Cecaelia
A Cecaelia (sometimes called an octopus person) is a composite mythical being appearing occasionally in art, literature, and multimedia; combining the head, arms and torso of a woman (more rarely a man) and, from the lower torso down, the tentacles of an octopus or squid as a form of mermaid or sea demon.[citation needed] They are sometimes referred to as "sea witches".[1][2][3]
Since 2007, the term cecaelia has become more-frequently used online in the naming of these hybrid creatures.[citation needed]
Although largely fictional, the concept has also been found in sideshow freakshows.[4]
In literature and art[edit]
Octopus people have appeared occasionally in artwork and literature.
- The Heritage Universe features an octopus-like elder race of Builders who left artifacts throughout space.
- The Japanese artist Hokusai produced a couple of erotic pieces that featured such a woman-octopus hybrid, as well as related pieces showing couplings of women with octopuses.
- H. P. Lovecraft's mythology frequently featured squid and octopus hybrids, including a two legged female octopus person derived from both "The Shadow Over Innsmouth" and "Dagon", which was made into a movie by Stuart Gordon and released in 2001, with Spanish actress Macarena Gómez playing the role of the mermaid-like priestess Uxía Cambarro.
- A Draugr in Norse mythology is occasionally represented as a seaweed-covered octopus person.
Popular culture[edit]
Disney[edit]
Perhaps one of the most well-recognized Cecaelia in modern history is Ursula the Sea Witch, from Walt Disney Pictures' "The Little Mermaid" (1989), voiced by Pat Carroll. Overweight and with blue-tinged skin, Ursula uses her six black-and-purple tentacle arms to dramatic effect, though in the climax of the film she is killed by Prince Eric.[5] She also had a very brief non-speaking cameo in one episode of Hercules: The Animated Series (1998–1999).
Her sister Morgana (voiced also by Carroll) is featured in much the same role in the direct-to-DVD sequel "The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea" (2000)- though she's thinner and more squid-like.
One time during the "Little Mermaid"-based TV series (1992–1994) in which she makes several appearances as an antagonist, Ursula's species was identified as "Octopian".
In the 2002 video game "Kingdom Hearts" produced by Square Enix and Disney Interactive for the PlayStation 2 platform, one of the worlds that the main characters visit is the Kingdom of Atlantica from "The Little Mermaid". Because the events of the game take place underwater in this world, some of the characters undergo a transformation. Specifically, Donald Duck becomes an octopus person version of himself, with six small light blue tentacles replacing the lower half of his body. Also, Ursula the Sea Witch makes an appearance as one of the many lead villains throughout the game. She does return in the sequel game "Kingdom Hearts II" (2005), but there she more closely matches her role from "The Little Mermaid" (though there is no acknowledgment in-game that any of the characters had met her in the previous game).
Ursula was adapted twice in Once Upon a Time. The first version is a half-woman half-octopus sea goddess (voiced by Yvette Nicole Brown). The second version is a former mermaid (portrayed by Merrin Dungey) who became a cecaelia following events that led to her having a falling out with her father King Poseidon.[6]
Octopus women in general are now frequently referred to as "sea witches" due to the popularity of Disney's example in their Little Mermaid franchise.
In Descendants 2, Ursula (voiced by Whoopi Goldberg) has a daughter named Uma (portrayed by China Anne McClain) who can transform into a Cecaelia as seen in the climax of the film.
Miscellaneous[edit]
- In the 1993 Japanese-only video game Romancing SaGa 2 for the Super Famicom video game console (the Japanese version of the Super NES), a male octopus person named Subier is one of the seven major antagonists.
- A male octopus person is figured as a guard in the 2000 music video by Ricky Martin based on his hit song "She Bangs", which also featured a combined live-action/CGI mermaid.
- A Sony advertisement for the "PlayStation 9" (which was actually promoting the PlayStation 2) briefly features in an underwater sequence an octopus person that turns into a giant octopus. However, instead of human arms, the octopus person had two more tentacles attached to her shoulders in their place, for a total of 10. Although the sequence is short (barely two seconds long), the advertisement was aired thousands of times in the United States alone and was seen by millions of people.
- In the 2002 computer game "The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall", and its sequels Morrowind and Oblivion, one of the enemies is an aquatic race called "dreughs." They appear as humanoid creatures with tentacles and claws. Sometimes after a dreugh has been killed, the player can harvest "dreugh wax" from the corpse which can be used as a potion ingredient. In Morrowind, the player can obtain "dreugh armor," made from the shell of a dreugh.
- In the MMORPG "World of Warcraft" there are no in-game octopus people, but the official artwork of Queen Azshara (villainess of the universe and Empress of the Naga) depicts her as a sort of octopus person - having lower body of an octopus and upper body of nightelven female with snakes for hair. Naga "Sea Witches" appear in "Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos", but they are serpentine unlike the ones in "The Little Mermaid".
- In the bimonthly adult comic book "Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose" (1996–present), the character John Webb encounters and is abducted and seduced by a "magikal" octopus woman, whom he successfully resists and escapes from.
- In the video game Scribblenauts, Cecaelia is one of the objects you can create.
- In the Planescape campaign setting for Dungeons & Dragons, there are octopus people called zoveri that live in the oceans of Mount Celestia.
- In the video game Team Fortress 2, fan created works often portray the Spy with the lower half of an octopus. Valve Corporation has not acknowledged Tentaspy at this point in time.
Symbolism[edit]
Quentin Stevens, drawing on Roger Caillois, sees the half-woman, half-octopus freakshow figure as emblematic of the part-seductive, part-repugnant modern urban environment: it combines the attractive and the monstrous.[4] The figure is commonly evil, as with Ursula and her resemblance to other hybrid or shapeshifting Disney villains.[7]
References[edit]
- ↑ "Animals and the human imagination". Retrieved 2018-02-13.
- ↑ "Animal- Human Hybrid in Mythology and Folklore - New Delhi Times - India's Only International Newspaper". New Delhi Times. 2018-01-01. Retrieved 2018-02-13.
- ↑ Shaffer, Joshua C. (2010-09-24). Discovering the Magic Kingdom: an Unofficial Disneyland Vacation Guide. Author House. p. 40. ISBN 9781452063133. Search this book on
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Stevens, Quentin. The Ludic City: Exploring the Potential of Public Spaces. pp. 44–45. Search this book on
- ↑ Hayward, Philip (2017-01-30). Making a Splash: Mermaids (and Mer-Men) in 20th and 21st Century Audiovisual Media. Indiana University Press. p. 37. ISBN 9780861969258. Search this book on
- ↑ "Disney Villains Clean Up Well, Wow Japan". SoraNews24. 2013-05-10. Retrieved 2018-02-13.
- ↑ Rodosthenous, George. The Disney Musical on Stage and Screen. p. 231. Search this book on
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