Kona Mermaid Kauai Beach

According to www.mermaid.com, the word Mermaid comes from “mere” the old English word for “sea” and maid, a woman. Mermaids are mythological creatures with a female human head and torso and the tail of a fish. Mermaids have a broad representation in folklore, literature and popular culture.

Dana Marie, pictured above, calls herself a professional mermaid, a natural offshoot of her career as an underwater photographer and marine mammal naturalist for the last seven years. “My heart has always been with the ocean” Marie said. “From when I was little, I dreamed of being a mermaid.” She came here to Kauai recently from her home in the seas surrounding Kona on the leeward side of the Big Island.

“My purpose for being a mermaid is to bring the message of inspiring children and adults to follow their heart, to find a passion and experience the beauty of the ocean. Even people who live in cities need to be aware of the centuries old connectioin to the ocean and how the ocean impacts us. We must replenish the balance of our relationship from land to sea,” Marie said.

Marie says the tail she uses has no ziper, requiring her to squirm into it. Using materials found it wet suits and fiberglass cut to fit, everyting, including the countless number of shells, had to be sown over a period of a year. “This is not my first tail,” she said. I made my first tail when I was eight years old, but since then, my body outgrew the tail and scales. This is one of three tails I use.”

For more information, check out Marie’s website at: www.konamermaid.com.