The Mermaid and the Lobster Diver: Gender, Sexuality, and Money on the Miskito Coast

by Laura Hobson Herlihy

Approximately 90 percent of Miskitu boys and men in the Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve along the north coast of Honduras have worked as deepwater divers in the lobster industry and their participation has left an indelible imprint on their society. While lobster diving is lucrative, it is also a life-threatening occupation and many divers have been injured or killed from decompression sickness--locally referred to as liwa mairin siknis (Mermaid sickness). According to Miskitu folklore, the Mermaid is the main water spirit, owner of all fresh and saltwater resources and capable of punishing male divers for extracting too many of her lobsters. Wary of the wrath of the supernatural liwa mairin , these men face another threat on Miskitu women who use sexual magic-- praidi saihka --as a tool to control men's wages and ensure that they continue to provide them with money. Interspersed with short stories, songs, and incantations, The Mermaid and the Lobster Diver demonstrates the archetypes of femininity and masculinity within Miskitu society, highlighting the power associated with women's sexuality--as manifested in both goddess and human form--and the vulnerable position of men.

208 pages, Paperback

First published May 15, 2012

Reviews

[Ariane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full disclosure: Herlihy was my professor. Now that that's out of the way, I'd like to say that I really loved this book. I had gone to Moskitia with Laura a few a summers ago, years before I had read this book. The book really helped me to understand what I had seen and heard like lobster divers, the mythology of liwa mairin, love magic, duendes (tree spirits), teenage pregnancy, etc. I was really captivated by the family with whom Laura lived. They seemed so representative of the people whom I had met in Moskitia--fairly friendly, wise, and existing in the borderlands between their culture and Western culture.

The book is easy to read, not simply because of the writing, but because it is so interesting. I'd recommend it to anyone who has an interest in the Caribbean coast of Latin America, indigenous groups in Latin America, and race in Latin America. The book is worth the read.

[Tiffany Castro · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was assigned to read this for a college Anthropology course and I really enjoyed it! This ethnography was very interesting and really goes into depth about how life is in the Miskitu village of Kuri, even covering some information that is often kept secret (their magickal practices). It is definitely a book I would read again just for fun!