Mu (lost continent)

Mu is the name of a Lost Land, or hypothetical vanished continent, located in the Pacific Ocean but now, like Atlantis and Lemuria (with which it is sometimes identified), believed to have sunk beneath the waters.

Current knowledge of the mechanisms of plate tectonics rules out the possibility of a major continent having existed in the Pacific. Continental masses are composed of the lighter SiAl (silicon/aluminium) type rocks which literally float on the heavier SiMg (silicon/magnesium) rocks which constitute ocean bottoms. There is no evidence of SiAl rock in the Pacific basin.

History of the concept

Augustus Le Plongeon

The idea of Mu first appeared in the works of the antiquarian Augustus Le Plongeon (1825–1908), a 19th century traveler and writer who conducted his own investigations of the Maya ruins in Yucatán. He announced that he had translated the ancient Mayan writings, which supposedly showed that the Maya of Yucatán were older than the later civilizations of Atlantis and Egypt, and additionally told the story of an even older continent of Mu, which had foundered in a similar fashion to Atlantis, with the survivors founding the Maya civilization. (Later students of the Ancient Maya writings have found that Le Plongeon's "translations" were based on little more than his vivid imagination.)

James Churchward

This lost continent was later popularised by James Churchward (1852–1936) in a series of books, beginning with The Children of Mu (1931), The Lost Continent Mu (1933), and The Sacred Symbols of Mu (1935). The books still have devotees, but they are not considered serious archaeology, and nowadays are found in bookshops classed under 'New Age' or 'Religion and Spirituality'.

Other authors

Mu is identified with Lemuria in the Illuminatus! trilogy of Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson, and Martin Gardner did the same in his book Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science.

Archaeological evidence

The Morien Institute has identified underwater structures located off the coast of Yonaguni, in Okinawa, Japan as possibly being ruins of Mu. ^* There is little scientific evidence to support this assertion, and geologists generally believe that the rock formations were caused by geological processes and are of natural, not man-made, origin.

Mu in politics

In the late 1930s, Turkey's Independence leader Ataturk promoted research on Mu and other lost continents, in the hope of establishing connections between the Turkish civilization and other ancient cultures, such as the Uyghur, India, Maya, and Aztec ^*.

Mu in the arts and entertainment

Books and comics

H.P. Lovecraft (1890–1937) included Mu in his Cthulhu mythos.
V. T. Hamlin's Alley Oop comic strips (1932). "Moo" and "Lem" (after Lemuria?) are rival prehistoric nations.
Henri Vernes's albums:
- Les tours de cristal (1961). Hero Bob Morane time-travels to a high-tech Mu.
- Les géants de Mu (1975).
Andre Norton novel Operation Time Search (1967). Mu and Atlantis are rival nations.
W. Murphy and R. Sapir's book Coin of the Realm (1971–). Features Mu. "James Churchward" used as a pseudonym.
Tom Robbins' novel Still Life With Woodpecker (1980) makes extensive reference to Mu.
Oscar Loyo's comics magazine Karmatron (1986–1991). Mu is a base city for some of the characters.
M. Kurumada's manga Saint Seiya (Knights of the Zodiac) (1986-1990). Mu is said to be the birthplace of a character called Mu. Mu is one of the 12 gold saints under Greek goddess Athena's command. Mu presides over the zodiac temple of Aries.
Hugo Pratt's comics album Mu (1988-1989). A Corto Maltese adventure.
S. Komatsuzaki's illustrated story The Undersea Kingdom. Mu goes to war with the modern world.
Margit Sandemo book series The Warlock and The Legend of the Realm of Light . Mu and Lemuria are advanced civilizations.

Movies, TV serials, and animations

Atragon (1963) and Super Atragon (1996), based on S. Oshikawa's novel The Undersea Battleship and Komatsuzaki's short story above.
Brave Raideen (1975–1976). The title character is a giant robot created to protect Mu.
The Mysterious Cities of Gold (1982). Character Tao is a descendant of the Empire of Mu. Changed to the Empire of Hiva for the English dub.
Dai Sentai Goggle V (1982-1983). Mu is represented by the opal on the forehead area of Goggle Yellow's helmet.
Super Dimension Century Orguss (1983.) The Mu Empire is a race of intelligent robots apparently connected with the legendary civilization. They turned on their creators and seek to destroy all other forms of intelligent life.
Space Sheriff Shaider (1984). The Fuuma Empire, the alien empire fought by Shaider, played by Hiroshi Tsuburaya, came originally from Mu.
RahXephon (2002). The Mulians are an alien race, who look like humans but have blue blood.
Cybertron (2005-2006). Mu was actually an ancient alien spacecraft.
There is a theory that the survivors on the TV show Lost are on the island of Mu.

Video games

Square-Enix's 'Til the End of Time - one of the teams in the arena "Soldier's of Mu" has a brief reference to Mu "sitting on the bottom of the Mediterrean".
Namco's _Jenseits_von_Gut_und_Böse has a reference to Mu as the protagonists travel on a lost planet, Miltia, as an enigmatic character Chaos compares the state of the planet to the lost continent.
Webzen's MMORPG Mu Online. The play is set in Mu.
The NES and Super Nintendo games DuckTales 2 (1993), Illusion of Gaia (1994), Terranigma (1995), Chrono Trigger (1995), and Fantastic Space Odyssey (1996) all reference Mu.
Game Boy Advance's game Omega Factor (2004). Mu is an Aztec-like land.
City of Heroes (2004). Many humans with magical abilities are said to be descended from the people of Mu. The villain group known as the Circle of Thorns is made up primarily of the ghosts of their ancient enemies, the Orabegans. Also, the villain group Arachnos has a division made up entirely of Mu descendants.
Fantastic Worlds features a city called Mu on at least two different scenarios.

Music

The Thirteen Cryptical Prophesies of Mu, song from the album The Power Cosmic by Bal-Sagoth.
The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu (later known as The KLF), a British techno band very fond of Mu.
Glassjaw, A rock band from Long Island, NY. The second track on their album 'Worship and Tribute' is called "Mu Empire."
Planet Mu, an electronic music label.
Lemuria, song from the double album Lemuria / sirius B by symphonic opera metal band, Therion.

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