Lemuria is a name that fascinates many people interested in myths, legends, and mysteries. It is a supposed continent that would have existed in the distant past but disappeared beneath the waters of the Indian Ocean. But what is the origin of this idea? And what do science and occultism have to say about it?
According to different versions of the Lemurian hypothesis, Lemuria was suggested to have been located in the Indian Ocean, connecting Madagascar to India or extending further.
The Scientific Hypothesis of Lemuria
The idea of Lemuria emerged in the 19th century when British zoologist and biogeographer Philip Lutley Sclater published an essay titled “The Mammals of Madagascar (1864)” in The Quarterly Journal of Science. In this work, he pondered how to explain the presence of lemur fossils, a type of primate, in Madagascar and the Indian subcontinent but not in Africa or the Middle East. He proposed that these regions were part of a large continent that occupied parts of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, which fragmented into islands. Some of these islands connected to Africa and Asia, while others remained isolated, such as Madagascar and the Mascarene Islands. He named this hypothetical continent Lemuria, referring to the lemurs.
Sclater’s hypothesis received support from other scientists of the time, such as German biologist Ernst Haeckel, who in 1870 suggested that Lemuria could be the ancestral home of humanity. He believed lemurs were the closest relatives to humans. This theory aimed to address the issue of human origins, not yet clarified by the discovery of hominid fossils in Africa and Europe.
However, the Lemuria hypothesis weakened as new geological, paleontological, and genetic evidence emerged. Alfred Wegener’s theory of continental drift, proposed in 1912, demonstrated that continents were not static but moved over time due to the shifting of tectonic plates. This theory better explained the distribution of living organisms and fossils worldwide without the need for submerged continents. Additionally, the discovery that lemurs were not the closest relatives to humans but rather chimpanzees and gorillas and that the earliest hominids appeared in Africa, not Asia, further undermined Haeckel’s hypothesis.
Today, the Lemuria hypothesis is considered obsolete and refuted by science. There is no geological evidence that such a large continent in that location ever existed and sank in the Indian Ocean. While some submerged continental fragments exist, such as Zealandia in the Pacific, Mauritia, and the Kerguelen Plateau in the Indian Ocean, they do not match the extent and shape Lemuria would have had, according to Sclater’s hypothesis. Furthermore, modern biogeography explains the distribution of lemurs and other animals through processes like dispersal, vicariance, and adaptive radiation, which do not rely on the existence of land bridges between continents.
The Occultist View of Lemuria
Despite being abandoned by science, the idea of Lemuria was adopted and modified by some authors and groups associated with occultism, esotericism, and theosophy. One prominent figure in this field was Helena Blavatsky, the founder of the Theosophical Society. In the late 19th century, she integrated Lemuria into the framework of her mystical-religious doctrine, asserting that this continent was the homeland of human ancestors, the Lemurians.
According to Blavatsky in her work “The Secret Doctrine,” Lemuria was a vast continent stretching from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific, encompassing Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Madagascar, East Africa, and part of South America. Lemuria supposedly existed millions of years ago and was inhabited by the third root race of humanity, the Lemurians.
They were hermaphroditic beings with dark skin, red hair, and slanted eyes who reproduced by laying eggs. Blavatsky claimed they developed an advanced but decadent and corrupt civilization practicing black magic and idolatry. Due to their sins, they were punished by the gods, leading to cataclysms that submerged Lemuria, except for remnants that sought refuge in other regions, such as Atlantis, another lost continent Blavatsky claimed existed.
Blavatsky’s vision of Lemuria significantly influenced Western occultism, popularizing the myth of the lost continent and its mystical inhabitants. Other authors and groups expanded on her ideas, introducing elements like Lemuria’s connection to the Shambhala realm, the existence of underground cities, extraterrestrial beings visiting or inhabiting the continent, and the possibility of communicating with Lemurians through dreams, meditation, or channeling. Some of these figures and groups include Rudolf Steiner, founder of anthroposophy; James Churchward, author of “The Lost Continent of Mu”; William Scott-Elliot, author of “The Story of Atlantis and the Lost Lemuria”; Alice Bailey, founder of the Arcane School; and the I AM movement, founded by Guy Ballard.
However, the occultist view of Lemuria lacks any scientific or historical backing. It comprises a blend of speculations, fantasies, plagiarisms, and frauds, often carrying racist, ethnocentric, and Eurocentric undertones. These ideas attribute superior or inferior characteristics to supposed lost races, distorting or denying the origins and cultures of real people inhabiting regions associated with Lemuria.
How Lemuria Influenced Popular Culture
Lemuria has influenced popular culture in various ways, primarily through the use of the name and idea of a sunken continent as a setting or inspiration for various works in literature, film, television, games, music, and comics. Examples include:
- In literature, several novels feature Lemuria as a background or theme, such as Arthur Conan Doyle’s “The Lost World,” H.G. Wells’ “The Island of Dr. Moreau,” Walter Moers’ “The City of Dreaming Books,” Marion Zimmer Bradley’s “The Mists of Avalon,” and C.S. Lewis’s “The Chronicles of Narnia.”
- In film, there are movies related to or inspired by Lemuria, such as Disney’s “Atlantis: The Lost Empire,” Jules Verne’s “Journey to the Center of the Earth,” Steven Spielberg’s “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” and James Cameron’s “Avatar.”
- On television, several series mention or depict Lemuria, including “Star Trek,” “Stargate,” “Lost,” “Xena: Warrior Princess,” “SpongeBob SquarePants,” and “Adventure Time.”
- In games, many incorporate Lemuria as a setting or element, such as “Final Fantasy,” “Tomb Raider,” “Civilization,” “Age of Empires,” “Pokémon,” and “Sonic the Hedgehog.”
- In music, some bands and artists use Lemuria as a name or inspiration, such as the indie rock band Lemuria from New York, the Swedish symphonic metal band Therion, which released a concept album about Lemuria, and Enya, an Irish singer with a song titled “Lemuria” on her album “Amarantine.”
- In comics, stories involving or alluding to Lemuria can be found in Marvel Comics, where Lemuria is an underwater city inhabited by the Deviants, a hostile race created by the Celestials; DC Comics, where Lemuria is an island inhabited by a civilization descended from Atlantis; and Tintin, where Lemuria is an ancient city discovered by a mad scientist.
In summary, Lemuria is a fascinating and versatile concept that has sparked the imagination of many artists and creators, who have interpreted and portrayed it in various ways in their works.
Quotes From the 19th Century
Ernst Haeckel, The Pedigree of Man, 1874
It appears that the area on the Earth’s surface where the evolution of these original humans from closely related narrow-nosed apes took place must be sought in South Asia, East Africa, or Lemuria. Lemuria is an ancient continent that is now submerged in the waters of the Indian Ocean, located to the south of present-day Asia and extending, on one hand, eastward to Upper India and the Sunda Islands, and on the other hand, westward to Madagascar and Africa. There is a significant similarity between the latter [Australians and Papuans] and the original inhabitants of Polynesia, the Australian island world that once seemed to have been a vast and continuous continent.
Ernst Haeckel, The Pedigree of Man, 1874
Ernst Haeckel, The History of Creation, 1867
…The history of the earth’s development shows us that the distribution of land and water on its surface is ever and continually changing. In consequence of geological changes of the earth’s crust, elevations and depressions of the ground take place everywhere, sometimes more strongly marked in one place, sometimes in another. Even if they happen so slowly that in the course of centuries the seashore rises or sinks only a few inches, or even only a few lines, still they nevertheless effect great results in the course of long periods of time. And long—immeasurably long—periods of time have not been wanting in the earth’s history. During the course of many millions of years, ever since organic life existed on the earth, land and water have perpetually struggled for supremacy. Continents and islands have sunk into the sea, and new ones have arisen out of its bosom. Lakes and seas have slowly been raised and dried up, and new water basins have arisen by the sinking of the ground……The South Sea at one time formed a large Pacific Continent, and the numerous little islands which now lie scattered in it were simply the highest peaks of the mountains covering that continent. The Indian Ocean formed a continent which extended from the Sunda Islands along the southern coast of Asia to the east coast of Africa. This large continent of former times Sclater, an Englishman, has called Lemuria, from the monkey-like animals which inhabited it, and it is at the same time of great importance from being the probable cradle of the human race, which in all likelihood here first developed out of anthropoid apes…
The History of Creation Vol. I. – Ernst Haeckel.
Conclusion
Lemuria is a name referring to a hypothetical continent that supposedly existed in the Indian Ocean but sank millions of years ago. This hypothesis was proposed in the 19th century by scientists attempting to explain the distribution of certain animals, like lemurs, around the world. However, modern science has refuted this hypothesis, demonstrating that continents move due to plate tectonics and that biogeography can be explained by alternative processes.
Despite being abandoned by science, the idea of Lemuria was embraced and altered by some authors and groups associated with occultism, esotericism, and theosophy. They attributed an important role to this continent in the history and evolution of humanity, claiming its inhabitants, the Lemurians, were mystical and magical beings. Nevertheless, this perspective lacks any scientific or historical support, relying on speculations, fantasies, plagiarisms, and frauds, often with racist, ethnocentric, and Eurocentric implications.
