The Lost Continent That Never Existed: Mu
Thousands of years younger than the tales of its fabled cousin, Atlantis, the lost continent of Mu was first proposed in the mid-19th century to explain the phenomenon of similar symbols, architecture and myths found in otherwise disparate, ancient cultures around the world. Unfortunately for adherents to the idea, there is no empirical evidence to support its existence or the theories of its demise.
Ancient Aliens aside… it’s hard not to notice that both the Mayans and Egyptians built pyramids, that ancient people from around the world (including Hindu, Greek, Ojibwa, Cañari, Sumerian and Hebrew) all share a similar flood myth, and that cultures as far away as Easter Island and Egypt have similar names for the Sun (ra’a and Ra). So, it’s easy to see why people develop theories to explain the resemblance that involve a common, ancient source.
Accordingly, in the late 19th century, Augustus Le Plongeon first published his idea of Mu, in Queen Móo & the Egyptian Sphinx (1896). Le Plongeon, who had explored some Mayan sites, claimed that writing found at the ruins indicated that Mayan civilization was older even than that of Egypt, and dated back to an earlier, lost continent.
Naming it Mu, Le Plongeon’s lost continent was doomed from the start since the word, Mu, ostensibly meaning a land that had been submerged after a catastrophe, was itself a mistranslation. Undeterred and conflating what he thought was a story of a lost land with the myth of Atlantis, Le Plongeon decided that his Mu had been a continent peopled by an advanced civilization that had, in ancient times, sunk into the Atlantic Ocean.
Refugees from that catastrophe, according to his theory, then fled to regions throughout the Earth, with some making their way to Central America to become the Mayans, and others, led by (I’m not making this up) Queen Móo, founded ancient Egypt.
Le Plongeon died in 1908, but the baton was soon picked up James Churchward, a British writer, inventor and engineer, who ran with it, publishing several books including Lost Continent of Mu, the Motherland of Man (1926), The Lost Continent of Mu (1931), The Children of Mu (1931) and The Sacred Symbols of Mu (1933).
Unlike Le Plongeon, however, Churchward focused his research in India where, he claimed, he had found ancient clay tablets kept by a high-ranking priest, containing writings in a lost language that only he and two other people could read. These tablets, according to Churchward, told of “the place where man first appeared – Mu.”
Combined with other information he said he garnered from the 2,500 or so tablets found by William Niven in Mexico (see below), Churchward formed a vivid narrative of Mu as the home of an advanced civilization where the Naacal thrived from 50,000 to 12,000 years ago. At the time of Mu’s demise, the continent was said to contain many large cities as well as colonies on the other continents, and Mu, itself, was home to 64 million people.
Also unlike Le Plongeon, Churchward claimed Mu was situated in the Pacific Ocean, stretching from the Marianas to Hawaii to Easter Island to Mangaia, and the catastrophe that marked its doom was essentially a super volcano – an expansion of underground gases that led to a series of earthquakes and eruptions that ultimately sank the entire continent.
Much like Atlantis, modern dreamers continue to be enthralled with Mu, and not necessarily without reason. For many, “mainstream scientists'” explanations of sites such as massive Moai in Easter Island and the underwater features of Yonaguni Island, Japan are unsatisfying, while the thought of a great, ancient Mu is far more appealing.
But scientists aren’t backing down, either, and for several reasons. Archaeologists argue that: (1) evidence demonstrates that Old and New World cultures developed independently; (2) agriculture and urban societies developed in the Levant and spread outward circa 10,000 years ago; and (3) genetic studies do not support the Mu theory. Likewise, geologists variously assert: (1) under the theory of plate tectonics, it’s impossible for an entire continent to actually sink; (2) just changing the shape of an entire continent, such as when Pangaea split, would take millions of years (and could not happen overnight); and (3) were the massive foundations of a continent to be blown apart by volcanic action, its enormous base (sial) rocks would be seen today on the ocean floor – and they’re not.
Nonetheless, there are continental sized landmasses that, today, are submerged beneath the waves, either due to geological upheavals, erosion or simply rising seas; and, in fact, a new submerged continent was discovered in 2013 that some call the Brazilian “Atlantis.” Of course, that “Atlantis” was never visible or livable in the modern era, as it likely was lost when the Atlantic Ocean was formed as Africa and America drifted apart – about 100 million years ago.
If you liked this article, you might also enjoy our new popular podcast, The BrainFood Show (iTunes, Spotify, Google Play Music, Feed), as well as:
- Ancient Lost Civilizations: Tiahuanaco
- The Remarkable Indus Valley Civilization
- How the Himalayas Were Formed
- The Intriguing Ancient Underground City of Derinkuyu
- Where Did The Time Go: The Phantom Time Hypothesis
Bonus Fact:
- William Niven, a Scottish mineralogist and sometimes archaeologist, retrieved numerous artifacts from the Valley of Mexico between 1921 to 1932, and many of these items can be seen in respectable institutions today. According to several sources, he also uncovered 2,500 or so stone tablets containing a writing that was unintelligible even to the experienced archaeologists with whom he worked. In any event, he is said to have made drawings of the tablets, then re-buried them, but I cannot find any verifiable images or translations of those relics, if they ever existed at all.
| Share the Knowledge! |
          |
 |
It is said that it is impossible for the lost continents to disappear, not so;
if you take the Biblical picture of the world, around 12,000 yrs ago it was coming out of an ice age exceeding 20,000 yrs — if we go to 10,000 yrs ago we find a flat, undulating single land mass with a very humid atmosphere – with the passing of the first and greater light and the rising of the sun stars and moon we can establish the second reversal of the poles — on this single continent we find, beast, animals and mankind — if we then go on a side line walk we find both Mu [ reading some of the material they had a faith rather than religion near to that which existed world wide before the flood ] and Atlantis — into this comes the cultures of what is now Latin America. — the earth was shaken, science confirms, and the single land mass shaken previously with the pole reversals was torn asunder in a matter of days — creating the Himalayas, [ fascinating study if one takes in the Tibetan Plateau Andes, Rockies the European Alp —- we ought also take into account number of important factors;
1. the sea was shallow about 500 mtrs — equal to the continental shelf;
2. the earth atmosphere was uniformly humid and moist, with an oxygen level of around 30%
3, dinosaurs have been found on every continent, and islands like the Chatham’s off NZ and coal likewise
4. then we find camel fossils in the Artic, and Mammoth in Siberia and the plains of the US
5. with man and dinosaurs foot prints together and cave painting of dinosaurs we can now safely say that man and the dinosaur walked the earth together.
We then look at the old sea and the new sea after the World Wide flood proven to have taken place in 2351 BC and the picture changes from the shallow and flat undulating to the deep and high mountain formations created in weeks — India slid under the European Asia plate by 500 ks creating the Himalayas,Tibetan Plateau and where as the uniform shallowness of the sea became the opposite to the rise of the mountain ranges — the earths twist point is off the Russian coast at the start of the Mid-Atlantic ridge — All fascinated for those who search for truth and are not bound by worldly philosophy and the evolutionary garbage which we are fed daily — which incidentally is the opposite to what the actual facts of science have produced in the past decade. — Where do I get this from — being open minded – studying Genesis for 33 yrs as a hobby and slowly and surely the jigsaw comes together — it is as I say fascinating because one never stops learning something new.
yes there was a large continent MU where the Pacific ocean is now. There were catastrophic geological and astronomical events that caused MU to to be ripped apart north/south and east/west. MU no longer exists.It did have a sizable population –a few million . Survivors fled to China and India and indonesia of today , thus causing their initial large populations. This all happened about 7 thousand years ago.
Evidence comes from a combination of geology-astronomy-ancient mythology -archaeology -ancient texts including the Bible-logic and commonsense.
The moment one “BELIEVES’ in ” evolution ” and “millions -of -years” one has already taken the wrong turn -and you will be way way way off the truth .
Does anyone here believe in the Inner Earth theory? One thing is for sure that the name “Ramu” or “Ra Mu” was made up of two words namely “Ra” and “Mu”. Ra means the Sun, inner earth’s ‘sun’ or sun god (similar to the one in Egypt) whereas Mu means mother 母 in Chinese. This Chinese word is also pronounced as mu. What a coincidence? Is this another work of dumb luck? I don’t think so.
Island Of Mu it has to be connected to The Flood Of Noahs Ark……..I Am Jus Saying
Everyone is missing the information of the ancient earth. The earth was smaller the it is now. When the moon was captured by our gravity it caused massive overnight destruction.
In layman’s terms, the earth was stretch thus suture lines in both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans .
Atlantis was shifted way south, it is Antarctica now.
Lemuria or mu were actually Africa area this was the start of plate tectonics
Mu race [known today as Polynesians] were called “Kanaka Mu”. Many historians write their theory of this subject, but as a Native Kanaka of Hawaii [one of the mountain tops of the continent Mu] we have chants. Chanting was done because this is a time way before Papyrus existed, therefore chanting was done to keep accounts of the past well in their memory. One of the intricate accounts that takes at least [8] eight hours to chant is the “Kumulipo” or the “Chant of Creation” this chant traces from Adam [believed to be first human] 175,000 generations to Chief Kahekilinui who broke the kapu of “Ali’i nī’aupio” or the union of brother and sister marriage, a practice which comes from Adam & Eve, the time of the beginning. Mu is where the Garden of Eden was located. Mu is within our Chants. Having being the first root race, it is why Hawaiians or Kanaka Mu are near extinction.
Very very correct! I am a Kupuna from Kaua’i and my great grandfather told me of the three root races:
(Kanaka Mū- First Cycle of Human Beings | Mo’o or dinosaur the language of the Kanaka were in characteristics of the reptilian period, when the honu or turtles were appearing shortly after the dinosaurs were wiped out.) Chanting and dancing
(Native Americans, Aztecs, Mayans – Second root race | Eagle & Wolf were their heritage icons; animals became after the Mo’o period; dance and chanting were similar except it got more sophisticated with drumming. This were the second cycle of people
(African Pygmy & Egyptians – Third Root race and third cycle of humans | Lion, Elephant and Demi creatures were their heritage icons. Jesus Christ is of the tribe of Judah which is the Lions head on a crossed stick with white drapes represented Lonoikamakahiki or Rono