Could Dugongs Explain Bahrain's Sea Legends?

Introduction

Among Bahrain’s sea legends, the dugong provides one of the clearest examples of how a real animal can blend into folklore. For centuries, fishermen, sailors and pearl divers worked in shallow Gulf waters where dugongs grazed on seagrass meadows. These large marine mammals are gentle, slow-moving and surprisingly human-like when viewed briefly at the surface. Across many maritime cultures, similar animals helped inspire stories of mermaids and sea maidens. In Bahrain, the overlap appears in traditions about the “bride of the sea”, sea-cow creatures and mysterious beings linked to the Gulf. Modern research shows that Bahrain sits within one of the world’s most important dugong habitats, making it entirely plausible that encounters with real animals helped shape parts of the island’s sea folklore.[dugongseagrass.org]dugongseagrass.orgDugong & Seagrass Hub BahrainDugong & Seagrass HubBahrain - Dugong & Seagrass HubThe dugong population in the Arabian Gulf is the second largest in the world, estimat…

Dugongs in Bahraini Waters

The dugong is not a legendary creature at all. It is a real marine mammal, related to the manatee and belonging to the order Sirenia. The Arabian Gulf contains the second-largest dugong population on Earth after Australia, with recent estimates placing the regional population at roughly 5,800–7,300 animals. Bahrain lies within one of the most important parts of that range.[dugongseagrass.org]dugongseagrass.orgDugong & Seagrass Hub BahrainDugong & Seagrass HubBahrain - Dugong & Seagrass HubThe dugong population in the Arabian Gulf is the second largest in the world, estimat…

Particularly significant are the waters around the Hawar Islands and the Gulf of Salwa between Bahrain and Qatar. These shallow areas contain extensive seagrass meadows, the dugong’s primary food source. Researchers have documented unusually large dugong aggregations there for decades. Some of the largest groups ever recorded have contained hundreds of animals, with studies noting gatherings of up to around 700 dugongs in Bahraini waters.[wiley.com]onlinelibrary.wiley.comWiley Online LibraryAquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystemsby A Khamis · 2023 · Cited by 13 — The largest recorded so far…

For people working at sea before modern navigation and wildlife guides, such encounters could be striking. Dugongs surface to breathe, raise their heads above the water, cradle calves with their forelimbs and sometimes appear unexpectedly in poor visibility. A glimpse at dawn, dusk or during rough weather could easily seem mysterious, especially to exhausted sailors spending weeks offshore. The same process has been proposed for mermaid traditions in many parts of the world.[oneearth.org]oneearth.orgOne EarthDugongs: the marine mammal that inspired the myth of…August 22, 2025 — 22 Aug 2025 — The dugong, along with the manatee, is b…Published: August 22, 2025

Sea Cow and Bride of the Sea Names

One reason dugongs became linked to folklore is the language traditionally used to describe them.

In Bahrain and elsewhere around the Gulf, dugongs have long carried names that blur the boundary between ordinary wildlife and legendary sea beings. Local names include “cow of the sea” and, most intriguingly, “bride of the sea”. Conservation organisations working in Bahrain still record these traditional names today.[Dugong & Seagrass Hub]dugongseagrass.orgDugong & Seagrass Hub BahrainDugong & Seagrass HubBahrain - Dugong & Seagrass HubThe dugong population in the Arabian Gulf is the second largest in the world, estimat…

The phrase “bride of the sea” naturally encourages imaginative interpretations. A creature living beneath the waves, occasionally appearing at the surface and associated with feminine imagery can easily become attached to mermaid-like stories. However, Bahraini folklore researchers have pointed out that some modern ideas about sea brides and sea nymphs are not ancient Arab traditions. Instead, they argue that these labels were popularised through later storytelling and media influences, with dugongs subsequently drawn into the explanation.[Folk Culture Bahrain]folkculturebh.orgFolk Culture BahrainMyths and folktales about sea creatures in BahrainThe 'bride of the sea' and the 'sea nymph' are terms that do not ex…

This distinction matters. Rather than proving that Bahrain once believed literally in mermaids, the evidence suggests a more complex process:

• Real dugongs were familiar to coastal communities.[researchgate.net]researchgate.netMermaids of the Arabian Gulf: Archaeological evidence for…4 Dec 2014 — Dugongs were a rich resource of meat, oil, fat, and hide for th…
• Descriptive names such as “bride of the sea” encouraged imaginative associations.
• Storytelling traditions expanded those associations into legendary beings.
• Later writers and popular culture blended local folklore, imported mermaid imagery and observations of actual marine animals.[Folk Culture Bahrain]folkculturebh.orgFolk Culture BahrainMyths and folktales about sea creatures in BahrainThe 'bride of the sea' and the 'sea nymph' are terms that do not ex…

The result is a folklore landscape where sea cows and sea maidens sometimes occupy the same imaginative space.

Why Dugongs Can Look Mysterious

The dugong’s appearance helps explain why it repeatedly enters sea folklore.

Unlike fish, dugongs are mammals. They breathe air, nurse their young and surface regularly. Their rounded heads, expressive eyes and tendency to lift part of the body above the water can appear oddly human from a distance. Mothers often swim closely with calves, creating silhouettes that may seem stranger than they really are.[One Earth]oneearth.orgOne EarthDugongs: the marine mammal that inspired the myth of…August 22, 2025 — 22 Aug 2025 — The dugong, along with the manatee, is b…Published: August 22, 2025

Environmental conditions in the Gulf also favour misidentification. Historically, pearl divers and fishermen often worked:

Under such circumstances, even a familiar animal can be interpreted through the lens of expectation and folklore. A brief sighting does not need to become a full mermaid to generate a memorable story. It only needs to seem unusual enough to be retold.

This helps explain why dugongs occupy an important middle ground in Bahrain’s creature traditions. They are not cryptids in the sense of an unknown species, yet they provide a realistic source for reports of strange sea beings.

Where Biology Explains Only Part of the Myth

Although dugongs offer a strong explanation for some mermaid-like traditions, they do not explain every element of Bahrain’s sea folklore.

Stories associated with figures such as Bu Draya often describe a supernatural or monstrous being rather than an unusually shaped marine mammal. These tales include themes of danger, spirits, punishment and fear of the sea. Such elements belong more to folklore and cautionary storytelling than to zoology.[Folk Culture Bahrain]folkculturebh.orgFolk Culture BahrainMyths and folktales about sea creatures in BahrainThe 'bride of the sea' and the 'sea nymph' are terms that do not ex…

In other words, the dugong may explain the visual spark behind some stories, but not the entire narrative structure. Maritime communities frequently transform ordinary observations into symbolic tales. A real animal becomes a warning, a mystery, a ghost story or a lesson for children. The biological creature and the legendary creature then develop side by side.

Bahrain’s dugong populations make this process particularly believable because the animals are genuinely abundant in the region. Unlike many alleged cryptid explanations that require a rare or hypothetical species, Bahrain’s folklore grew in waters where large numbers of dugongs have been documented for generations.[wiley.com]onlinelibrary.wiley.comWiley Online LibraryAquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystemsby A Khamis · 2023 · Cited by 13 — The largest recorded so far…

The Most Plausible Link Between Nature and Legend

For readers interested in Bahrain’s mystery-creature traditions, dugongs represent one of the strongest evidence-based connections between folklore and reality. The island sits beside globally important dugong habitat, local names include “bride of the sea”, and maritime communities spent centuries encountering these unusual mammals during fishing and pearling voyages.[dugongseagrass.org]dugongseagrass.orgDugong & Seagrass Hub BahrainDugong & Seagrass HubBahrain - Dugong & Seagrass HubThe dugong population in the Arabian Gulf is the second largest in the world, estimat…

That does not mean Bahrain’s mermaid-like stories were simply mistaken sightings. Folklore is rarely that straightforward. Instead, dugongs appear to have provided the real-world foundation upon which imagination, storytelling and maritime belief built something larger. The sea cow explains part of the mystery; the rest belongs to the cultural world of sailors, divers and storytellers who transformed encounters with a remarkable animal into enduring legends of the Gulf.[folkculturebh.org]folkculturebh.orgFolk Culture BahrainMyths and folktales about sea creatures in BahrainThe 'bride of the sea' and the 'sea nymph' are terms that do not ex…

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Endnotes

1. Source: researchgate.net
Link:https://www.researchgate.net/publication/222674828_Distribution_abundance_and_conservation_status_of_dugongs_and_dolphins_in_the_southern_and_western_Arabian_Gulf

2. Source: onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Link:https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/aqc.3936

3. Source: researchgate.net
Link:https://www.researchgate.net/publication/369686231_Long-term_persistence_of_large_dugong_groups_in_a_conservation_hotspot_around_Hawar_Island_Kingdom_of_Bahrain

4. Source: aramcoworld.com
Title: sirens of the seagrass
Link:https://www.aramcoworld.com/en/articles/2019/sirens-of-the-seagrass

5. Source: researchgate.net
Link:https://www.researchgate.net/publication/269105636_Mermaids_of_the_Arabian_Gulf_Archaeological_evidence_for_the_exploitation_of_dugongs_from_prehistory_to_the_present

6. Source: dugongseagrass.org
Title: Dugong & Seagrass Hub Bahrain
Link:https://www.dugongseagrass.org/where-we-work/bahrain/

7. Source: marinemammalhabitat.org
Link:https://www.marinemammalhabitat.org/factsheets/gulf-salwa/

8. Source: frontiersin.org
Link:https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/marine-science/articles/10.3389/fmars.2025.1620194/full

9. Source: oneearth.org
Link:https://www.oneearth.org/species-of-the-week-dugong/

Published: August 22, 2025

10. Source: folkculturebh.org
Link:https://folkculturebh.org/en/?id=916&issue=33&page=article

11. Source: folkculturebh.org
Link:https://www.folkculturebh.org/en/?issue=33&page=main

12. Source: folkculturebh.org
Link:https://folkculturebh.org/en/?issue=3&page=main

Additional References

13. Source: northlinkferries.co.uk
Link:https://www.northlinkferries.co.uk/orkney-blog/an-orkney-folk-tale-the-mermaid-bride/

14. Source: legacy.seaaroundus.s3.amazonaws.com
Link:https://legacy.seaaroundus.s3.amazonaws.com/researcher/dpauly/PDF/2017/Journal%2BArticles/Zoology%2Bin%2Bthe%2BMiddel%2BEast%2B-%2BApril%2B2017%2B-%2BReconstructing%2Bhistorical%2Bbaselines%2Bfor%2Bthe%2BPersian%2BArabian%2BGulf%2BDugong%2BDugong%2Bdugon%2BMammalia%2BSirena.pdf

15. Source: silice.csic.es
Link:https://silice.csic.es/publication/e46de17a-d75f-4856-9740-2aa8c290c961

16. Source: stories.tamu.edu
Link:https://stories.tamu.edu/news/2025/12/10/new-discoveries-reveal-arabian-gulf-hosts-both-ancient-fossil-bed-containing-newly-identified-sea-cow-species-and-worlds-largest-living-dugong-herd/

17. Source: ceab.csic.es
Link:https://www.ceab.csic.es/en/la-continuitat-dels-herbassars-marins-clau-per-a-la-supervivencia-de-dugongs-malgrat-les-pressions-humanes/

18. Source: dugongconservation.org
Link:https://www.dugongconservation.org/news/diary-of-a-dugong-legends-taboos-and-truths-amidst-the-seagrass-an-essay-by-alia-yunis/

19. Source: huggingface.co
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20. Source: facebook.com
Link:https://www.facebook.com/BahraniHistory/photos/myths-and-folktales-about-sea-creatures-in-bahrainby-husein-mohammad-huseinmythi/5501675709901917/

21. Source: facebook.com
Link:https://www.facebook.com/GDNOnline/posts/a-record-number-of-dugongs-have-been-thriving-in-bahrains-waters-as-the-lush-sea/10162517868497796/

22. Source: linkedin.com
Link:https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/dugong-aggregations-around-islands-hawar-bahrain-logical-howard-king