Within Fiji Hoaxes
Why Was the Feejee Mermaid Called Fijian?
Barnum used Fiji's remoteness and exotic reputation to make a composite creature seem credible.
On this page
- How the composite creature was made
- Barnum's publicity tricks and Dr Griffin
- Why Fiji made the story believable
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Introduction
The Feejee Mermaid became famous because it appeared to answer an old question: what if mermaids were real? Yet the most important deception was not only the creature itself, but its supposed connection to Fiji. When the American showman P. T. Barnum exhibited the specimen in 1842, he promoted it as a remarkable being obtained from the “Feejee Islands”, an older English spelling of Fiji. The claim gave the object an air of authenticity and mystery, even though there is no reliable evidence that the creature originated in Fiji at all. Modern research indicates that the specimen was a composite artefact made from animal parts and associated materials, probably drawing on a tradition of manufactured “mermaids” from East Asia rather than the South Pacific.[harvard.edu]news.harvard.eduGazette Feejee Mermaid offers haunting image at Harvard museumHarvard GazetteFeejee Mermaid offers haunting image at Harvard museumOctober 30, 2017 — 30 Oct 2017 — The Peabody's creepy Feejee, one of…
The story matters in the history of Fiji-related hoaxes because Fiji functioned as a marketing device. The islands were distant from most nineteenth-century American and British audiences, difficult to verify, and already surrounded by exotic stories. Barnum transformed that distance into credibility.
How the Composite Creature Was Made
The Feejee Mermaid was not a newly discovered species. It was a manufactured curiosity assembled from parts of different animals to resemble a grotesque human–fish hybrid. Descriptions vary between surviving specimens because several similar mermaids existed, but the basic formula combined a monkey-like upper body with the tail of a fish. Museum examinations of surviving examples have identified mixtures of fish remains, monkey parts, claws, teeth, clay, papier-mâché and other materials.[harvard.edu]news.harvard.eduGazette Feejee Mermaid offers haunting image at Harvard museumHarvard GazetteFeejee Mermaid offers haunting image at Harvard museumOctober 30, 2017 — 30 Oct 2017 — The Peabody's creepy Feejee, one of…
Unlike the beautiful mermaids depicted in paintings and folklore, the Feejee Mermaid looked shrivelled, skeletal and unsettling. Visitors expecting a graceful sea maiden instead encountered something closer to a mummified monster. Ironically, that ugliness may have helped the deception. A bizarre specimen looked more like a preserved scientific curiosity than a theatrical costume.[Hyperallergic]hyperallergic.comhow a fake monster creeped into our museumsHow a Fake Monster Crept Into our Museums15 Jan 2018 — The appearance of the Fiji mermaid in 19th-century museums was in lar…
Evidence increasingly points away from Fiji as the object’s place of manufacture. Historians and museum specialists have linked Barnum’s mermaid to traditions in Japan and other parts of East Asia where composite “mermaid” figures were created for religious, collecting or entertainment purposes long before Barnum displayed his specimen. Some accounts specifically describe Barnum’s exhibit as a Japanese mermaid that was later relabelled as Fijian.[horniman.ac.uk]horniman.ac.ukunmasking the mysterious mermanHorniman Museum and GardensUnmasking the mysterious merman21 Feb 2012 — In 1842, a Japanese mermaid was exhibited in America by the maste…
Barnum’s Publicity Tricks and the Mystery of Dr Griffin
The Feejee Mermaid’s success depended as much on publicity as on craftsmanship. Barnum understood that curiosity could be more profitable than proof. Rather than simply placing the specimen in a museum, he orchestrated a campaign that made newspapers and the public discuss it before most people had seen it.[hoaxes.org]hoaxes.orgthe feejee mermaid1842)Griffin to be sent to New York papers throughout the Summer, and had then carefully orchestrated the mermaid publicity once Dr…
A central figure in this campaign was the supposedly independent naturalist “Dr Griffin”. Newspapers reported that this learned expert had acquired an extraordinary specimen from the Feejee Islands and was studying it scientifically. The appearance of expert endorsement was crucial because it suggested that trained observers considered the object genuine.[sciencehistory.org]sciencehistory.orgstrange thingsstrange things
In reality, Dr Griffin was part of the promotional operation. Accounts from Barnum’s own era and later historical investigations describe the character as a fabricated authority used to generate press attention. Barnum and his associates fed stories to newspapers, arranged private viewings, and encouraged journalists to treat the mermaid as a legitimate scientific mystery.[newyorker.com]newyorker.comOpen source on newyorker.com.
Another clever tactic involved illustrations. Newspapers received images of attractive, human-looking mermaids even though the actual specimen looked nothing like those drawings. Readers formed expectations based on the pictures, and public debate spread long before anyone could compare the images with the exhibit itself. By the time visitors discovered the discrepancy, the publicity campaign had already succeeded.[The New Yorker]newyorker.comOpen source on newyorker.com.
Why Fiji Made the Story Believable
The most revealing question is not why people believed in mermaids, but why Barnum chose Fiji.
In the early nineteenth century, Fiji occupied a peculiar place in the Western imagination. It was known to many readers only through travel reports, missionary accounts and sensational stories from a distant Pacific frontier. Information travelled slowly, and very few Americans could independently verify claims about the islands. A creature supposedly discovered there could not easily be checked or disproved.[Science History Institute]sciencehistory.orgstrange thingsstrange things
Barnum exploited this information gap. By attaching the specimen to a remote archipelago already associated with unfamiliar customs, wildlife and adventure stories, he gave the mermaid a plausible geographical home. The claim did not need to be true; it only needed to sound possible to audiences who lacked direct knowledge of the region.[The New Yorker]newyorker.comOpen source on newyorker.com.
The spelling “Feejee” itself contributed to the effect. It looked exotic and foreign to English-speaking audiences, reinforcing the impression that the specimen came from a mysterious corner of the world rather than from a workshop. Fiji became a brand that authenticated the unbelievable.[Live Science]livescience.com56037 feejee mermaid56037 feejee mermaid
What Eventually Undermined the Claim
The Feejee Mermaid did not collapse because someone travelled to Fiji and disproved the story. Instead, growing knowledge about the specimen’s construction gradually made the Fijian origin story less credible.
Researchers, museum curators and historians increasingly identified the object as a composite creation rather than a natural organism. Investigations of surviving specimens revealed obvious combinations of animal parts and artificial materials. At the same time, evidence accumulated that similar artefacts had circulated through East Asian traditions before Barnum’s exhibition.[harvard.edu]news.harvard.eduGazette Feejee Mermaid offers haunting image at Harvard museumHarvard GazetteFeejee Mermaid offers haunting image at Harvard museumOctober 30, 2017 — 30 Oct 2017 — The Peabody's creepy Feejee, one of…
Even Barnum’s own reputation eventually worked against the claim. As his career became synonymous with publicity stunts and “humbugs”, later generations viewed the mermaid less as a zoological mystery and more as a masterclass in showmanship. By the twentieth century, institutions such as Ripley’s openly displayed Feejee Mermaids as famous hoaxes rather than genuine creatures.[ripleys.com]ripleys.comOpen source on ripleys.com.
Why the False Fiji Origin Still Matters
The Feejee Mermaid remains relevant because it demonstrates how a false provenance can be as important as a fake object. The creature’s physical construction was only half the deception. The other half was the story attached to it.
Barnum recognised that audiences often judge extraordinary claims by their setting. A monster from a familiar place invites scepticism; a monster from a distant and poorly understood place feels harder to dismiss. Fiji’s role in the story therefore reveals a broader mechanism behind many historical hoaxes: attaching an invention to a location that audiences perceive as remote, mysterious or difficult to verify.[The New Yorker]newyorker.comOpen source on newyorker.com.
For Fiji, the episode is significant not because the hoax originated there, but because the country’s name became part of the illusion. The Feejee Mermaid was famous precisely because it was presented as Fijian, even though the strongest evidence suggests that its connection to Fiji existed mainly in the imagination of its promoters.[horniman.ac.uk]horniman.ac.ukunmasking the mysterious mermanHorniman Museum and GardensUnmasking the mysterious merman21 Feb 2012 — In 1842, a Japanese mermaid was exhibited in America by the maste…
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The Feejee Mermaid and Other Essays in Natural and Unnatural...
Centers on the Feejee Mermaid and related curiosities.
The Life of P. T. Barnum
Provides firsthand insight into the era of public curiosities.
Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds
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Endnotes
1.
Source: news.harvard.edu
Title: Gazette Feejee Mermaid offers haunting image at Harvard museum
Link:https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2017/10/feejee-mermaid-offers-haunting-tale-at-harvard-museum/
Source snippet
Harvard GazetteFeejee Mermaid offers haunting image at Harvard museumOctober 30, 2017 — 30 Oct 2017 — The Peabody's creepy Feejee, one of...
Published: October 30, 2017
2.
Source: Wikipedia
Link:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiji_mermaid
Source snippet
Fiji mermaidThe Fiji mermaid (also Feejee mermaid) was an object composed of the torso and head of a juvenile monkey sewn to the back hal...
3.
Source: hyperallergic.com
Title: how a fake monster creeped into our museums
Link:https://hyperallergic.com/how-a-fake-monster-creeped-into-our-museums/
Source snippet
How a Fake Monster Crept Into our Museums15 Jan 2018 — The appearance of the Fiji mermaid in 19th-century museums was in lar...
4.
Source: Wikipedia
Link:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mermaid
5.
Source: hoaxes.org
Title: the feejee mermaid
Link:https://hoaxes.org/archive/permalink/the_feejee_mermaid
Source snippet
(1842)Griffin to be sent to New York papers throughout the Summer, and had then carefully orchestrated the mermaid publicity once Dr...
6.
Source: coneyisland.com
Link:https://www.coneyisland.com/shof-attractions/feejee-mermaid
7.
Source: Wikipedia
Title: P. T. Barnum
Link:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P._T._Barnum
8.
Source: horniman.ac.uk
Title: unmasking the mysterious merman
Link:https://www.horniman.ac.uk/story/unmasking-the-mysterious-merman/
Source snippet
Horniman Museum and GardensUnmasking the mysterious merman21 Feb 2012 — In 1842, a Japanese mermaid was exhibited in America by the maste...
9.
Source: bmallsopp.com
Title: fiji mermaids a fishy story
Link:https://www.bmallsopp.com/post/fiji-mermaids-a-fishy-story
Source snippet
B.M. AllsoppFiji mermaids: a fishy story?15 Jan 2024 — A radiology team have taken detailed images of a Fiji mermaid in an Ohio museum, w...
10.
Source: newyorker.com
Link:https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/08/05/what-p-t-barnum-understood-about-america
11.
Source: sciencehistory.org
Title: strange things
Link:https://www.sciencehistory.org/stories/magazine/strange-things/
12.
Source: livescience.com
Title: 56037 feejee mermaid
Link:https://www.livescience.com/56037-feejee-mermaid.html
13.
Source: ripleys.com
Link:https://www.ripleys.com/our-story/the-exhibit-collection/the-fiji-mermaid
14.
Source: ripleys.com
Link:https://www.ripleys.com/stories/fiji-mermaid-hoax
Additional References
15.
Source: reginajeffers.blog
Link:https://reginajeffers.blog/2021/05/21/the-feejee-mermaid-another-p-t-barnum-hoax/
Source snippet
T. Barnum Hoax21 May 2021 — “In reality, Barnum leased the “mermaid” from his friend Moses Kimball, owner of the Boston Museum, who purch...
Published: May 2021
16.
Source: historicmysteries.com
Link:https://www.historicmysteries.com/history/fiji-mermaid/34003/
Source snippet
Historic MysteriesThe Fiji Mermaid: What Was It and Why Did It Garner Such...10 Jun 2023 — It was later revealed that the Fiji mermaid w...
17.
Source: youtube.com
Title: Feejee Mermaid & Centaur of Tymfi | Bizarre Secrets of Barnum Museum!
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQL5pJgM-XM
Source snippet
Fiji Mermaid at Ripley's Believe It or Not! London...
18.
Source: youtube.com
Title: Fiji Mermaid at Ripley’s Believe It or Not! London
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98M8smkWijw
Source snippet
PT Barnum Mermaid. This is incredible Proof of mermaids in 1865...
19.
Source: facebook.com
Link:https://www.facebook.com/AcademyofNaturalSciences/posts/did-you-know-that-feejee-mermaids-were-created-by-taking-the-head-and-torso-of-a/10156981619454354/
20.
Source: commons.wikimedia.org
Link:https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AFeejee_Mermaid%2C_shown_in_P.T.Barnum%27s_American_Museum%2C_1842%2C_as_leased_from_Moses_Kimball_of_the_Boston_Museum%2C_papier-mache-Peabody_Museum%2C_Harvard_University-_DSC06154.jpg
21.
Source: instagram.com
Link:https://www.instagram.com/p/DXTeaMlD2CB/
22.
Source: reddit.com
Link:https://www.reddit.com/r/Weird/comments/1bpbp0a/this_is_the_feejee_mermaid_it_was_originally/
23.
Source: reddit.com
Title: unravelling the mystery of the fiji mermaid scans
Link:https://www.reddit.com/r/Cryptozoology/comments/17r856z/unravelling_the_mystery_of_the_fiji_mermaid_scans/
24.
Source: youtube.com
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMSb-F73lMM
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