From Myth to Science: A Comparative Study of Lightning in Javanese Tradition and Western Scientific Thought

Abstract

This paper compares Javanese mythological and Western scientific interpretations of lightning to show how radically different epistemologies arrive at partially convergent understandings. Using textual analysis of the Ki Ageng Selo legend and archival reconstruction of Benjamin Franklin’s kite experiment, we (i) trace the symbolic, social, and spiritual meanings of “bledeg” in Central-Javanese cosmology; (ii) map Franklin’s single-fluid electricity model onto modern atmospheric-electricity theory; and (iii) use recent mineralogical studies of fulgurites as a physical bridge between the two world-views.
Methodologically, the work combines folkloristics, history of science, and laboratory geoscience. Results reveal that both traditions attempt to domesticate lightning’s danger — one through ritualised personification, the other through empirical demystification — yet both recognise its transformative power, now evidenced by experimentally generated fulgurites that mimic natural strikes under controlled HV pulses.
The conclusion that integrating indigenous narratives with contemporary lightning science can enrich STEM education, improve risk communication in thunder-prone regions, and motivate interdisciplinary climate research. Future studies should test “myth-congruent” safety messaging in schools and extend laboratory work on fulgurite formation to tropical soils.