Thanks to a volunteer from Togo who worked the Shea conference with me... I now have my newest icebreaker question for any West African. "Can you tell me about the mami wata?"
Mami wata (clearly derived from mommy water) is the West African version of a mermaid. There are so many different legends and beliefs around mami wata-- there are even internet sites devoted to her. Some of the more interesting beliefs/stories I've heard so far:
-Mami wata reveals herself to certain people who then, if they accept her, must make a room for her in their homes. After a certain period of time, if she has deemed them of good character, she will bring them with her into her underwater world.
-Mami water helps good people and punishes those of bad character. One story involves her tricking a cheating man into taking her home with him, and when he took off her skirt to realize she was half fish he became mute.
-Mami water keepers must wear all white on Tuesdays and Thursdays
-One woman from my groupement has a daughter who went missing for 2 weeks. The local medicinman discovered that she had been taken by a mami wata and had to plea with her to return the girl. The girl is now back at home but refuses to talk about what happened during the 2 weeks she was missing.
There's a lot more where that came from... do some research for yourself....
