Buzz
Throughout history, humanity has grappled with understanding the natural world and its phenomena. Today, we know that lightning is the result of static electricity produced by the friction of countless water and ice particles within thunderclouds. However, this knowledge took centuries, even millennia, to develop. Before scientific explanations, questions like 'What causes lightning?' were answered through myths and legends. Here are ten global examples of mythological explanations for destructive natural events.
10. Tsunami From A Sea Spirit
The Moken, an indigenous group inhabiting islands near Myanmar and Thailand, have a centuries-old legend. According to their lore, the sea spirit Katoy Oken unleashes 'monster waves' (known as tsunamis or Laboons in their language) to cleanse the people both spiritually and physically. When the earth trembled and coconuts fell from trees, the Moken recognized it as the 'wave that eats people,' summoned by Katoy Oken. They gathered the fallen coconuts and took to their boats, hoping the wave would spare them. Soon, the water receded from the shore, and a massive wave, as tall as coconut trees, engulfed the island. While the wave purified the land, the Moken remained unharmed.
This legend persisted in Moken oral tradition for generations. In 2004, a magnitude 8.9 earthquake triggered a devastating tsunami that affected multiple countries, claiming 175,000 lives and leaving 125,000 missing. One Moken island, home to about 200 people, lay directly in the tsunami's path. Recognizing the receding water as a sign of Katoy Oken's wave, they fled to higher ground. Thanks to their ancestral knowledge, only one Moken lost their life in the disaster.
9. Namazu Shakes The Earth
In Japanese folklore, the Namazu is an enormous catfish whose thrashing tail triggers earthquakes. Initially, it served as an omen, alerting people to impending floods, heavy rains, or other calamities. Over time, however, the Namazu transformed into a Yo-kai, a being associated with misfortune and catastrophe. Legend has it that the god Kashima restrains the Namazu beneath a massive stone, but Kashima’s vigilance sometimes wanes, allowing the catfish to shake its tail and unleash earthquakes and tsunamis.
Eventually, the Namazu came to symbolize divine retribution for human greed. Its earthquakes devastated the wealth of the affluent, leading to a redistribution of resources. In more contemporary interpretations, the Namazu is depicted less as a natural force and more as a metaphor for negligent officials who shirk their duties during times of crisis.
8. A God’s Baby Trapped Underground
According to Maori creation mythology, the Sky Father Ranginui and the Earth Mother Papatuanuku were separated to form the sky and earth, allowing light to enter the world. Despite this, their separation caused immense sorrow. To ease their mother’s pain, their children decided to turn her face away from Ranginui. However, the youngest child, Ruaumoko, was still nursing when his siblings flipped their mother, trapping him beneath the earth.
In the darkness and cold, Ruaumoko was granted fire to keep warm, becoming the god of volcanoes and earthquakes. His awakenings trigger violent eruptions, and he must be calmed by his mother’s soothing lullabies. Another version of the myth suggests Ruaumoko was never born, and his movements within his mother’s womb are what cause earthquakes.
7. Battling Aztec Gods End The World
According to Aztec mythology, the dual deity Ometecuhtli and Omecihuatl created itself from nothing and, being both male and female, gave birth to four children representing the cardinal directions: Huizilopochtli, Quetzalcoatl, Tezcatlipoca, and Xipe Totec. These deities created the world but realized it needed a sun for energy. Since they couldn’t create one, one of them had to become the sun. Each era saw a different god as the sun, and each transition brought natural disasters, marking the beginning of a new age. This is known as the Myth of the Five Suns.
The first sun, Tezcatlipoca, was dethroned by Quetzalcoatl, leading to jaguars devouring humanity. During the second sun, their feud continued, and Tezcatlipoca turned humans into monkeys, only for Quetzalcoatl to destroy them with hurricanes and floods. The third sun, Tialoc, transformed humans into turkeys, dogs, and butterflies after Tezcatlipoca stole his wife. Quetzalcoatl then rained fire and ash to eliminate them. The fourth sun, Tialoc’s sister, faced jealousy from Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca, who turned humans into fish and caused a great flood. The fifth and current sun, Nanahuatzin, will end our era with an earthquake.
6. A Vengeful Earth Mother
The indigenous people of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia worship Pachamama, the Earth Mother. In Incan mythology, she is a fertility deity and the embodiment of nature, nurturing and safeguarding plants and animals. Historically, offerings to her included animal and human sacrifices, but today, they are typically limited to dried llama fetuses, rice, or peanuts buried in the ground.
While Pachamama is generally seen as gentle and benevolent, she is also believed to unleash earthquakes, landslides, and lightning in her wrath. These acts of retribution target those who mistreat the earth or its inhabitants. Her fierce side is often symbolized by depictions of her as a dragon or serpent.
5. Freedom Fighter Trapped Between Mountains
Bernardo Carpio, a legendary figure from the Philippines, is sometimes portrayed as a giant and other times as a man of extraordinary strength. In the tale, Bernardo is a brave and compassionate individual who joins a resistance movement. The specific resistance varies depending on the era of the story, often tied to the fight against Spanish colonization. His superhuman strength makes him a valuable asset to the cause, as he could pull nails from floors with his bare hands and chop down trees effortlessly.
Eventually, a local shaman used his powers to trap Bernardo between Mt. Pamitinan and Mt. Binacayan. Despite his immense strength, Bernardo couldn’t overcome the shaman’s magic and the weight of the earth. To this day, he remains trapped, and his struggles to break free cause Earthquakes in the region.
4. Kagutsuchi’s Corpse Made Volcanoes
Kagutsuchi, a Shinto deity, was born to the creator gods Izanami and Izanagi. As a fire kami, his birth unleashed such intense flames that it caused his mother’s death, sending her to Yomi, the realm of darkness. Overcome with grief, Izanagi ventured to Yomi to bring Izanami back, but she could not return after consuming food there. When Izanagi lit a fire, he saw Izanami’s decaying body, infested with maggots. Enraged, she attacked him, and he fled. In his anger, Izanagi killed Kagutsuchi, the child responsible for his wife’s death, by cutting him into pieces.
From Kagutsuchi’s remains and the blood of Izanagi’s sword, new gods emerged, including Takemikazuchi-no-kami and Futsunushi-no-kami, renowned swordsmen, and Kuraokami-no-kami, a rain deity. His body parts also gave rise to mountain gods, particularly volcanoes. Eight volcanoes formed from his corpse, erupting with fire and heat, mirroring Kagutsuchi’s fiery nature in life.
3. Senseless Cause Of Disease and Pestilence
In ancient Mesopotamia, numerous gods were worshipped, and it was believed that gods and humans worked together to maintain world harmony. However, this raised the question: why did humans endure suffering? To explain this, the people of Kutha in Babylon created Nergal, also known as Erra, a god with an uncontrollable temper. Initially, Nergal and Erra were separate deities, but over time, they merged into a single figure representing chaos and destruction.
Nergal, a deity of chaos, unleashes destruction not as punishment for wrongdoing but purely out of his volatile temper. His rage is blamed for spreading diseases, plagues, and pestilence, as well as causing needless death on battlefields.
In one tale, Nergal decides to attack Babylon without reason. The city is protected by Marduk, another god. Nergal arrives under the guise of a casual visit and feigns surprise at Marduk’s attire. Embarrassed, Marduk claims he lacks time to dress properly. Nergal offers to guard the city while Marduk updates his wardrobe. Once Marduk leaves, Nergal unleashes his fury, slaughtering people indiscriminately.
Summoned by the gods to justify his actions, Nergal simply declares, 'When I get angry, I break things.'
2. Storms Stirred Up By The Thunderbird
The Thunderbird, a recurring figure in Native American mythology, is a colossal bird with the power to control weather. Its flapping wings create thunderstorms, rain, and strong winds. While interpretations vary among tribes, the Thunderbird is often seen as a protector, using thunder and lightning to aid and defend people rather than cause harm.
Among the Winnebago people, the Thunderbird was not a single entity but a species, with many soaring through the skies in their legends. These beings could also transform into human warriors. Similarly, the Passamaquoddy believed the Thunderbird could shapeshift and control lightning, using its powers only against villains, never humans. The Quillayute viewed it as a benevolent force sent by The Great Spirit to assist after disasters. One tale recounts the Thunderbird arriving during a famine, bringing a whale as food during a thunderstorm before vanishing into the clouds.
1. Plagues from “The Crouching Darkness”
In pre-Christian Ireland, Crom Cruach, meaning 'crouching darkness' or 'bent gloom,' was a feared deity worshipped by many. Descriptions depict him as a terrifying god who demanded human sacrifices. The Metrical Dindshenchas, a collection of ancient oral stories recorded by medieval monks, includes verses about him:
He was their god, the wizened Bent One with many glooms; the people who believed in him over every harbour, the eternal Kingdom shall not be theirs. For him ingloriously they slew their wretched firstborn with much weeping and distress, to pour out their blood around the Bent One of the hill. Milk and corn they used to ask of him speedily in return for a third of their whole progeny: great was the horror and outcry about him. The stirred evil, they beat palms, they bruised bodies: wailing to the demon who had enslaved them they shed showers of tears, prostrate their pouring.
Despite his grim rituals, Crom Cruach was sometimes seen as a fertility god. If displeased or neglected, he was believed to cause poor harvests, blights, and plagues. In one account, his followers demanded sacrifices from the Gael people, insisting their firstborn be smashed against his idol to avoid curses on their crops and livestock.
