Peixe Caball

hybrid · Cape Verde · West Africa

Peixe Caball ('horse-fish') is a Cape Verdean mermaid-like being with an equine upper body and fish tail, inhabiting deep ocean and coastal reefs. It appears to sailors as an omen of calm seas and represents the fusion of land and sea in islander identity. Documented in Cape Verdean oral tradition and folkloric collections.

Open in the interactive archive →