Kataw

The kataw is a merfolk spirit in Visayan belief. In Visayan the word is katau. Descriptions differ. Some say the kataw has a human upper body and a fish tail. Others say it has feet, gills and fins on its arms. People say kataw rank above other water creatures and rule the kingdom of the sea folk.

One story, recorded by the author Ramos in 1990, says kataw pose as fishermen who ask for help. When a person comes near, they drown that person. Some writers also credit them with power over water, tides and waves. Wikipedia marks these claims about rulers and powers as needing sources, so treat them as modern retellings.

There is one old record. The Jesuit priest Francisco Ignacio Alzina made a manuscript in 1668 that includes pictures of a male and a female kataw. Modern writers compare the kataw with the sirena and the siyokoy, other water beings of Philippine tales.