The Lost Continent of Mu

Discovery and Theory by Augustus Le Plongeon

In the 19th century, traveler and writer Augustus Le Plongeon first proposed the existence of a hypothetical continent named Lemuria or Mu. He suggested this land vanished at the dawn of human history. According to Le Plongeon, Mu was located in the Atlantic Ocean, and its refugees founded ancient civilizations like Egypt and Mesoamerica. He notably attributed Egypt’s founding to Queen Moo, a refugee from Mu’s downfall, and asserted other refugees established the Mayan civilization in Central America.

Le Plongeon’s Interpretation of Mayan Writings

Le Plongeon’s investigations in the Maya ruins of Yucatan led him to claim he had deciphered ancient Mayan texts. These writings, he alleged, proved the Maya’s antiquity, surpassing Greece and Egypt, and narrated the story of an older continent. He derived the name “Mu” from Charles Etienne Brasseur de Bourbourg, who misinterpreted the Troano Codex in 1864 using the de Landa alphabet. This mistake was later rectified, as the Codex primarily discusses astrology. Nevertheless, Le Plongeon associated Mu with the lost land of Atlantis, believing it sunk in the Atlantic Ocean.

James Churchward’s Expansion of the Mu Concept

Anglo-American explorer James Churchward popularized Le Plongeon’s concept, albeit placing Mu in the Pacific Ocean. In his book “The Lost Continent of Mu” (1931), Churchward described Mu as stretching from the Hawaiian Islands to Fiji and from Easter Island to the Marianas. He recounted discovering ancient clay tablets in India, written in a mysterious “Naga-Maya language.” These tablets, he claimed, originated from Mu.

Churchward described Mu as an advanced civilization, led by a superior “white race” and home to 64 million people before its destruction around 12,000 years ago. He attributed its demise to catastrophic earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, leading to its submersion under the Pacific.

Churchward’s Theories on Mu’s Global Influence

Churchward linked Mu to major ancient civilizations, including Egypt, Greece, and Central America, and believed its people influenced megalithic architecture worldwide. He saw common symbols like the sun across these cultures, drawing parallels to Mu’s sun worship. He also claimed that Polynesian megalithic art originated from Mu, though his assertions about the materials and origins of artifacts like the moai statues on Easter Island were later disproven.

Churchward’s Literary Contributions

Churchward detailed his theories in a series of books:

1. The Lost Continent of Mu: He described Mu as a vast continent, identifying it as the true Garden of Eden and the birthplace of human civilization.
2. The Children of Mu: This volume depicted Mu’s inhabitants as influential and technologically advanced, living in a utopian society.
3. The Sacred Symbols of Mu: Here, Churchward traced the origins of world religions back to Mu, claiming its teachings influenced figures like Moses and Jesus.
4. The Cosmic Forces of Mu: He argued against established scientific concepts like biological evolution and atomic force, proposing alternative theories.
5. Second Book of the Cosmic Forces of Mu: Churchward continued his revisionist theories, challenging conventional understandings of Earth’s history and geological processes.