Iara, also spelled Uiara or Yara, is a water spirit of Brazilian folklore rooted in Tupi and Guaraní tradition. Her name comes from Nheengatu words meaning roughly 'lady of the water', and she is also called Mãe das Águas, mother of the waters.
She is said to sit on rocks by the river, combing her hair or singing, and to draw young men into the water, from which they seldom return. The figure probably grew from older indigenous beings, such as the Ipupiara, a fish-man said to attack people, and the great river serpent Cobra-Grande, blended over time with the Portuguese and European mermaid.
Her appearance has changed with the tellers. The naturalist João Barbosa Rodrigues wrote in 1881 that the original Iara had dark hair, eyes and skin, while 19th-century Romantic writers made her blonde or green-haired. Some link her pink skin in later tales to the Amazon river dolphin, the boto. She remains a familiar figure in Brazilian stories and art.
What the stories say
- A woman's voice singing by the river at dusk
- A woman combing her hair on a riverside rock
- Someone who stares into the water and won't come away
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