Skin of the Sea
A mami wata seeks forgiveness from the Supreme Creator.
Skin of the Sea, a young adult fantasy from 2021, is the first novel by Nigerian Welsh author Natasha Bowen. Its protagonist, Simi, is a mami wata who must journey across ocean and land to find the Supreme Creator after violating a law that endangers all mami wata. The book reached the New York Times and Indie Bestseller lists within a week of its November 2021 release. A sequel, Soul of the Deep, came out in 2022.
Quick Facts
- Author
- Natasha Bowen
- Country
- Nigeria/Wales
- Language
- English
- Genre
- Fantasy, Young adult
- Publisher
- Random House
- Published
- 2 November 2021
- Pages
- 320
- Followed by
- Soul of the Deep
Facts from the source article.
Plot
Simi is one of the Mami Wata, mermaid-like beings created by the goddess Yemoja who collect the souls of enslaved people dying at sea and send them to the afterlife. She misses her former human existence and can take human form at will, though walking causes her pain. When she finds a human boy, Kola, still alive after being thrown from a slave ship, she breaks the rules and rescues him. Yemoja tells Simi she has endangered the Mami Wata and must gain forgiveness from the Supreme Creator, Olodumare, or they will all die. To obtain an audience with Olodumare, Simi needs a pair of powerful obsidian rings held by a babalawo near Kola’s village. Kola offers to guide her, and they must avoid the trickster orisa Esu. Traveling in human form, they encounter humans, orisas, and magical creatures. On land, they are welcomed by the small, friendly yumboes. Kola reveals his younger siblings, twins, are the prophesied manifestation of two orisas whose birth brought prosperity. A yumbo child, Issa, joins them as guide. Simi saves Kola from a Ninki Nanka, and attraction grows between them, though a Mami Wata who falls in love with a human will melt into sea foam. They arrive at Kola's village too late; the twins, now holding the obsidian rings, have been kidnapped by Esu. Simi and Kola set out with a map to Esu’s island, accompanied by Kola’s bodyguards Bem, Yinka, and Idefayo. During the voyage, Simi leaves to bargain with Olokun, the imprisoned orisa of the deep ocean, and the group sees her in Mami Wata form, revealing her true identity. Kola reassures her she can trust the others.
Development
Bowen became interested in mermaids and underwater worlds after reading The Little Mermaid as a child. She wanted to write a story featuring Black mermaids and West African traditions. After discovering that Yemọja, a goddess in the Ifá belief system, was believed to follow the first enslaved Africans to gather their souls home, she researched African civilizations such as the Kingdom of Benin and West African mythology, speaking to an Ifá priest about the Orísha and Yoruba culture. She wrote the novel while teaching full-time, composing it before school and during free time in a notebook. The book includes mythological creatures of West and Central Africa, including Senegalese fairies called Yumboes, Ninki-Nanka, Sasabonsam, and Bultungin.
Reception
Kirkus Reviews gave the novel a starred review, praising its pacing and use of Yoruba religion and other West African religious traditions alongside familiar elements, calling it a divine debut. Publishers Weekly noted Bowen's attempt to portray West Africa as a historical place of great invention, fellowship, and hope while avoiding focus on human suffering. India Winslow of the School Library Journal called the story a testament to the strength of the human spirit amid tragedy. Caitlyn Paxson of NPR acknowledged Bowen's use of The Little Mermaid as a starting point to discuss slavery's effect on Africa, but noted the novel takes a wider view of the lives of uprooted people and the cultures they were stolen from. Paxson praised the depiction of Yoruba gods and lore including Mami Wata and Yumboes, calling the protagonist the richest personality but criticizing the lack of development of the supporting cast.
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