Skin of the Sea is a 2021 young adult fantasy novel by Nigerian Welsh writer Natasha Bowen. Bowen's debut novel follows Simi, a mami wata who travels across sea and land in search of the Supreme Creator after breaking a law that threatens the existence of all mami wata.
First edition
Mami Wata is a water spirit venerated in West, Central, and Southern Africa and in the Afro-American diaspora. Mami Wata spirits are usually female but are sometimes male.
Sculpture of the African water deity Mami Wata. Nigeria (Igbo). 1950s. Wood, pigment. Original in the Minneapolis Institute of Art
A figurine of Mami Wata from 20th-century Nigeria, on display at the Horniman Museum in London