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"'Feejee Mermaid' has become the generic term for the many fake mermaids that can be found around the world..."
This article contains information relating to a hoax. According to Cambridge dictionary a hoax is "a plan to deceive a large group of people; a trick." |
Jenny Hanivers are hoaxes from the old Dutch times. They are actually rays and devil fish carved to make them look like Sea Monks or Bishop Fish. They are usually shown off as proof of dragons or fairies.
History[]
For centuries, sailors sat on the Antwerp piers and carved these "mermaids" out of dried skates. They then preserved them further with a coat of varnish. They supported themselves by selling their artistic creations to working sailors as well as to tourists visiting the docks.
Jenny Hanivers have been created to look like devils, angels and dragons. Some writers have suggested the Sea Monk may have been a Jenny Haniver.
The earliest known picture of a Jenny Haniver appeared in Konrad Gesner's Historia Animalium vol. IV in 1558. Gesner warned that these were merely disfigured rays and should not be believed to be miniature dragons or monsters, which was a popular misconception at the time.
The most common misconception was that Jenny Hanivers were Basilisks. As Basilisks were creatures that killed with merely a glance, no one could claim to know what one looks like. For this reason it was easy to pass off Jenny Hanivers as these creatures which were still widely feared in the 16th century. In Veracruz, Jenny Hanivers are considered to have magical powers and are employed by curanderos in their rituals. This tradition may have originated in Japan, where fake ningyo similar to the Fiji mermaid that were produced by using rogue taxidermy are kept in temples.
Trivia[]
- Footage of a big Jenny Haniver was used in a hoax video circulating on the Islamic internet. The Jenny was described as the result of a woman kicking the Quran - the holy book of Islam. This caused Allah (the only God in Islam) to turn her into a fish. Similar videos were made with a fake taxidermied Naga and several art projects featuring human-animal hybrids.