The Adaro, Spirits of the Sea
In the Solomon Islands, sea spirits with fins and swordfish horns were said to travel along rainbows and shoot flying fish at people.
What was reported
In the traditions of the Solomon Islands, recorded by missionaries in the 19th century, the adaro were spirits of the sea: part human, with fins behind their ears, a tail, and a sharp horn like a swordfish on their heads.
They were said to travel on rainbows and waterspouts, and to shoot flying fish at people, causing them to fall ill or faint. The most powerful of them was Ngorieru, who lived in a waterspout.
Explanations offered
They're spirits of local belief, recorded by the missionary Robert Codrington in his studies of Melanesian culture. They've been described in English as 'merman' figures, though in their own tradition they are quite different from European mermaids.
- When
- Recorded in the 1800s
- Where
- Makira (San Cristóbal), Solomon Islands
- Witnesses
- Solomon Islands tradition
- Status
- Legend
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.