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{{Short description|Figure from Brazilian mythology}}
[[File:Palacio Alvorada commons.jpg|thumb|
'''Iara''', also spelled '''Uiara''', '''Yara''' or '''
==Overview==
[[File:01 - Divulgação de Lendas Brasileiras - Iara.jpg|thumb|right|Iara in an official commemortive stamp by the Brazilian post office (1974).]]
According to the oral tale, Iara is a beautiful young woman, sometimes described as having green hair, light brown or copper-colored skin (as that of an Indigenous Amerindian from Brazil, or of a {{lang|pt|[[caboclo]]}}) and brown eyes, with a tailed similar as a freshwater [[Amazon river dolphin|river dolphin]], manatee or fish body (the Tupi word ''y'' did not have a distinct meaning, being used in general for any riverine or freshwater lacustrine place) who would sit on a rock by the river combing her hair or dozing under the sun. When she felt a man around she would start to sing gently to lure him. Once under the spell of the Iara a man would leave anything to live with her underwater forever,<ref name="todamateria">{{cite web|url=https://www.todamateria.com.br/lenda-da-iara/|title=A história da lenda da sereia Iara (The story of the legend of the mermaid Iara)|language=pt}}</ref> due she was pretty and would cater for all needs of her lover for the rest of his life. Other versions indicate that she slay the mens drownes in the river attracted by their beautiful songs. According to the oral tradition of Brazilian folklore, Iara was a beautiful young indigenous in a tribe of patriarchal customs, developed her talents for the warfare gaining admiration from all of her tribe and respect from her father,<ref name="escola">{{cite web|url=https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/folclore/iara.htm|title=Iara (Mermaid Iara)|language=pt}}</ref> the chief of the tribe, but stirred up the envy of her male brothers, who decided to sabotage her by murdering her during the night, says the legend that Iara knew how to defend herself from the attacks of her brothers and accidentally killed them.<ref name="sohistoria">{{cite web|url=https://www.sohistoria.com.br/lendasemitos/iara/|title=Lenda da Iara (Legend of Iara)|language=pt}}</ref> Discovered by her father, she took refuge in the woods but was captured and punished for the murders of her brothers by being drowned in the river (some versions orals claim they killed her and dumped her body in the river, blaming the night goddess, Jaci, for her disappearance<ref name="todamateria" />). Turned into a mermaid, she decided to take revenge on all men by seducing them and drowning them in the river. According to some folkloric accounts, those who survive end up going crazy,<ref name="Educa+">{{cite web |url=https://www.educamaisbrasil.com.br/enem/artes/lenda-da-iara|title=Conto popular do folclore brasileiro - Lenda da Iara (Popular tale of Brazilian folklore - Legend of Iara)|language=pt}}</ref> or survive with teeth marks on their neck.<ref name="Banes">{{cite book|last=BANE |first=Teresa|title=Encyclopedia of Vampire Mythology|language=en|ISBN=9780786444526|publisher=McFaland & Company, Inc.}}</ref>▼
According to oral tales, Iara is a beautiful young woman sometimes described as having green hair, light brown or copper-colored skin (like that of an Indigenous person from Brazil or of a {{lang|pt|[[caboclo]]}}), and brown eyes with a tail similar to a freshwater [[Amazon river dolphin|river dolphin]], manatee, or fish (the Tupi word ''y'' did not have a distinct meaning, being used in general for any riverine or freshwater lacustrine place) who sits on a rock by the river combing her hair or dozing under the sun. When she felt a man around, she would start to sing gently to lure him. Once under the spell of the Iara, a man would leave anything to live with her underwater forever<ref name="todamateria">{{cite web|url=https://www.todamateria.com.br/lenda-da-iara/|title=A história da lenda da sereia Iara (The story of the legend of the mermaid Iara)|language=pt}}</ref> due to the fact that she was pretty and would cater for all the needs of her lover for the rest of his life. Other versions indicate that she slew the men or drowned them.
▲According to
==Aspects of the legend==
It is often claimed that, until the 18th century, the Iara legend did not pertain to the image of a
The legend of the Iara was one of the usual explanations for the disappearance of those who ventured alone
==In Latin American mythology==
The Iara is similar
==Adaptations==
[[Andrew Lang]] wrote an adaptation of the legend of Yara in ''[[Lang's Fairy Books#The Brown Fairy Book (1904)|The Brown Fairy Book]]''.<ref>Lang, Andrew. ''The Brown Fairy Book''. London ; New York : Longmans, Green. 1904. pp. 88-99.</ref>
American naturalist [[Herbert Huntingdon Smith]] recorded a version of the legend of Yara, which he titled ''Oiará, The Water-Maidens''.<ref>Smith, Herbert Huntington. ''Brazil, the Amazons and the coast''. New York: C. Scribner's Sons. 1879. p. 572.</ref>
==Legacy and influence==
[[Yara (given name)|Iara (or Yara)]] is a very popular female name in Brazil.
===In modern media===
In the [[Macunaíma (film)|film version]] of the novel ''[[Macunaíma (novel)|Macunaíma]]'' (1969), the eponymous protagonist meets his death at the hands of an Iara. He embraces her eagerly and sees too late the blow hole in the back of her neck that gives her away as the creature she is and not the beautiful woman he mistook her for.
In 2021 Brazilian supernatural TV series, [[Invisible City (TV series)|Invisible City]], the protagonist meets an Iara but survives her drowning attempts. She tells him that she became an Iara after her lover killed and drowned her in a river, but she was resurrected.
In the 2021 [[DC Comics]]' ''[[Wonder Girl]]'' comic book starring the future Brazilian [[Wonder Woman]], [[Wonder Girl#Yara Flor|Yara Flor]], Iara was a great Brazilian warrior who was later transformed into a mermaid-like divine being as the protector of the [[sacred waters]]. It was she who bestowed on Yara Flor her characteristic weapon of power, the [[Boleadoras|Golden Boleadoras]].<ref>Jones, Joëlle. ''Wonder Girl'' (Volume 3) #2. DC Comics. 2021.</ref>
Iara appears in ''[[AdventureQuest Worlds]]''. It was mentioned that Iara was knocked off the cliff into the river during a family scuffle and was turned into a mermaid by nature itself.
In [[Love, Death & Robots]] season 3 (2022), episode 9 "Jibaro", a deaf warrior meets an Iara who lures his comrades with her screams, causing them to enter a dancing frenzy, rushing to her to ultimately drown in the lake.
Iara is a minor antagonist in the TV series adaptation of Beastmaster, presenting as a siren who appears as a beautiful woman but it’s only an illusion as she is really a water snake. She always kills the warriors she loves and she spends her story arcs trying to make Dar her latest love/victim.
==See also==
==Notes==
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==Further reading==
* {{cite journal |last1=Figueira
* {{cite journal |last1=Macedo |first1=Tarcízio |last2=Filho |first2=Otacílio |title=[Dos rios à tela de cristal líquido: o retorno do mito e a arquitetura da cultura convergente em League of Legends] |trans-title=From the rivers to the LCD: The return of the myth and the architecture of convergence culture in League of Legends |language=Portuguese |journal=Fronteiras – estudos midiáticos|date=May–August 2015 |volume=17 |issue=2 |pages=231–247|doi=10.4013/fem.2015.172.10 |doi-access=free }} http://revistas.unisinos.br/index.php/fronteiras/article/view/fem.2015.172.10
* Sá, Lúcia, Maria Ignez França, and Lemos, Rafaella. "Macunaíma (1928)." In Literatura Da Floresta: Textos Amazônicos E Cultura Latino-americana, 79-120. Rio De Janeiro: SciELO – EDUERJ, 2004.
[[Category:Guaraní legendary creatures]]
[[Category:Mermaids]]
▲[[Category:Brazilian legendary creatures]]
[[Category:Tupí legendary creatures]]
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