when its inhabitants are sleeping. They are given different names: , , , (in Oiartzun,

), (in

). Many toponyms relate to , including Lamikiz ( Markina), Laminaputzu (in Zeanuri), Lamitegi (in Bedaio), Lamirain (in Arano), Lamusin (in Sare), Lamiñosin (in Ataun).

References

{{reflist

External links

Lamia
in the Spanish-language Auñamendi Encyclopedia Basque legendary creatures Basque mythology Female legendary creatures Mythological human–animal hybrids Water spirits Sirens (mythology) Nereids

Beliefs

See also

References

External links