The Riva Mumma
A Series: Jamaican Legends, Superstitions, Myths and Monsters
The Riva Mumma (River Mother, Mama Wata, Mami Wata, La Sirene [West, Central and South Africa]; Watermama [Indigenous American], but also maybe Lamia [Basque])
In the variations from the African traditions she might have a woman’s upper-body (nude) with the lower half of a fish or serpent. In other variations, she might just appear fully as a woman, with legs and feet. Her hair could be curly or straight or wooly…and she would appear with a mirror, representing movement between the present and future.
Some say ‘Mama Wata’ is derived from the English for ‘Mother’ …others say it is derived from the Egyptian or Mesopotamian for ‘Truth’ or ‘Oceanwater’. Mama Wata, in African tradition, is a foreign spirit.
It could even appear as a man.
The Basque ‘Lamia’ or ‘Lamina' is another siren-like creature. She appears with webbed feet, usually found in or by the river, brushing her hair with a golden comb, seducing men.
The Greek ‘Lamia’ is a child eating monster with the body of a woman and tail of a serpent.
In Jamaica, as far as I have heard or been told, The Riva Mumma is half woman and half fish and she can be found on the river rocks, combing her long hair with a golden comb. A siren and a mermaid, she is a guardian of the river…a protector, a seductress and punisher.
Its been said that many tragic occurrences at the Bog Walk Gorge might be attributed to the retribution of the Riva Mumma. Fisherfolk and residents of communities near the rivers have had their encounters and run-ins. Wise villagers will avoid her gaze lest they become entranced and follow her below the water to their demise. She might test your integrity by leaving her golden comb unattended on the rocks, just to see what you’re made of…you might be punished for thievery or rewarded for honesty and integrity.
As with the Rolling Calf, I have used an AI tool to generate some images of the Riva Mumma. Not always spot on, nonetheless, beautiful. I kind of like many aspects of what emerged from the text prompt.
Do you have stories of an encounter with a Riva Mumma?
A wrap head Warner Woman from Kent Village in the Rio Cobre Gorge used to stand at Flat Bridge and preach to motorists. We interviewed her about the mysteries of the river & one of the things she said is, there's a deep pool beside a huge rock at the Bog Walk entrance to Flat Bridge. The top of the rock is only visible in drought times. She said that when the river is high, the spirts get hungry for souls, swim up from the bottom of the pool & pull cars in. Vendors say the pool is the deepest part of the gorge & no one has ever run off the bridge there & survived. Except for my cousin, when the rock stopped her car from going under.