Integrating Geomythology and Folk Narratives in Geospatial Decision Support for Mountain Disaster Mitigation

Mountainous areas in South Asia are generally prone to natural hazards like floods, landslides, and earthquakes; yet conventional geospatial hazard analysis does not always make the best use of the rich cultural memory embedded in traditional lore. This study proposes an interdisciplinary approach that synthesizes geomythology—consisting of myths, legends, and oral tradition that contain environmental information—into geospatial decision support systems (GDSS) for hazard mitigation. Through the analysis of ancient texts (e.g., the Nilamata Purana), regional ballads, and folklore, we georeferenced and plotted narratives of major hazard-prone events, e.g., the Kedarnath Floods (2013), the Kangra Earthquake (1905), and the Great Assam Earthquake (1897).By superimposing oral tradition on geospatial information—such as fault lines, landslide data sets, and river catchment basins—we generated GIS layers that reveal significant correlations between physical hazards and cultural topics. Sample case studies suggest that temples, sacred landscapes, and mythic warnings (such as Dhari Devi’s wrath or extinguishing Jwala Mukhi’s flame) often coincide with geologically active zones. These markers are de facto ”seismic sentinels” in local folklore, retaining knowledge about hazards over generations. Our methodological integration provides a concept test for the incorporation of traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) into scientific models. The combined framework increases public engagement, facilitates culturally appropriate disaster communication, and broadens the temporal horizons of hazard perception—connecting deep time and proximal risk. This study contributes to emerging work in disaster anthropology and resilience research by demonstrating how myths function as cultural expressions as well as historically grounded sources of empirical insight into environmental risk.