(March, 2021)
Just for a change pace, this month’s article will not be discussing environmental conservation or sustainability. Instead, let’s take a look at some curious samples of how the human imagination used to explain the occurrence of earthquakes before science could explain that it was just the Earth suddenly breathing out its stored energy and creating seismic waves.
Going through an earthquake is, even nowadays, such a scary and traumatic experience, and probably it was even more terrifying in the past when there was no explanation about the origins of such occurrences, no technology to calculate how intense it would be, and no long-distance communication tools to warn and inform people.
We have found many curious tales all over the globe. Although the characters, stories, and contexts are insanely different, overall, they have at least this one thing in common: some mythical creature was really agitated when the earthquake struck. Moreover, while checking some stories from different countries, one interesting aspect was that we found two trends in the selected legends: earthquakes that are represented by gods or human-like creatures; and earthquakes that are caused by animal representations.
Starting from this side of the world, Brazil, my home country, did not really need its version of legends or creatures related to seismic shakings, due to the absence of earthquakes across the territory. However, less lucky regions in Latin America came up with their own explanations. In Mexico, for example, the devil named El Diablo was thought to be responsible for making giant rips in the Earth from the inside, so he could cross that crack with his devilish friends and come up to the Earth's surface to cause troubles. [1] Other representations in Latin America, from two ancient cultures, include the Mayan god of the underworld and earthquake, who is curiously portrayed as a skeleton dancing and holding a cigarette, and the Aztec mountain god, who was the personification of earthquakes, portrayed as a jaguar leaping towards the sun. [2] This is just my own speculation but it seems that these representations have very different moods: El Diablo appears to be vicious and wicked; the Mayan god is an image that directly reminds us of death; and the Aztec god is a fierce creature. What they might have in common is the daunting personality, like someone we would rather avoid as much as we would like to avoid an earthquake.
Across the Atlantic Ocean, we find Poseidon, from Greek mythology, who, although mostly known for being the god of the sea and rivers, was also the god of horses, floods, drought, and other violent forces of nature, including earthquakes. His trident was not only responsible for the ocean waves and tsunamis, but also for these earth shakings, thought to be manifestations of his rage. [3] Poseidon, like other Greek gods and goddesses, had a human-like personality, full of passions and flaws, so it is very unsettling to think that the occurrence of such disaster and humans’ survivability depends on this god’s mood.
Like the Aztec jaguar, other animal representations for earthquakes are common in other parts of the world, and we have found various examples in Asia. In India, there is a legend that describes the Earth held up by four elephants that are standing on the back of a turtle, while the turtle itself is on the top of a snake; therefore, when any of these creatures move, the Earth trembles and we have earthquakes. There is another Indian story about the seven sections of the lowest heaven, guarded by seven serpents that take turns to hold the earth; when a snake shifts this function and hands the position over to another snake, Earth might shake. [4] It is bizarre how this imagination of a flat, unstable Earth, being carried by animals, was found in so many countries in the past as if people create sense and explain the world out of what has been seen.
Towards East Asia, in the Japanese imaginary world, Namazu is a giant catfish who is responsible for seismic shakes, with its body in the shape of an eel. This creature would live under Japanese islands, guarded by Kashima, the Thunder god. However, eventually, Kashima is distracted and Namazu takes the opportunity to thrash about, provoking earthquakes. [5] Namazu is found in various prints, with metaphorical and symbolic representations of the earthquakes’ effects on society, so don’t forget to check our fifth reference for more captivating details.
Similar to Japan, other cultures link fishes and amphibians to earthquake occurrences, since it was said (although it seems not to be proved) that these types of animals present an atypical behavior before a seismic activity. In Mongolia, for example, there is a legend about the Earth being on the top of a giant frog’s back, so then earthquakes happen when it moves its body parts. [6] The image of an animal carrying the Earth reappears.
People testify that experiencing an earthquake is a life-changing moment. Earthquakes of higher magnitudes can cause so much damage and provoke so many losses, from special people, friends, and family, to material and immaterial properties. Also, being very difficult to predict, it is a difficult challenge for the public administration to prevent such disasters - since avoiding it completely is impossible. Telling stories is also a mechanism to handle such hardships, raise awareness, and overcome the feeling of impotence. Thus, even if we now know how the earthquakes actually happen, let’s embrace, save, and remember these cultural memories.
References:
[1] USGS - Science for a Changing World. Earthquake legends. Retrieved from: https://www.usgs.gov/natural-hazards/earthquake-hazards/science/earthquake-legends?qt-science_center_objects=0#qt-science_center_objects
[2] Consortium of Universities for Research in Earthquake Engineering (2014). Earthquake Mythology. Retrieved from: https://www.curee.org/outreach/calendars/essays/2014-CUREE_excerpt.pdf
[3] Hale Güney (2015). Poseidon as a God of Earthquake in Roman Asia Minor. Retrieved from: https://www.persee.fr/doc/numi_0484-8942_2015_num_6_172_3292
[4] Uraha Foundation Germany E. V. (2016). Earthquake myths from around the world. Retrieved from: http://uraha.de/de/?p=390&lang=en
[5] Illustration Chronicles (2016). When Giant Catfish Shook The Earth: The Namazu-e Prints. Retrieved from: https://illustrationchronicles.com/When-Giant-Catfish-Shook-The-Earth-The-Namazu-e-Prints
[6] Rachel A. Grant and Hilary Conlan (2013). Frog Swarms: Earthquake Precursors or False Alarms? Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4494367/
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