First, a little background information on “Colonel” James Churchward, including his beliefs regarding Mu and his discovery of the stone tablets of the Naacals, of which “Tablet No. 1231” is part.
Born in Devon, England in 1851, James Churchward began, in later life, to use the title “Colonel”, although there is debate over whether or not he actually served in any military capacity. For example, this site puts him in the British Army in 1868, whilst this site suggests that there is no evidence of him having undertaken military service.
During a trip to India and Tibet, he claimed to have made the acquaintance of a wise Indian sage, whom he referred to as the Rishi. After he had befriended him, this Rishi revealed to James Churchward a series of undeciphered tablets written in a dead language known as the Naacal language. The story goes that, despite some initial reluctance, the Rishi assisted James Churchward in deciphering the language and revealing the story of the tablets. How they were able to do so with no formal linguistic training remains unexplained, although Churchward himself claims to have done so through the use of telepathy www.forteantimes.com..." target="_blank" class="postlink" rel="nofollow">Reference.
The tablets apparently told the story of a great continent in the Pacific Ocean. This continent, known alternately as Mu or Lemuria, achieved a very advanced level of technological and spiritual development. All was well until approximately 60 000 years ago when the “gas belts” on which the continent rested collapsed and exploded, causing a series of terrible volcanic eruptions which buried the continent forever and scattered its people to the winds. All that remained of Mu following the collapse were various islands throughout the Pacific, including Hawaii, Easter Island, Samoa and Fiji:
Churchward then attempted to discover “evidence” of the existence of Mu throughout various cultures of the world, including many of the Meso-American cultures and many Native American cultures. For example, a set of tablets discovered in Mexico by geologist William Niven were attributed by Churchward as evidence of the existence of surviving descendants of Mu, given that they bore similar symbols to his Naacal tablets. The theory of many modern archaeologists, that the tablets were modern figurines made by the locals, is rarely discussed (kjmatthews.users.btopenworld.com..." target="_blank" class="postlink" rel="nofollow">Reference).
The problem in accepting Churchward’s story lies in the fact that absolutely no trace of the Naacal tablets he claims to have found and deciphered has ever been forthcoming. He did not take them out of India and supposedly only ever showed them to one of his friends who was, of course, never named and has never come forward. None of Churchward’s work contains so much as a single footnote or reference and it cannot be verified independently. Churchward never divulged the location of the temple at which the tablets were located, nor the true identity of the Rishi. Thus, any further research into the veracity of his claims is impossible. This is almost enough to sink his theories by itself. However, Churchward also errs in terms of the science behind his theories. The islands of the Pacific, for example, far from being the remnants of a lost continent, were formed by well understood and accepted volcanic principles. Take Hawaii, for example:
All of the Hawaiian Islands were formed by volcanoes arising from the sea floor through a vent described in geological theory as a hotspot. The theory maintains that as the tectonic plate beneath much the Pacific Ocean moves in a northwesterly direction, the hot spot remains stationary, slowly creating new volcanoes.
Reference – Wikipedia
There is also no evidence that any significantly large land mass has existed in the Pacific Ocean for millions of years. The following map shows a relief of the sea floor and you can see that there is no evidence of a sunken continent. Rather, the map shows clearly understood plate boundaries and mountain ranges.
As for the symbol shown on “Tablet No. 1231”, whilst it is almost certainly a fake, it is true that the swastika was a common symbol throughout the ancient world. In Japanese Buddhism, the swastika represented Dharma, universal harmony and balance (Reference – Wikipedia). So it is not unreasonable that an elderly Japanese gentleman might have a swastika tattoo on his hand, although to be honest the symbol looks more like a cross than a swastika. Certainly there is not enough detail to state that it represents the symbol shown on the stone or the tablet - “matching it exactly” as the site claims. Speaking of the tablet, I note that on the same site it states that
There is no explanation as to where this stone was found.
which, to me at least, suggests that its authenticity is dubious at best. I would be extremely surprised if it turned out to be anything other than a fake.
I would like to believe in Churchward’s tales of Mu. However, given his lack of tangible evidence, the fact that his entire theory is based on a set of tablets nobody has ever seen or knows the location of, and the obvious scientific inaccuracies of his theories, I must accept that his statements concerning the Naacal tablets and the history of Mu are nothing more than stories, and not particularly elaborate or convincing ones at that.
Hope this helped, noslenwerd. Let em know if you have any more questions regarding this.
Edit - The Japanese Pyramid
Just a little information concerning the underwater pyramid referenced by the site. The formation lies just off the coast of Yonaguni-jima, Japan. Debate is still ongoing as to whether or not the structure represents a natural or man-made formation. The site itself is currently being further examined by the Morien Institute, who have an excellent site at that link with lots of fantastic underwater photographs. It should be noted that they themselves believe the structure to be man-made, but in no way connected to either Mu or Atlantis. From their home page:
The Morien Institute has kept a close watch on developments since 1999, and has been just as excited about the many new batches of underwater photographs that have emerged of the Yonaguni structures (yes! there is more than one), as we have been dismayed by the many citings of the structure's existence as somehow representing 'the final proof' of the existence of Atlantis and/or Lemuria. We have consistently taken the simple view that, following the dramatic series of rises in sea-levels that marked the ending of the last Ice Age, it is 'inevitable' that more and more evidence of ancient civilisation will be discovered on the continental shelves and shallow seas, everywhere around the world.
[edit on 14/9/05 by Jeremiah25]
