Skin of the Sea

Water, specifically the sea and various rivers, plays an important role throughout Skin of the Sea. As a Mami Wata, Simi transforms into her mermaid form whenever she enters a body of water, and she can sense water nearby. The sea is the Mami Wata’s most natural place. Simi feels at home in the water, specifically the sea, and while she’s in the water, her thoughts are calmer and more in the moment. The water also takes Simi’s memories of her life before becoming a Mami Wata. In human form on land, Simi can recall her past life, suggesting that water holds cleansing power—it washes or cleans away the past to make room for the present. Yemoja is the orisa of water in general, and Olokun is the orisa of the deepest part of the sea, which shows how the large and complex nature of the sea requires multiple orisas to represent it.

While Simi feels most at home in the sea, rivers offer a less comfortable experience. She feels better in rivers than on land, but there is something less encompassing about rivers than the sea. The vastness of the sea may mean that the influence of all the lands it touches gets lost in the water.