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Lemuria

For other uses, seeLemuria (disambiguation).

Lemuria(/lɪˈmjʊəriə/), orLimuria,was acontinentproposed in 1864 by zoologistPhilip Sclater,theorized to have sunk beneath theIndian Ocean,later appropriated byoccultistsin supposed accounts of human origins. The theory was discredited with the discovery ofplate tectonicsandcontinental driftin the 20th century.[1]

The hypothesis was proposed as an explanation for the presence oflemurfossils onMadagascarand theIndian subcontinentbut not in continentalAfricaor theMiddle East.BiologistErnst Haeckel's suggestion in 1870 that Lemuria could be the ancestral home of humans caused the hypothesis to move beyond the scope ofgeologyandzoogeography,ensuring its popularity outside of the framework of the scientific community.

Occultist and founder oftheosophyHelena Blavatsky,during the latter part of the 19th century, placed Lemuria in the system of her mystical-religious doctrine, claiming that this continent was the homeland of the human ancestors, whom she called Lemurians. The writings of Blavatsky had a significant impact on Westernesotericism,popularizing the myth of Lemuria and its mystical inhabitants.

Theories about Lemuria became untenable when, in the 1960s, the scientific community acceptedAlfred Wegener's theory ofcontinental drift,presented in 1912, but the idea lived on in the popular imagination, especially in relation to the Theosophist tradition.

Evolution of the idea

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Lemuria was hypothesized as aland bridge,now sunken, which would account for certain discontinuities inbiogeography.This idea has been rendered obsolete by modern theories ofplate tectonics.Sunken continents such asZealandiain the Pacific, andMauritia[2]and theKerguelen Plateauin the Indian Ocean do exist,[3]but no geological formation under the Indian or Pacific oceans is known that could have served as a land bridge between these continents.[citation needed]

The idea of Lemuria was later incorporated into the philosophy ofTheosophyand has persisted as a theme inpseudoarchaeologyand discussions oflost lands.There is a vast fringe literature pertaining to Lemuria and to related concepts such as theLemurian Fellowshipand other things "Lemurian". All share a common belief that acontinentexisted in what is now either thePacific Oceanor theIndian Oceanin ancient times and claim that it became submerged as a result of a geological cataclysm. An important element of the mythology of Lemuria is that it was the location of the emergence of complex knowledge systems that formed the basis for later beliefs.

The concept of Lemuria was developed in detail byJames Churchward,who referred to it asMuand identified it as a lost continent in the Pacific Ocean. Churchward appropriated this name fromAugustus Le Plongeon,who had used the concept of the "Land of Mu" to refer to the legendary lost continent ofAtlantis.Churchward's books includedThe Lost Continent of Mu, the Motherland of Men(1926),The Children of Mu(1931),The Sacred Symbols of Mu(1933),Cosmic Forces of Mu(1934), andSecond Book of Cosmic Forces of Mu(1935). The relationships between Lemuria/Mu and Atlantis are discussed in detail in the bookLost Continents: The Atlantis Theme in History, Science, and Literature(1954) byL. Sprague de Camp.

Scientific origins

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Postulation

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In 1864, "The Mammals of Madagascar" byzoologistand biogeographerPhilip Sclaterappeared inThe Quarterly Journal of Science.Using a classification he referred to aslemurs,but which included related primate groups,[4]and puzzled by the presence of theirfossilsin Madagascar and India, but not in Africa or the Middle East, Sclater proposed that Madagascar and India had once been part of a larger continent (he was correct in this; though in reality this wasMauritia[5]and thesupercontinentGondwana).

The anomalies of the mammal fauna of Madagascar can best be explained by supposing that... a large continent occupied parts of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans... that this continent was broken up into islands, of which some have become amalgamated with... Africa, some... with what is now Asia; and that in Madagascar and theMascarene Islandswe have existing relics of this great continent, for which... I should propose the name Lemuria![4]

Parallels

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Sclater's theory was hardly unusual for his time; "land bridges",real and imagined, fascinated several of Sclater's contemporaries.Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire,also looking at the relationship between animals in India and Madagascar, had suggested a southern continent about two decades before Sclater, but did not give it a name.[6]The acceptance ofDarwinismled scientists to seek to trace the diffusion of species from their points ofevolutionaryorigin. Before the acceptance ofcontinental drift,biologists frequently postulated the existence of submerged land masses to account for populations of land-based species now separated by barriers of water. Similarly, geologists tried to account for striking resemblances of rock formations on different continents. The first systematic attempt was made byMelchior Neumayrin his bookErdgeschichtein 1887. Many hypothetical submerged land bridges and continents were proposed during the 19th century to account for the present distribution of species.

Promulgation

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Map describing the origins of "the 12 varieties of men" from Lemuria (1876)
Thecoat of arms of the British Indian Ocean Territorywith the inscription (in Latin) "Limuria is in our charge/trust".

After gaining some acceptance within the scientific community, the concept of Lemuria began to appear in the works of other scholars.Ernst Haeckel,a Darwiniantaxonomist,proposed Lemuria as an explanation for the absence of proto-human "missing links"in the fossil record. According to another source, Haeckel put forward this thesis before Sclater, without using the name" Lemuria ".[7]

Supersession

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The Lemuria theory disappeared completely from conventional scientific consideration after the theories ofplate tectonicandcontinental driftwere accepted by the larger scientific community. According to the theory of plate tectonics, Madagascar and India were indeed once part of the same landmass (thus accounting for geological resemblances), but plate movement caused India to break away millions of years ago, and move to its present location. The original landmass, Mauritia[8]and the supercontinentGondwanaprior to that, broke apart; it predominantly did not sink beneath sea level.

Kumari Kandam

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Main article:Kumari Kandam
"Lemuria" inTamil nationalistmysticist literature as Kumari Kandam, connectingMadagascar,South India,and Australia (covering most of the Indian Ocean)

Some Tamil writers such asDevaneya Pavanarhave associated Lemuria withKumari Kandam,a legendary sunken landmass mentioned in the Tamil literature, claiming that it was thecradle of civilization.A Tamil commentator,Adiyarkunallar,described the dimensions that extended between thePahrali Riverand theKumari Riverin thePandyancountry that was taken over by the ocean later on.[9]

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Since the 1880s, the concept of Lemuria has had a prominent place in the mythology ofTheosophy,anthroposophyand otheroccultbeliefs, inspiring many novels, television shows, films, and music. These are not scientific ideas, but fall within the realm ofpseudoarchaeologyandpopular culture.

Australia

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Blavatsky claimed that Australia was a remnant inland region of Lemuria and thatAboriginal AustraliansandAboriginal Tasmanians(which she identified as separate groups) were of Lemurian and Lemuro-Atlantean origin, after cross-breeding with animals. Her idea was subsequently developed in pseudo-histories and fiction of the white Australian popular culture of the 1890s and early 1900s, including the writings of nationalist Australian poetBernard O'Dowd,authorRosa Campbell PraedinMy Australian Girlhood,authorJohn David HennesseyinAn Australian Bush TrackandGeorge Firth Scott's novelThe Last Lemurian: A Westralian Romance.[10][11]

Robert Dixon suggests that the popularity of the idea of "lost races" like Lemurians and Atlanteans reflected the anxieties of colonial Australians, that "when Englishness is lost there is nothing to replace it".[10]A. L. McCannattributes Praed's use of the Lemuria trope to an "attempt to create a lineage for white settlers without having to confront the annihilation of Indigenous people".[12]

Telos Mount Shasta

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In 1894, Frederick Spencer Oliver publishedA Dweller on Two Planets,an occult book which claimed that survivors from Lemuria were living in a complex of tunnels beneath the mountain ofMount Shastain northernCalifornia.This city, known asTelos: City of Lightboasted fur-lined carpeted floors and jeweled walls, all signs of opulence. Spencer also claimed that Lemurians could be seen walking the surface in white robes.[13]In 1931,Harvey Spencer Lewis,who went by the pseudonymWishar Spenle Cerve[14][15]wroteLemuria: the Lost Continent of the Pacific,which popularized the idea that Shasta was a repository for Lemurians.[16]

In the 1930s,Guy Warren Ballardclaimed to have been approached bySaint Germainwho told him he could endow him with knowledge and wisdom. Ballard wrote and published the bookUnveiled Mysteriesunder the alias Godfré Ray King, where Ballard claimed to be the person that Saint Germain was speaking through to get to the world. The belief in Telos has been proliferated by Ballard and hisfollowers,as well as other religious groups like theAscended Masters,theGreat White Brotherhood,The Bridge to Freedom,The Summit Lighthouse,Church Universal and Triumphant,andKryon.[17][citation needed]Every year, members of these religious groups make pilgrimage to Mount Shasta, a journey that is marked by various yearly festivals and events. The Saint Germain Foundation hosts the annual "I AM COME!" Pageant, on the Life of Jesus the Christ in Mt. Shasta. TheRainbow Familyhosts aRainbow Gatheringevery August to commemorate the pilgrimage.[18][19]These religions are often a mix of spiritual practices, based largely on native, Christian, Buddhist and Taoist traditions, synthesizing their beliefs, and excluding "negative" aspects of such religions. For example, theSaint Germain Foundation.[19]does not includeJesus' crucifixionin their teachings.

See also

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References

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  1. ^Roos, Dave (22 June 2022)."Did the Lost Continent of Lemuria Ever Exist?".HowStuffWorks.Archivedfrom the original on 4 June 2023.Retrieved15 July2022.
  2. ^Morelle, Rebecca(2013-02-25)."BBC News - Fragments of ancient continent buried under Indian Ocean".BBC.co.uk.Archivedfrom the original on 2019-04-15.Retrieved2013-09-21.
  3. ^"Navigation News".Frontline.in. Archived fromthe originalon 2019-12-22.Retrieved2013-09-21.
  4. ^abNeild, TedSupercontinent: Ten Billion Years in the Life of Our PlanetHarvard University Press (2 Nov 2007)ISBN978-0-674-02659-9pp. 38–39
  5. ^"An Entire Lost Continent Was Found Under the Island of Mauritius".Forbes.Archivedfrom the original on 2022-03-15.Retrieved2022-03-15.
  6. ^ Neild, TedSupercontinent: Ten Billion Years in the Life of Our PlanetHarvard University Press (2 Nov 2007)ISBN978-0-674-02659-9p.38
  7. ^L. Sprague de Camp,Lost Continents,1954 (First Edition), p. 52
  8. ^"Fragments of continents hidden under lava in Indian Ocean: New micro-continent detected under Reunion and Mauritius".Archivedfrom the original on 2024-07-22.Retrieved2022-03-15.
  9. ^"Login - Single Sign On | The University of Kansas".login.ku.edu.Archivedfrom the original on 2023-04-05.Retrieved2022-04-27.
  10. ^abBongiorno, Frank (2000)."Aboriginality and historical consciousness: Bernard O'Dowd and the creation of an Australian national imaginary"(PDF).Aboriginal History.24:39–58.Archived(PDF)from the original on 2024-07-22.Retrieved2023-03-13– via ANU Press.
  11. ^"The Lost Lands of Mu and Lemuria: Was Australia Once Part of a Sunken Continent? – New Dawn: The World's Most Unusual Magazine".September 2007.Archivedfrom the original on 2024-07-22.Retrieved2019-01-07.
  12. ^"Stargazing with Rosa Praed".Sydney Review of Books.2016-10-31.Archivedfrom the original on 2019-01-07.Retrieved2019-01-07.
  13. ^Oliver, Frederick Spencer (1894).A Dweller on Two Planets.
  14. ^Cerve, Wishar S. (1931).Lemuria, The Lost Continent Of the Pacific(PDF).AMORC.dust jacket.Archived(PDF)from the original on 2022-03-27.Retrieved2023-03-13.
  15. ^Melton, J. Gordon (Mar 1999).Religious leaders of America: a biographical guide to founders and leaders of religious bodies, churches, and spiritual groups in North America(2nd ed.). Cengage Gale. p. 332.ISBN978-0810388789.
  16. ^Meisse, William C. (1993).Mount Shasta: an annotated bibliography.College of the Siskiyous.p. 146.
  17. ^King, Godfré Ray (1982).Unveiled Mysteries(4 ed.). Saint Germain Press.
  18. ^Duntley, Madeline (2014)."Spiritual Tourism and Frontier Esotericism at Mount Shasta, California".International Journal for the Study of New Religions.5(2): 123–150.doi:10.1558/ijsnr.v5i2.26233.ISSN2041-952X.Archivedfrom the original on 2024-07-22.Retrieved2023-06-05.
  19. ^abHuntsinger, Lynn; Fernández-giménez, María (2000-10-01)."Spiritual Pilgrims at Mount Shasta, California".Geographical Review.90(4): 536–558.doi:10.1111/j.1931-0846.2000.tb00353.x.ISSN0016-7428.Archivedfrom the original on 2024-07-22.Retrieved2023-06-05.

Further reading

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