How Indonesian 'Mermaid Tears' Are Sold as Love Potion

Legends and myths have been telling us about the mystical healing powers of the mermaid tears. From Christopher Colombus’ exploration records to Hans Christian Andersen’s bedtime stories, from Greek mythology to Syrian folklore, the tales of the cryptic half-human half-fish creature lives on, even making their way to contemporary and pop culture.

Considering that, this Mermaid Oil is the case of legends taken seriously and too literally. But the ‘mermaids’ from which this oil is made are much less mythical than the beautiful women with fish tails. Instead, this Mermaid Oil is made from real tears from a real mammal called duyung or dugong, which is often attributed as the realistic, imagination-sterile version of the fabled mermaids.

Dugongs are aquatic mammals that only come up to the surface every once in a while. When they come out of the water, the coastal breeze brushes their face, making the eyes secrete some sort of tears that will be crystallized and gathered by traditional healers.

So, real tears, real mammal. But that’s not all there is to this special potion. For the tears to yield power, they have to be collected only at certain nights, according to certain spiritual almanacs. Some paranormals even conduct a special ritual to attract dugongs to come to land during a good night.

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The task continues with other rituals and traditional processes that take 14 days, culminating in the night of the full moon. The process includes adding various ingredients and conducting special prayers. At this point, the liquid will already take the form of oil, sometimes crystal. And some of the rituals are believed to have added magical powers and energy to the oil.

Often dubbed as a love potion, this Mermaid Oil offers promises all kinds of people with different stories and love-life struggles. Whether someone wants to find love, gain favor from a partner’s family, ensure a partner’s devotion, resolve issues in relationship, enhance romance, even getting an ex back, claims and testimonies are abundant in all those love pursuits.

But beyond that, many customers have different wishful whispers while purchasing and applying this magic oil, most of which are justifiable by the potion’s own promotions and advertisements. Some wish to bring more success to their business, attract more customers, or simply increase their overall charm and sense of authority for non-romantic pursuits.

Despite very understandable and justifiable skepticisms, the rising popularity of this mystical item even amid the growth of education and development, could almost attest to the efficacy of the method. There are many ways to understand the (seemingly) supernatural reactions to the Mermaid Oil. One of which has to do with the fact that certain substances may actually cause chemical changes in the body’s nervous system when inhaled or ingested.

So, when someone is in enough physical proximity to breathe in the fragrance, their amatory inclinations may be enhanced and therefore induce an almost instant attraction. Others see the item as simply a nudge to boost confidence, and when you show such firmness, you become more assertive and more attractive, which can do wonders for your personal life in general.

Others are certain that Mermaid Oil is indeed a scam, and people are making money out of people’s spiritual beliefs and familiarity with folklore. And if you think only irreverent people who believe in black magic would purchase this kind of item, you may be wrong.

Many sellers are being cautious not to confront people’s religious beliefs with the powers they claim to have in the product. They somehow create a narrative that claims God’s power is manifested in the oil, and that by using the item, customers are simply accessing a divine force bestowed by The Almighty to help humankind.