The comedy of earthquakes

The comedy of tragedies

If we want to anticipate our future, we should know the past and understand the present. These very words ‘Is there any end of the World?’ have haunted civilizations down the ages. In the Hindu mythology, the end of the world has occurred several times. Each time, the forces of nature have played its part. It is said that, last time our world faced such destructions due to ice. May be, before that, the fire had played its part. But, other than these elements of nature, there are one more forces which are equally devastating and destroying. Down the ages, it had destroyed civilizations and paved the way for a new beginning. We commonly know it as Earthquake.

The science which governs the earthquakes for me is not only materialistic science, but also philosophical science. People say that ‘when science stops , philosophy starts’. True are these words. But can we apply it on our friendly force of nature- the earthquake.

Ancient world, unknown to the modern people, was surely a strange place to live. They used to have peculiar predictions about the earthquakes. I came to know about a few civilizations that had astonishing facts about the vibration of our Mother Earth.

In India, a race of people from Assam known as Kukis, believed that people inside the Earth shook the ground to see if anyone is living on the surface. When they felt the quake, they would come out shouting, “I am alive! I am alive!” to assure the people inside that there were inhabitants on the surface.  Thus, eventually, they were always saved from such vibrations of the Earth.

The Kukis of India

 Similarly, in Japan, there is another belief among the people. They believed that a giant catfish named, Namazu or Onamazu, lived in mud beneath the Earth. The catfish liked to play pranks and could only be restrained by Kushima, a God who protected them from earthquakes. He used to control the catfish with a mighty rock kept on it with magical powers. But often when his guards were relaxed, Namazu or Onamazu would shake the Earth causing earthquakes.

Kushima controlling Nmazu

 Similarly, in Mongolia, China, a giant frog would carry the earth its back. Whenever it trembles, it would cause earthquakes.

Similar to the Indian myth, was the Peru mythology of earthquakes. They had the funniest belief of all. It was believed among them, that, whenever a major God visited the Earth to count how many people were there, his footsteps caused earthquakes. To shorten His task, people used to ran out into the streets and shout, “I am here! I am here!”, thus saved during earthquakes.

The Greek mythology was also unique. The Greek God, Poseidon, was not only the God of seas, but also, the God of earthquakes and horses. He was the brother of Zeus and son of Cronos and Rhea. He was the God of the Mediterranean Sea. He showed His power to shake the Earth in the War between the Trojans and the Greeks, where He supported the Greeks and caused the Earth to tremble.

Poseidon, the God of Earthquakes

 Among the ancient myths of earthquakes, there are recent myths too. We all know about the earthquakes caused by the seismic energy released from San Andreas Fault. There was a myth in USA that California would fall into a sea. According to recent researches, the pacific plate is moving towards north westerly direction relative to the North American plate. The movement is horizontal, so while Los Angeles is moving towards San Francisco, California won’t sink. However, earthquakes in and around California can landslides, thus, changing the shape of the coastline.

There are many predictions about the occurrence of earthquakes, and many will come. But we shouldn’t neglect to hear any of them. Whenever we get a chance, we should go through it and see if it is valid or not. It may not be scientifically proved, but may be an axiom. The best part of these beliefs and axioms are that they can give birth to theorems. Remember what Thomas Alva Edison had told,” I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.”