Mytho-ecological isomorphism: a study of marine restoration through mythological narratives

Nature is understood as a part of human life through sacred narratives to sustain the environmental resources. When nature is exposed to environmental disturbances such as climate change, it adapts to these imbalances and restructures itself to maintain a stable state. This article employs the idea of ‘isomorphism’ to investigate self-regulation and transformation of marine ecology through mythological narratives. By drawing on Eugene Odum’s idea of ‘Homeostasis’ and Sterling and Eyer’s ‘Allostasis’, the self-regulation and transformation process of the marine system is explored in the paper. The marine ecosystem undergoes internal self-regulations naturally to sustain equilibrium despite minor fluctuations reflecting ‘homeostasis’. However, when environmental disturbances such as coral bleaching, rise in ocean temperature, etc., exceeds the ecological resilience, the ecosystem reorganizes the structure itself and continues to function without collapsing, reflecting the ‘allostatic’ state. ‘Homeostatic’ and ‘Allostatic’ self-regulatory functions find narrative parallels in Greek and Hindu mythological traditions. Mythological marine narratives often portray the disrupt symbolic orders, reorganise divine authority and restructure the system, reflecting restoration and transformation of the systematic order. The mythological marine narratives and the marine ecosystem restoration exhibit binary oppositions, presenting conflicting forces within a single ecological system. The article employs Levi-Stauss’ theory of binary oppositions to argue that both ecological and mythological systems are bridged through opposing elements such as purification and pollution, creation and destruction, etc. This research explores marine space as a common entity where equilibrium is repeatedly disturbed, destabilised and restructured. The restoration of marine equilibrium has been adopted as one of the key objectives by the United Nations under Sustainable Development Goals. The paper also focuses on Sustainable Development Goal 14 – ‘Life Below Water’, by highlighting the conservation and sustainment of marine resources.