When reading the different stories in The Penguin Book of Mermaids, I felt that all of these short stories and folklore were quite intriguing. The different descriptions of African mermaids and water spirits was interesting to read about. I did not know that there was that much folklore, specifically of African mermaids/spirits I liked how this specific reading said “African water spirits often personify the sources of water which they live and sometimes bear the same name as the river in which they dwell.” (165) I thought this aspect of personifying the water in which they live was interesting, as I wouldn’t have thought of the spirits or mermaids connecting with where they live. This honestly does make sense though, because of the connection with mermaids and the ocean, it adds a deeper level of understanding them as creatures of the ocean as well. This aspect of they personifying the ocean, brings them closer with their connection with nature and animals, as aspect in which humans often miss I believe, me included. Besides this folklore/history, I also found the story “Aganju and Yamaja” to be interesting. This story was literally about two generations of incest, as Aganju and Yamaja were brother and sister and got married, and then the son Orungan became infatuated with his mother. Not only was this storyline absurd, but also fascinating to see how the folklore played out. After her son took advantage of her, Yamaja’s body streamed and rushed with water, separating her into “Ife.” I felt that this was the most interesting aspect in this tale, as she became and entity or holiness in the city from then and on. The myth that Yamaja became the origin for several Gods, was also very interesting. This aspect of the swelling and the “Ife’ was very intriguing, I have heard nothing about it, and it made me think further about our connection with water and the ocean. Instead of condemning her to a life of her son harassing her with his love and demands, it seemed his “Ife” or swelling might have saved her from this misery. Overall, all of the stories we read this week in the Penguin was quite interesting to read about, but these two stuck out to me the most..