CHAPTER IV.

THE STARS.

The time-indications from the phases of the climate and of Nature are

only approximate: they themselves, like the concrete phenomena to

which they refer, are subject to fluctuation. Even in the tropics,

where the regularity of the climatic changes is greater than in our

latitudes, the beginning of the rains, the dry season, or monsoons

may be to some extent advanced or retarded. In the temperate zones

the fluctuations are very perceptible. In the year in which I write

this (1916) the corn harvest has been delayed by nearly a month, not

only on account of bad weather in harvest-time but also owing to the

unusually low temperature of the past summer. Even the townsfolk

notice that the days are shorter and the weather is colder than

is usual at the time of harvest. Further, incidents of plant and

animal life--e. g. the blossoming of certain trees and plants, the

arrival of the migratory birds--vary somewhat in different years.

In general primitive man takes no notice of these variations: the

Banyankole, for instance, are indifferent as to whether the year is

one or even three weeks longer or shorter, i. e. whether the rainy

season opens so much earlier or later[465]. The days are not counted

exactly, but the people are content with the concrete phenomenon.

More accurate points of reference are however especially desirable

for an agricultural people, since, although the right time for sowing

can be discerned from the phenomena and general conditions of the

climate, yet a more exact determination of time may be extremely

useful. The possibility of such a determination exists--and that at a

far more primitive stage than that of the agricultural peoples--in

the observation of the stars, and especially in the observation of

the so-called ‘apparent’ or, more properly, visible risings and

settings of the fixed stars, the importance of which has already been

explained (pp. 5 ff.) The observation of the morning rising and the

evening setting is extraordinarily wide-spread, but other positions

of the stars, e. g. at a certain distance from the horizon, are also

sometimes observed[466]. The Kiwai Papuans also compute the time

of invisibility of a star. When a certain star has sunk below the

western horizon they wait for some nights during which the star is

‘inside’; then it has ‘made a leap’, and shews itself in the east in

the morning before sunrise[467].

Any reader of the classics will be familiar with the risings and

settings of the stars: Virgil, for example, mentions them often.

With him however they are pre-eminently a traditional ornament of

poetic style: the richest sources are the peasants’ rules of Hesiod,

in which the stars are mentioned as time-indications along with

phenomena of plant and animal life, and appear just as frequently as

the latter, often in combination with them. But Homer not only knows

several stars but is also acquainted with the rising and setting. A

much quoted passage in the Iliad runs:--

“Him first king Priam saw with his old eyes,

As o’er the plain he lightened, dazzling bright,

Like to the star that doth in autumn rise,

Whose radiant beams, pre-eminent to sight,

Shine with their fellow stars at noon of night:

Orion’s Dog we mortals call its name:

Sign is it of much ill, thought clear its light,

And mighty fever brings to man’s poor frame:

So, as he ran, the brass upon his breast did flame”[468].

The lines refer to the morning rising of Sirius at the beginning

of the fruit-harvest, which about 800 B. C. took place on the 28th

of July (Julian). A modern reader, thinking only of the splendour

of the star as it shines in the sky at night, entirely fails to

understand the darker and more fateful side of the simile. Only

when it is realised that the time of the morning rising of Sirius

is the time of the greatest heat and sickness, a period believed

to be induced by the rising of this star at the beginning of the

fruit-harvest, is the right idea obtained. Like Sirius appearing in

the sky in the morning twilight of later summer, Achilles stands out

upon the battle-field, eclipsing all others and bringing destruction

to the Trojans[469]. A difficulty has been found in the passage in

that Sirius at his rising is only just visible and therefore does

not shine in his brightest splendour. But Sirius is for the poet the

typical brightest fixed star, just as he speaks of the heavens as

‘starry’ even when the sun is ascending in them[470]. On every day

of the _opōre_ Sirius rises higher and shines more brightly--one

must not think only of the actual first rising, the first day of

the star’s appearance. Hence the star becomes the symbol of the

_opōre_, ὀπωρινὸς ἀστήρ[471]. Since it is a star of evil omen it is

also called ‘the disastrous-shining star’[472]. A star-setting is

implied in the words ‘the late-setting Arcturus’[473]. The ‘late’

refers to the fact that the circle which Arcturus describes in the

heavens is great, since he stands so far north. Here belongs also the

observation that the Great Bear alone of the (greater) stars does not

dip down into the ocean[474]. The stars further serve as a guide to

navigation[475]:--

“And treacherous sleep ne’er fell on the eyes that were watchful

still,

For he kept the Pleiads in front, and the Herdman, who slowly

doth gain

His rest, and the Bear,--they are wont to call it moreover

the Wain:

Ever turning at bay, doth it glare on Orion’s falchion-gleam,

And alone it hath no share in the baths of the Ocean-stream:--

For Calypso, the Goddess divine, had bidden him still to keep

Over his left that sign as he fared on the face of the deep”.

The Pleiades, the Hyades, and Orion are also mentioned, but not

in any special connexion with the indication of time[476]. The

morning-star helps to determine time on a night journey[477].

Hesiod says that at the time when the thistle blooms and the cricket

chirps Sirius burns heads and knees[478], and that when the late

autumn rains come men feel relieved, since the star Sirius is not

passing over their heads for so long a time but uses the night

more[479]. Commentators of classical times have indeed here taken

Sirius to mean the sun. But wrongly; for Sirius, whose rising

introduces the time of greatest heat, is for the Greeks the cause of

the heat, just as the Pleiades are for the Australians, and as all

stars are held to be the causes of those climatic changes which are

connected with any of their risings or settings[480]; when Sirius

rises earlier, i. e. remains in the heavens for some hours during

the night-time, the heat declines. The other passages are:--vv. 564

ff., evening rising of Arcturus (60 days after the winter solstice,

Feb. 24, Julian), followed by the coming of the swallow, messenger

of spring, before this time the vines should be pruned; vv. 597 ff.,

the winnowing of the harvested corn at the morning rising of Orion

(July 9); vv. 609 ff., when Orion and Sirius are in the middle of the

heavens and the dawn sees Arcturus (morning rising Sept. 18), it is

the time of the vine-harvest; vv. 615 ff., at the (morning) setting

of the Pleiades (Nov. 3), of the Hyades, and of Orion (Nov. 15) it is

time to think about sowing; vv. 619 ff., when the Pleiades, fleeing

from Orion, fall into the sea, storms rage, and the ship should be

drawn up on land. Alcaeus says:--“Drink wine, for the star (viz.

Sirius) revolves”[481].

The time-indications from the stars are therefore much older in

Greece than the lunisolar calendar, and always existed alongside

of the latter--which was of a religious and civil character--as

the calendar of peasants and seamen, who must hold to the natural

year and its seasons. The watchman who speaks the prologue of the

_Agamemnon_ of Aeschylus says:--

“ ... On elbow bent, watching, as ’twere a dog,

I mark the stars in nightly conclave meet.

And those bright constellations, without peer,

Lords paramount in heaven, that winter bring

And summer in their train for mortal men,

Right well I know them as they come and go”[482].

The discovery of star-observation and of its use in time-reckoning

and navigation is ascribed to the heroes Prometheus and Palamedes.

The latter is regarded by the tragic poets as the founder of all the

elements of intellectual culture, and so also of the science of the

stars[483]. And Prometheus, who glories in having brought to men

every advance in civilisation, includes therein the knowledge of the

risings and settings of the stars:--

“Of winter’s coming no sure sign had they,

Nor of the advent of the flowery spring,

Of fruitful summer none: so fared through each,

And took no thought, till that the hidden lore

Of rising stars and setting I unveiled”[484].

Later, the phases of the stars have become so familiar to everyone

that Sophocles can say, ‘a time of six months from spring to

Arcturus’, i. e. the morning rising of Arcturus on Sept. 18[485].

Whether the Romans made use of time-indications from the stars before

they borrowed them from the Greeks is uncertain; in any case they

had their own names for some constellations:--_vesperugo_, _iubar_

= _lucifer_, the evening star, _septentriones_ or _iugulae_, the

Great Bear, _vergiliae_, the Pleiades. _Suculae_, the Hyades, and

_canicula_, the Dog-star, are translations of the corresponding Greek

names[486].

At a later period the risings and settings of the stars, together

with the climatic phenomena accompanying them or believed to

accompany them, were brought into a calendar, which was then arranged

according to the signs of the zodiac, or later according to the

months of the Julian or Egyptian solar year. The Greek lunisolar

year was unsuitable for the purpose, since it varied in reference to

the sun and the stars. How both were adjusted to practical needs is

shewn by the remains of two stone calendars found at Milet. On the

stone are inscribed the risings and settings of the stars, arranged

according to the signs of the zodiac: by the side of these are holes

into which little tablets containing the days of the lunisolar

calendar could be fitted, these tablets being arranged according to

the relation of every lunisolar year to the solar one[487].

The Arabians also carefully observed the stars, and many of their

proverbs couple the risings of the stars with natural events[488].

Since these constellations are the so-called lunar stations their use

here is not primitive, but must have been added on to a primitive

usage. The Pleiades were observed throughout their course, and about

most of the positions which they take up mnemonic verses were made.

Mohammed swears by the setting Pleiades in the 53rd chapter of the

Koran.

We return once more to the primitive peoples. It may be well first to

show by a few examples how far they were acquainted with the stars

and saw in them images of terrestrial things. The Chukchee give names

to the most important constellations. Among divinities are reckoned

‘the Motionless Star’ or ‘the Nail-star’ or ‘the Pole-stuck Star’,

the Pole-star, ‘the Front Head and the Rear Head’, Arcturus and Vega,

and _pchittin_, a part of Aquilo. Orion is an archer with a crooked

back, who has shot a copper arrow, Aldebaran, against a ‘group of

women’, the Pleiades. His wife is Leo, ‘the Standing Woman’. Capella

is a reindeer-buck which is tied behind the sledge of a man driving

with two reindeer; a fox approaches from the side. Six of the stars

of the Great Bear are men throwing with slings, the seventh is a fox

gnawing at a pair of antlers. The Twins are two elks running from

two hunters who are driving two reindeer-teams. Corona is the paw

of the Polar Bear. Delphinus is a seal, Cassiopeia represents five

reindeer-bucks standing in the middle of a river[489].

The Eskimos of Greenland have a good knowledge of the stars. The

Great Bear is a reindeer, or the little stool on which they fasten

their ropes and harpoons, Aldebaran is the eye of the bull, the twins

are the breast-bone of the heavens, the belt of Orion is composed

of three ‘scattered ones’--Greenlanders who were taken up into the

sky and could not find their way back--Sirius has a man’s name, the

Pleiades are to be regarded as baying hounds with a bear among them,

Cygnus as three kayaks which have been out seal-hunting. Venus is

the follower or man-at-arms of the sun. When one planet crosses the

path of another it is a wife and a concubine who have one another by

the hair, or else it is a visit of two stars[490]. By the Ammasalik

names are given to Vega (‘the Foot of the Lamp’), which, like the

moon, is the brother of the sun, to the Great Bear, the Pleiades

(‘the Barkers’), the belt of Orion, and Aldebaran; Jupiter is the

mother of the sun[491]. Among the Konyag of the island of Kodiak, off

the south coast of Alaska, two months are named after the risings

of the Pleiades and Orion respectively[492]. Of the Thlinkit it is

said that few constellations or stars appear to have been named

by them: those to which names are given are ‘the Great Dipper’,

which by night used to serve as a guide, the Pleiades (_sculpin_),

‘Three-men-in-a-line’ (probably the belt of Orion), Venus as the

morning star (‘Morning-round-thing’), and Jupiter (?) as the evening

star (‘Marten-month’ or ‘Marten-moon’). If the morning star comes up

above a mountain south-east of Sitka, it means bad weather, if well

over in the east, good weather[493]. Otherwise the North American

Indians have paid less attention to the stars: but it is exaggerated

to say[494] that the sum-total of their astronomical knowledge was

the ability to point to the Pole-star from which they took their way

when they travelled at night, which however they did unwillingly.

The tribes of Pennsylvania had names for a few stars, and observed

their motions: the Pole-star shewed them by night the direction they

must take in the morning[495]. The Omaha called the Pole-star ‘the

Not-moving-star’, the Pleiades were called by an old name, ‘the

Deer’s Head’; this name, which had a religious significance, was

not commonly used, the popular name being ‘Little-duck’s-foot’. The

Great Bear was ‘the Litter’, Venus ‘Big-Star’[496]. For the Klamath

are mentioned only the three stars in the belt of Orion[497], for

the Biloxi and Ofo ‘Stars-all-heads’ (?) (three large stars near

the Pleiades), ‘Stars-in-circle’ (the Pleiades), and ‘Big Star’,

the morning star[498]. The Luiseño of southern California name the

most important stars. The associated stars form much larger groups

than those common among us. The stars were chiefs among the first

people. Those most frequently mentioned are Antares and Altair.

Arcturus is the right hand of Antares, it rises before the latter

and announces his coming, the other stars around Antares are his

suite. Other chiefs are Spica, Fomalhaut, and the Pole-star. Orion

and the Pleiades are always mentioned together; the latter were

seven sisters, pursued by Aldebaran. The Diegueño constellations are

altogether different from the Luiseño, and are based upon totally

different ideas: it has not been possible however to obtain an

accurate account of them[499]. Of the natives of Guadeloupe it was

reported at their discovery:--In other places they merely reckon

the day by the sun and the night by the moon; these women however

reckoned by other stars, and said that when the Great Bear rose or a

certain star stood in the north it was time to do this or that[500].

The Indians of South America have observed the stars in much greater

detail. The descriptions of von den Steinen are well known, in

particular for the Bakairi of Central Brazil. Orion is a large frame

on which manioc is dried, the larger stars are the tops of posts,

Sirius is the end of a great cross-beam supporting the frame from

the side. The Pleiades are a heap of grains of meal that have

fallen out at the side: a larger mass, ‘the father of the heap’,

is Aldebaran. Capella is a little capsule such as the Bakairi wear

in their ears, two other stars of Auriga are the ear-rings of the

Kayabi, the feathers of which are stuck backwards. One star, probably

Procyon, is an ear-piercer, or more properly the hole bored in the

ear. Castor and Pollux are the holes of a great flute. Canopus has

no name. The Southern Cross is a bird-snare on a twig, and the two

large stars of the Centaur represent two canes belonging to it. In

the snare a _mutum cavallo_ (_crax_) was taken, and this could be

seen in a dark patch of the Milky Way close beside. A Sokko heron

with a little basket full of fish corresponds approximately to the

stars of Pisces and Argo. The Scorpion is a drag-net for children,

the Milky Way is a huge drum-stick, and the holes in it (the dark

spots) are observed and explained by stories. The Paressi have a

name for the Southern Cross, above which they see an ostrich whose

figure is to be recognised in a dark spot of the Milky Way: other

animals are also found in the sky. To the Bororo the Southern Cross

represents the toes of a great ostrich, the Centaur a leg belonging

to them, Orion is a Jabuti turtle and in the parts verging on to

Sirius a cayman, the Pleiades are the bunches of blossom on the

angico tree. The name of Venus was not translatable[501]. The Karaya

of Central Brazil knew many constellations, and drew some of them

in our informant’s sketch-book. The Southern Cross, for example, is

a ray (the fish), the two stars of the Centaur above it represent

an ostrich, upon which a jaguar, Scorpio, is leaping[502]. Of the

natives of Brazil in general it is stated that there is hardly a

single important constellation which does not explain to them some

event, or represent some idea in connexion with things that happen

upon the earth, though they certainly have no heroes to set in them.

Myths of Orion, of the Pleiades, and of Canopus were related[503]. E.

Nordenskiöld has repeatedly visited the border districts between the

Argentine, Bolivia, and Brazil. Of the Chané and Chiriguano Indians

he says that they do not give names to many constellations, but

they know them very well. The part of the Milky Way lying nearest

to the Southern Cross is called the Ostrich Way, the Southern Cross

together with a few neighbouring stars is the head of the ostrich,

and the two largest stars of the Centaur are its collar. Orion with

his sword is called ‘Birds-meet-each-other’, another constellation

is ‘the Roe-buck’s Horn’, still another ‘the Tapir’; the Pleiades

are the most important constellation, they are called _yehu_, but

the natives do not know the meaning of the name. Venus is called

_coemilla_, ‘morning’. The Guarayu call Orion ‘the Black Vulture’; at

his side lies a heap of snake’s bones (the sword). The Southern Cross

with the stars around it is an ostrich, the two large stars of the

Centaur are a roe-buck, the Great Bear is a road, a cluster of stars

in the south is ‘the Eel’s Nest’. The Pleiades are called _piangi_,

a word of unknown meaning; when, on their return after their period

of invisibility, they are surrounded by a circle, it is a good omen:

if the circle is missing, all men will die. Venus is called ‘the

Big Star’[504]. The Karai tribes called α, β Centauri the ostrich’s

feet, the body is the neighbouring ‘coal-pit’ (the dark spot of the

Milky Way), the Southern Cross is a fresh-water ray, the Pleiades

are a flock of parakeets, Orion is the burning roça, the tail of

the Scorpion is called _unze_. The Ipurina of Rio Purus call Orion

a beetle, the Pleiades a serpent, the Hyades a turtle, the Cross

forest-folk[505]. In a Chilean word-list there are words for star,

constellation, the Pleiades, Orion, planet, Venus[506].

In Africa the comparatively more civilised negro Tribes seem to have

paid less attention to the stars than the more primitive tribes of

the south. The Ho tribe considers the stars to be the children of the

moon: it recognises and names the most important constellations, the

morning star (‘the Clucking Hen’), and the stool-bearer of the moon,

a star always situated in the vicinity of that planet. The Milky

Way is composed of stars forming a cord[507]. Of the Ibo-speaking

tribes we are told that they seem to be singularly incurious about

heavenly bodies and occurrences; however names were got for the

following constellations:--The Pleiades (‘Hen and Chickens’), the

belt of Orion (‘Three and Three’), for the Great Bear two names not

translated were given, Venus (‘the Wise-Man-who-can-talk’)[508]. In

French Guinea η _ursae_ is an ass, and the little star above it is a

thief pursued by the six other stars, members of the tribe to which

the stolen animal belongs. For other peoples the Great Bear is the

star of the camel, Cassiopeia is that of the ass, the Pleiades have

the name ‘murmur’, i. e. a confused thing. Jupiter (?), the companion

and guardian of the moon, is held in particular veneration. The

marabout in the morning awaits the rising of Venus, and announces by

cries, or sometimes by blows on a gong, the hour of prayer. Everyone

has his good and bad stars, which the magician takes carefully into

account[509]. The intrusion of astrology is not striking, since the

people are Mohammedans, while the names of the constellations must

be of native origin. The Bakongo call the three stars in Orion’s

belt ‘the Dog’, ‘the Palm-rat’, and ‘the Chief Hunter’; Venus is

the wife of the moon. The people think that the rain comes from the

Pleiades, who are regarded as the ‘Caretakers-who-guard-the-rain’,

and if, at the beginning of the rainy season, this constellation is

clearly seen, they expect a good rainy season, i. e. rain for their

farms without superabundance[510]. The Bangala call the Pleiades a

group of young women; five stars in Lepus, _kole_, are a man with

head, hands, and feet; the belt of Orion represents three rowers;

five stars in Orion are bundles of thunder and lightning; the evening

star also has a name. From the appearance of the Milky Way they draw

conclusions as to the lack or abundance of rain; when it is bright

and clear there will be much rain[511]. Ten star-names of the Shilluk

are given, but only two are translated: the Pleiades are ‘the Hen’,

and ‘Three Stars’ is Uranus (_sic!_). Venus and a fore-runner of

Venus are known[512]. The Wagogo know the Milky Way, the Pleiades,

and the belt of Orion; the western star of the last-named is to them

a boar, the middle star is the dog, and the eastern the hunter[513].

Of the Thonga it is further stated that the stars play a remarkably

small part in their ideas. Venus is the best known, the Pleiades is

the only constellation with a name; they have no notion whatever

of constellations, their mind seems not to have tried to group the

stars, or to have seen figures of animals or objects in the sky[514].

In Loango the following constellations are distinguished:--the false

Southern Cross (‘the Turtle’), the Scorpion (‘the Serpent’), the

Pleiades (‘Ants’), Orion (‘the Fish’), his belt (‘the Line of the

Hunter’, who leads a dog), Sirius (‘the Rain-star’). The natives are

aware that certain stars move; Jupiter is called ‘the Great Star’,

Venus as the evening star is the wife of the moon, as a morning star

she is the liar, spy of the moon, or false moon, illusory moon[515].

Far greater knowledge is possessed by the Hottentots, who know the

planets accurately. Venus is ‘the Fore-runner of the sun’, or the

star at whose rising men run away (i. e. from illicit intercourse),

Mercury ‘the Dawn-star’, or the star that comes when the udders of

the cows (which are milked morning and evening) are filled again:

as an evening star he is not observed. Venus as an evening star is

recognised to be the same celestial body as the morning star, and

is called ‘the Evening Fugitive’, since it does not remain long in

the sky. Jupiter is known, but is sometimes identified with Venus;

when however he is seen in ‘the middle of the sky’ he is called

‘the Middle Star’. The six stars of the belt and sword of Orion are

grouped together as ‘the Zebras’: δ, ε, ζ are three fugitive zebras

against the middle one of which the hunter ι shoots his arrow θ

and _c_. The Pleiades, on account of their thick cluster of stars,

are called by a name derived from a verb meaning ‘assemble’, or

are otherwise known as ‘the Rime-star’. The Milky Way is called

‘(glowing) Embers’, the Magellanic Clouds ‘Embers’ in the dual. Of

single fixed stars our author heard only Sirius called by a name,

‘the Side-star’[516]. The Bushmen divide the stars into night-stars

and dawn-stars: of the latter they relate very fine and complicated

myths, such as that of the connexion between ‘the Dawn’s Heart’

(Jupiter) and a neighbouring star, his daughter (Regulus or α

_leonis_). Achernar is ‘the Star-digging-stick’s-stone’, or ‘the

Digging-stick’s-stone of Canopus’; the Pointers to the Southern Cross

are three male lions; α, β, γ _crucis_ are lionesses; Aldebaran is

a male hartebeest, α Orion is a female hartebeest, Procyon a male

eland, Castor and Pollux his wives, the Magellanic Clouds a steinbok,

Orion’s sword three male tortoises hung upon a stick, his belt three

female tortoises so hung[517].

The Toda of S. India know the Pleiades, Orion’s sword (‘the

Porcupine-star’), the Great Bear, and Sirius, and relate about them

myths which are probably borrowed from the neighbouring Badaga[518].

The pagans of the Malay Peninsula know the evening and the morning

stars, and the stars of the astrological seasons (_sic!_), or the

Pleiades[519]. In the Indian Archipelago the observation of the

Pleiades as a sign of the arrival of the season for sowing is very

common. Of the Kayan of Borneo it is stated that though they do not

observe the stars or their movements for practical purposes, they

are familiar with the principal constellations, and have fanciful

names for them and relate mythical stories about the personages they

are supposed to represent. The Klementan call Pegasus ‘the padi

store-house’, the Pleiades are ‘a well’, the constellation to which

Aldebaran belongs is ‘a pig’s jaw’, Orion is a man whose left arm is

missing[520].

The natives of Australia have a rich stellar mythology[521]. The

evening star has its name and its myths. The Pleiades are women who

in the Alcheringa period lived at Intitakula: this is believed by

all the tribes whom our authority studied. Orion they regard as an

emu, and the stars in general as camp-fires of natives who live in

heaven. As a general rule, however, the natives appear to pay very

little attention to the stars in detail, probably because these

enter very little into anything which is connected with their daily

life, more especially with their food-supply. By the northern Arunta

and the Kaitish the Magellanic Clouds are supposed to be full of

evil magic, which sometimes comes down to earth and chokes men and

women in their sleep[522]. According to another author acquainted

with the Arunta the Pleiades are seven maidens who had danced at

the circumcision ceremony and then ascended into heaven. Two stars

in the neighbourhood of the Magellanic Clouds are called ‘the two

Gland-poison Men’: the Clouds are the smoke of their fires; the dark

patch in the Milky Way is an article of adornment (_ngapatjinbi_),

the Southern Cross ‘an eagle’s foot’. The morning star is also

known[523]. The tribes of S. E. Australia give names to many stars

and group some of them together in constellations, among which are

the sons of Bunjil. The Wiiambo thought that the stars were once

great men. The Southern Cross is an emu, Mars an eagle, another star

is a crow. The Pleiades, according to the Wotjo-baluh, are some

women, _corona australis_ is ‘the Laughing Jackass’, a small star in

Argo is ‘the Shell Parakeet’[524].

A very high stage of development in stellar science and mythology

is reached among the Euahlayi tribe of the north-west district of

New South Wales; anyone interested in the catasterisms of ancient

mythology should read the full account given for this tribe. Venus

is called ‘the Laughing Star’--the reason for her laughter is a

coarse jest--, the Milky Way is an overflow of water. The stars

are fires which the spirits of the dead have lit in their journey

across the sky, and the dusky haze--i. e. presumably the dark patches

without stars, which interest primitive peoples as much as the stars

themselves--is the smoke of the fires. A waving dark shadow which

you will see along the Milky Way is a crocodile. Two dark spots

in Scorpio are devils who try to catch the spirits of the dead;

sometimes they come down to earth and make whirlwinds. The Pleiades

are seven sisters, ice-maidens; two have been dulled because a man

caught them and tried to melt the ice off them: they succeeded in

escaping to heaven, but do not shine so brightly as their sisters.

The sword and belt of Orion are boys who on earth loved and followed

the Pleiades, but after death were turned into stars. In order to

remind people of them the Pleiades drop down some ice in the winter,

and it is they who make the winter thunderstorms. Castor and Pollux

are two hunters of long ago. Canopus is ‘the Mad Star’: he went

mad on losing his loves. The Magellanic Clouds are ‘the Native

Companions’, mother and daughter, pursued by Wurrawilberoo. ‘The

Featherless Emu’ is a devil of water-holes, who goes every night to

his sky-camp, ‘the Coal-pit’, i. e. the dark spot beside the Southern

Cross. Corvus is a kangaroo, the Southern Crown an eagle-hawk, the

Cross the first spirit-tree, a huge _yaraon_ which was the medium

for the translation to the sky of the first man who died on earth.

The white cockatoos which used to roost in the branches of this tree

followed it and became the Pointers[525].

Ridley has obtained from the former chief of the Gingi tribe a long

series of star-names. Especially noteworthy for the observation

of the risings is the following. The Northern Crown is called

_mullion wollai_, ‘the Eagle’s Nest’, when it stands exactly

north on the meridian. Altair rises, and is called _mullion-ga_,

‘Eagle-in-action’, the eagle springs up to guard his nest. Later Vega

rises, and is also called _mullion-ga_. The ‘holes’ are also well

known. The dark spot at the foot of the Cross (the _zuu_ tree) is

called an emu, the bird sits under the tree[526]. Elsewhere the star

at the head of the Cross is an opossum fleeing from a pursuer--the

‘hole’ between the fore-feet of Centaurus and the Cross[527].

As to the stellar science of the Melanesians we are very variously

informed. The tribes of the Torres Straits have a richly developed

mythology and observation of the stars[528]. They distinguish the

planets from the fixed stars, at least they notice that Venus does

not twinkle[529]. The Banks Islanders never travel by night, and

consequently do not use the stars in navigation; in consequence of

this, says our authority, no definite information about the names

of stars or constellations could be obtained. A native gave a few

names, but could not point out the stars which they were said to

denote[530]. The Moanu of the Admiralty Islands understand the moon

and the stars, but the Matankor know neither stars nor moon[531].

A statement such as this must be received with great reserve,

especially when it comes from a native of another tribe. In any case

it would constitute an exception, since extremely primitive tribes

know the stars quite well, the natives of New Britain and of the

Solomon Islands even very well. The Pleiades and _corona borealis_

play an important part (cp. below, p. 141). The former are called in

Lambutjo _kiasa_, on the Gazelle Peninsula ‘the People-at-the-feast’,

and on Bambatana and Alu the year is reckoned according to them: the

Crown is called in Lambutjo ‘the Fisher’, in Buin ‘Taro-leaf-greens’,

on the Gazelle Peninsula ‘the Thornback’. Further star-names

are:--for the Hyades in Buin ‘Earth-rat’, in Lambutjo _kapet_, a

large net for deep water, on the Gazelle Peninsula _kakapepe_, a kind

of small fish, the star in the middle of the constellation is called

‘Hog-fish’. Cygnus is called in Buin ‘Hog-bearer’, in Lambutjo ‘the

Three Men’. ‘The Dog’ or ‘Shark’ is a large star ‘that pursues the

Fishes’. Many myths are told of the stars[532]. Another authority

remarks that the natives of the Solomon Islands are more concerned

about the stars than the eastern Polynesians, perhaps because of

their longer sea-voyages. The possibility of influence from the

astronomically learned Polynesians must also probably be entertained.

The people of Santa Cruz and the Reef Islands excel all others in

their practical astronomy. The natives of Banks Island and the

northern New Hebrides content themselves with distinguishing only the

Pleiades, by which the approach of the yam-harvest is marked, and

with calling the planets _masoi_ from their roundness, as distinct

from _vitu_, ‘star’. In Florida the early morning star is called

‘the Quartz-pebble-for-setting-off-to-sea’: when it rises later,

however, it is ‘the Shining-stone-of-light’. The Pleiades are ‘the

Company of Maidens’, Orion’s belt is ‘the War-canoe’, the evening

star ‘Listen-for-the-oven’ because the daily meal is taken as evening

draws on. All stars are called dead men’s eyes. At Saa the Southern

Cross is a net with four men letting it down to catch palolo, and

the Pointers are two men cooking what has been caught--because the

palolo appears when one of the Pointers rises above the horizon.

The Pleiades are called ‘the Tangle’, the Southern Triangle is

‘Three-men-in-a-canoe’, Mars is ‘the Red Pig’[533].

The Polynesians are very learned in astronomy, and their bold

and wide sea voyages have helped to make them so, since in these

the stars are their principal guide. The Tahitian, Tupaya, who

accompanied Cook on his first voyage, could always point out to him

the direction in which Tahiti lay[534]. When the Society Islanders

put to sea in the evening, as was most commonly the case in their

voyages, one constellation, preferably the Pleiades, was chosen

as a point to steer by[535]. A detailed report is given for the

Marshall Islands:--In the journey from atoll to atoll the course of

the boat is commonly directed from a certain passage, island, or

promontory to a passage or promontory of the atoll to be reached.

Above this spot stands the star that gives the direction. It is the

sailor’s business to know for how many hours a star can serve him

as compass, so that immediately after the apparent turning of the

star from east to west he may choose another. Of great interest

also is the idea of the connexion between the atmospheric and other

phenomena and the stars. Certain periods of bad weather recur every

year with tolerable regularity, so that the sailors attribute them

to the immediate influence of the stars. When, for instance, at 4

o’clock in the morning--at which time the signs of the weather are

observed--the stars stand just above the eastern horizon, they stop

up the east, so to speak, and prevent the free passage of the wind.

But if the pernicious star in question is at the given time 20° or

30° above the horizon, there is enough space between star and horizon

for the wind to be released. This strong wind will last until another

influential star arises under the first. This lower star acts like

a wind-chute placed against an open hut. The strength of the wind

is therefore reduced. This explains why every storm is followed by

a wind favourable for sailing. For example when Spica is 20° above

the horizon a violent storm is developed, but this only lasts until

Arcturus some time later becomes visible on the eastern horizon.

The most important of the stars that bring bad weather are Spica,

Arcturus, Antares, the claw of the Scorpion, Altair, Delphinus, β,

μ, λ and γ, ξ, π _Pegasi_. With the rising of Cassiopeia the time of

calms begins. Jedada (γ, ζ, π _aquilae_) ‘disembowels the heavens’.

Altair is regarded as a bad fellow. When he rises in the east before

dawn it is commonly a time when food supplies have run low, so

that quarrels arise: only when he rises higher and the hot season

(June-August) brings plenty of food, do reconciliation and goodwill

return. Of ‘King Jäbro’, the Pleiades, long myths are related:

when they emerge from the horizon joy prevails, but tears are shed

when they vanish again into the west[536]. The knowledge of the

stars was often a carefully guarded secret, but through prevailing

European influence it has now fallen entirely into decay. In Samoa

it is now an exception for a native to know the name of this or that

constellation, since an islander engaged in the fishing trade can

only indicate and name this or that star if it marks the beginning of

some important native occupation[537].

The Polynesian material for star-names is exceedingly abundant, and

can here only be represented in outline, so as to give some idea how

far astronomy may advance at this stage of civilisation[538]. The

Marquesas Islanders know and name a great number of constellations

and separate stars, e. g. ‘the Little Eyes’ (the Pleiades), ‘the

Rudder’ (Orion’s belt)[539]. Constellations mentioned as being

known to the Society Islanders are:--the Pleiades, Orion’s belt,

Sirius (‘Big Star’), the Magellanic Clouds (the upper and lower

‘Haze’), the Milky Way (‘the Long-blue-cloud-eating-shark’),

Venus, called sometimes ‘Day-star’ or ‘Herald-of-the-morning’,

and sometimes ‘Taurna-who-rises-at-dusk’, Mars (‘the Red Star’),

Jupiter, and Saturn[540]. The people of Nauru, west of the Gilbert

Islands, observe the stars, chiefly the Pleiades, Orion, Sirius,

and the morning and evening stars[541]. For the Marshall Islands

see above, p. 125. For Tahiti names are given for Venus, Jupiter,

Saturn, the Pleiades (‘Star-of-the-nest’), Sirius (‘Big Star’),

and the belt of Orion, and it is further stated that many other

stars are known by separate names[542]. The Hawaiians had names for

many constellations, and they also knew the five planets[543]. An

apparently distinguished native astronomer, named Hoapili, stated

that he had heard from others (Europeans?) that there was one more

travelling-star, but he had never observed it, and was acquainted

only with the five[544]. The Maoris had names for all the principal

stars and for a great number of constellations. The most important

of the latter is ‘the Canoe of Tamarereti’, which consists of the

following parts:--the three stars of Orion’s belt form the stern,

_matariki_ (the Pleiades) is the prow, _te toke o te waka_ is the

mast, the Southern Cross is the anchor, and the two Pointers are the

cables. Further, Orion’s belt is called ‘the Elbow of Maui’; the

Scorpion is ‘the House-of-Te-Whiu-and-his-slaves’; _Waka mauruiho_

and _Waka mauruake_ are the husbands of _Hurike_ and _Angake_, and

their daughters are _Tioreore_ and _Tikatakata_, the two Magellanic

Clouds, whose husbands are _Taikeha_ and _Ninikuru_. By the position

of the Magellanic Clouds the natives think they can tell from what

quarter the wind will blow. One constellation is called ‘the Garment

of Maru’, which he let fall as he ascended into heaven. Unfortunately

the names corresponding to our star-map are not given, and I have

omitted many which are not translated[545]. Some stars are mentioned

below in the account of the Maori calendar of months[546].

The Micronesians know the stars well; long lists of star-names come

from the Carolines. 18 names are given for Ponape, among them names

for the Pleiades, the Southern Cross, and the Magellanic Clouds;

from Lamotrek come 24, e. g. ‘the Leather-jacket-fish’ (the Southern

Cross), ‘the Broom’ (Ursa Minor), ‘the Virile Member’ (Aldebaran),

‘the Body-of-the-animal’ (Sirius), ‘the Centre-of-the-house’

(Arietes), ‘the Two Eyes’ (Scorpio), ‘the Fowling-net’ (Corona),

‘the Tail-of-the-fish’ (Cassiopeia), etc.; from Mortlock 23, e.

g. (Ursa Minor) _fusa-makit_, ‘the Seven Mice’, or it may mean

‘the Star-that-changes-its-position’ (_sic!_), Leo, ‘the Rat’,

the Southern Cross (perhaps), ‘the Shark’, Delphinus and Cygnus,

‘the Bowl-in-the-midst-of-Sota’, Sirius, ‘the Animal’, Orion and

Aldebaran, ‘The Branch-of-the-tree’, not identified, ‘the Fish-net’;

from Yap 25, unidentified[547]. The Fijians on the other hand knew

little about the stars. They had no names even for the most important

constellations. The evening and morning stars were known, under the

names of ‘Marking-day’ and ‘Marking-night’, but the natives did not

distinguish between the planets and the fixed stars. Their ignorance

is ascribed to the fact that they never undertake voyages beyond

the limits of their groups, and are bad navigators in the technical

sense, although good sailors[548].

Stellar science and mythology are therefore wide-spread among the

primitive and extremely primitive peoples, and attain a considerable

development among certain barbaric peoples. Although this must

be conceded, some people are apt to think that the determination

of time from the stars belongs to a much more advanced stage:

it is frequently regarded as a learned and very late mode of

time-reckoning. Modern man is almost entirely without knowledge of

the stars; for him they are the ornaments of the night-sky, which at

most call forth a vague emotion or are the objects of a science which

is considered to be very difficult and highly specialised, and is

left to the experts. It is true that the accurate determination of

the risings and settings of the stars does demand scientific work,

but not so the observation of the visible risings and settings.

Primitive man rises and goes to bed with the sun. When he gets up at

dawn and steps out of his hut, he directs his gaze to the brightening

east, and notices the stars that are shining just there and are soon

to vanish before the light of the sun. In the same way he observes

at evening before he goes to rest what stars appear in the west at

dusk and soon afterwards set there. Experience teaches him that these

stars vary throughout the year and that this variation keeps pace

with the phases of Nature, or, more concretely expressed, he learns

that the risings and settings of certain stars coincide with certain

natural phenomena. Here, therefore, there lies ready to hand a means

of determining the time of the year, and one which is indeed much

more accurate than a method depending on a reference to the phases

of Nature. However it would seem as if this mode of indicating time

would require a greater knowledge of the stars, such as only few

peoples possess,--as if it would constantly be necessary to observe

a fresh star for each of the smaller divisions of time. This is not

the case, since, as appears from statements already made, for the

purpose of determining the seasons a star may be observed when it is

stationed at other positions in the sky than on the horizon, e. g.,

very conveniently, at its upper culmination, but other positions,

expressed by us in so many degrees above the horizon, may also serve.

Just as the advance of the day is discerned from the position of

the sun, so the advance of the year is recognised by the position

of certain stars at sunrise and sunset. Stars and sun alike are

the indicators of the dial of the heavens. A determination of this

kind, however, is not so accurate as that from the heliacal risings

and settings. Hence the latter pass almost exclusively or at least

pre-eminently under consideration wherever, as in Greece, a calendar

of the natural year is based upon the stars: sometimes however the

upper culmination (μεσουράνημα) is also given. Finally the stars can

also be observed at other times of night than just before sunrise

or after sunset[549]: the Marshall Islanders, for instance, were

accustomed to observe the signs of the weather at 4 a. m. With the

lack of a means of accurately telling the time such an observation is

very uncertain and unpractical, and is therefore seldom found.

In order to determine the time of certain important natural phenomena

it is therefore sufficient to know and observe a few stars or

constellations with accuracy and certainty. The Pleiades are the most

important[550]. It has been asked why this particular constellation,

consisting as it does of comparatively small and unimportant stars,

should have played so great a part, and the answer given is chiefly

that its appearance coincides (though this is true of other stars

also) with important phases of the vegetation. This is correct, but

something else must be added. To create constellations in which

terrestrial objects, animals, and men are arbitrarily seen requires

no inconsiderable degree of imaginative power. The Pleiades however

form themselves into a group without any aid from the imagination,

and can without difficulty be recognised as such. It is because they

are easy to recognise immediately that the observation of these stars

plays so important a part. A similar case is that of the Magellanic

Clouds, which, where they are visible, belong to the best known

phenomena of the heavens, and we may also compare the dark starless

patches which so largely occupy the attention of primitive peoples,

although neither of these two phenomena is used in determining time,

since neither can be observed at the favourable moment, viz. the

twilight.

An account of the Bushmen shews how extremely primitive peoples may

also observe the risings of the stars, may connect them with the

seasons, and--which is indeed somewhat rare--may even worship them.

The Bushmen perceive Canopus; they say to a child:--“Give me yonder

piece of wood that I may put (the end of) it (in the fire), that I

may point it burning towards grandmother, for grandmother carries

Bushman rice; grandmother shall make a little warmth for us; for she

coldly comes out; the sun shall warm grandmother’s eye for us”. About

the same time as Canopus, Sirius appears, and a similar ceremony

takes place. Sirius comes out: the people call to one another:--“Ye

must burn (a stick) for us (toward) Sirius.” They say to one another:

“Who was it that saw Sirius?” One man says to the other: “One

brother saw Sirius.” The other man says to him: “I saw Sirius.” The

other man says to him: “I wish thee to burn a stick for us towards

Sirius, that the sun may shining come out for us, that Sirius may

not coldly come out.” The other man says to his son: “Bring me the

piece of wood yonder, that I may put it in the fire, that I may burn

it towards grandmother, that grandmother may ascend the sky, like

the other one”, i. e. Canopus. The child brings him the piece of

wood, he holds it in the fire. He points it burning towards Sirius,

he says that Sirius shall twinkle like Canopus. He sings; he points

to them with fire that they may twinkle like each other. He throws

fire at them[551]. Canopus and Sirius appear in winter, hence the

cold is connected with them. The ceremony just described is obviously

a warming-incantation. It is said also that it will make the stars

rise higher, for the higher they stand above the eastern horizon

at sunrise and the more brightly they twinkle, the more nearly

winter draws towards an end. The Hottentots connect the Pleiades

with winter. These stars become visible in the middle of June, that

is in the first half of the cold season, and are therefore called

‘Rime-stars’, since at the time of their becoming visible the nights

may be already so cold that there is hoar-frost in the early morning.

The appearance of the Pleiades also gives to the Bushmen of the Auob

district the signal for departure to the _tsama_ field[552].

The Euahlayi tribe also connect the Pleiades with the cold: they call

the stars ‘the Ice-maidens’, imagine them to be covered with ice,

and say that in winter they let ice drop on the earth and also cause

the winter thunderstorms[553]. Another tribe danced in order to win

the favour of the Pleiades; the constellation is worshipped by one

body as the giver of rain, but should the rain be deferred, instead

of blessings curses are apt to be bestowed on it[554]. The Arunta

say that the Pleiades are seven maidens who ascended into heaven,

but after many wanderings came back to Okaralyi, where they again

gathered _ugokuta_ fruit and danced in the women’s dance. During

this period the Pleiades are not to be seen in the sky, i. e. it is

the time between the evening setting and the morning rising. Here

therefore the constellation is connected with a phase of Nature, and

the whole is mythologically explained. According to another Arunta

myth the Pleiades are maidens who had danced at a circumcision

ceremony. After they had taken part in all the ceremonies in which

to-day the assistance of women is still requisite at this festival,

they went back to their native district, whence they ascended to

heaven and are now to be seen as the Pleiades. Not without reason

did the circumcision most frequently take place at the season when

the Pleiades rise at evening in the east and remain in the sky

all night long (this is the case in the summer months), so that

this prominent constellation was regarded as a spectator of the

festivities connected with the rite[555]. The Pleiades therefore

serve to determine the time of the feast, and this circumstance is

again invested with a myth. A tribe of Western Victoria connected

certain constellations with the seasons. The Pleiades are young

maidens playing to a corroboree-party of young men, represented by

the belt and sword of Orion. Aldebaran, ‘the Rose-crested Cockatoo’,

is an old man keeping time for the dancers. This group corresponds

with the months of November and December. As the year advances

Castor and Pollux appear: they are two hunters who pursue and kill

a kangaroo, Capella. The Mirage is the smoke of the fire at which

the kangaroo is cooked by the successful hunters. Those two groups

set forth the period of the summer. The breaking up of a prolonged

drought is thus explained:--Berenice’s Hair, which culminates in

March, is a tree with three big branches. When a shower of rain has

come, every drop is nevertheless sucked up by the dusty earth. A

small cavity formed at the junction of the three branches has however

retained a little water, and here it is imagined some birds drink.

The winter stars are Arcturus--who is held in great respect since

he has taught the natives to find the pupae of the wood-ants, which

are an important article of food in August and September--and Vega,

who has taught them to find the eggs of the _mallee_-hen, which are

also an important article of food in October. The natives also know

and tell stories of many other stars[556]. Another authority states

that they can tell from the position of Arcturus or Vega above the

horizon in August and October respectively when it is time to collect

these pupae and these eggs[557]. An old chief of the Spring Creek

tribe in Victoria taught the young people the names of the favourite

constellations as indications of the seasons. For example when

Canopus at dawn is only a very little way above the eastern horizon,

it is time to collect eggs; when the Pleiades are visible in the

east a little before sunrise, the time has come to visit friends and

neighbouring tribes[558].

The Chukchee form out of the stars Altair and Tarared in Aquila a

constellation named _pchittin_, which is believed to be a forefather

of the tribe who, after death, ascended into heaven. Since this

constellation begins to appear above the horizon at the time of the

winter solstice, it is said to usher in the light of the new year,

and most families belonging to the tribes living by the sea bring

their sacrifices at its first appearing[559].

Among the N. American Indians the determination of time from

constellations is rare. The Blackfeet Indians regulate their most

important feasts by the Pleiades, a feast is held about the first

and the last day of the occultation of these stars. It includes two

sacred vigils and the solemn blessing and planting of the seed, and

is the opening of the agricultural year[560]. According to another

legend of the same tribe, the Pleiades are seven children who

ascended into heaven because they had no yellow hides of the buffalo

calves. Therefore the Pleiades are invisible during the time when the

buffalo calves are yellow (the spring). But when these turn brown, in

autumn, the lost children can be seen in the sky every night[561].

Among the Tusayan Indians of Arizona the culmination of the Pleiades

is often used to determine the proper time for beginning a sacred

nocturnal rite[562].

The S. American Indians have much greater knowledge of the stars, and

in consequence frequently connect stellar phenomena, especially those

of the Pleiades, with phases of Nature. In north-west Brazil the

Indians determine the time of planting from the position of certain

constellations, in particular the Pleiades. If these have disappeared

below the horizon, the regular heavy rains will begin. The Siusi

gave an accurate account of the progress of the constellations,

by which they calculate the seasons, and in explanation drew three

diagrams in the sand. No. 1 had 3 constellations:--‘a Second Crab’,

which obviously consists of the three bright stars west of Leo, ‘the

Crab’, composed of the principal stars of Leo, and ‘the Youths’, i.

e. the Pleiades. When these set, continuous rain falls, the river

begins to rise, beginning of the rainy season, planting of manioc.

No. 2 had 2 constellations:--‘the Fishing-basket’, in Orion, and

_kakudzuta_, the northern part of Eridanus, in which other tribes

see a dancing-implement. When these set, much rain falls, the water

in the river is at its highest. No. 3 was ‘the Great Serpent’, i. e.

Scorpio. When this sets there is little or no rain, the water is at

its lowest[563]. The natives of Brazil are acquainted with the course

of the constellations, with their height and the period and time of

their appearance in and disappearance from the sky, and according

to them they divide up their seasons. In the valley of the Amazon

it is said that during the first few days of the appearance of the

Pleiades, while they are still low, birds, and especially fowls,

roost on low branches or beams, and that the higher the constellation

rises the higher the birds roost also. These stars bring cold and

rain: when they disappear the snakes lose their poison. The canes

used for arrows must be cut before their appearance, or else the

arrows will be worm-eaten. The Pleiades disappear, and appear

again in June. Their appearance coincides with the renewal of the

vegetation and of animal life. Hence the legend says that everything

that has appeared before the constellation will be renewed, i. e. its

appearance marks the beginning of spring[564]. The Bakairi reckoned

by natural phases, but were also well acquainted with astronomical

signs, and spoke of certain constellations which reappeared at the

beginning of the dry season: they referred to stars in the vicinity

of Orion, ‘the Manioc-pole’[565]. The Tamanaco of the Orinoco

called the Pleiades ‘the Mat’. They recognised the approach of

winter from the signs of Nature[566], but also from the fact that

the Pleiades at sunset were not too far distant from the western

horizon: the evening setting falls at the beginning of May[567].

The Lengua Indians of Paraguay connect the beginning of spring with

the rising of the Pleiades, and at this time celebrate feasts which

are generally of a markedly immoral nature[568]. The Guarani of

the same country recognised the time of sowing by the observation

of the Pleiades[569]. The Guarayu call the Pleiades _piangi_; when

they disappear the dry season begins, and when Orion is no longer

visible a period of cold dew begins. The Chacobo of north-eastern

Bolivia regulate the time of sowing by the position of the Pleiades

in relation to the spot where the sun rises[570]. The Chané and

Chiriguano do the same. When the Pleiades rise above the horizon very

early in the morning, the time for sowing has come: it is important

for this to be finished before the rainy season sets in[571]. Still

further tribes, for which I refer to Frazer, relate myths about the

Pleiades, worship them, and celebrate feasts at their appearance. So

did the inhabitants of ancient Peru, who called the Pleiades ‘the

Maize-heap’[572]. It might probably be thought that the observation

of the Pleiades has spread from this ancient civilised people among

the inhabitants of S. America, but it is of so primitive a character

that it rather appears to have been one of the rudiments of the

astronomical knowledge of the people of the Incas.

In Africa also the observation of the stars, and above all of the

Pleiades, is wide-spread. In view of the dissemination of this

knowledge all over the world it is making a quite unnecessary

exception to state that it came into Africa from Egypt. Moreover

this assertion does not correspond with the facts, since among the

Egyptians Sirius, and not the Pleiades, occupied the chief place. The

observation of the appearance of Canopus and Sirius we have already

found highly developed among the Bushmen, that of the Pleiades among

the Hottentots. The Bechuana of Central S. Africa are directed by the

positions of certain stars in the heavens that the time has arrived

in the revolving year when particular roots can be dug up for use,

or when they may commence their labours of the field. This is their

_likhakologo_ (‘turnings’ or ‘revolvings’), at what we should call

the spring-time of the year. The Pleiades they call _selemela_, which

may be translated ‘cultivator’ or ‘the precursor of agriculture’

(from _lemela_, ‘to cultivate _for_’, and _se_, a pronominal prefix,

distinguishing these stars as the actors). When the Pleiades assume

a certain position in the heavens it is the signal to commence

cultivating their fields and gardens[573]. The Caffres determine

the time of sowing by observing the Pleiades[574]; the Bantu

tribes of S. Africa regard their rising shortly after sunset as

indicating the planting-season[575]. The Amazulu call the Pleiades

_isilimela_, which has the same meaning as the Bechuana name, since

they begin to dig up the soil when the Pleiades appear. The people

say: ‘_isilimela_ dies and is not seen’, and at last, when winter is

coming to an end, it begins to appear, one of its stars first and

then three, until, continuing to increase, it becomes a cluster of

stars and is perfectly clearly seen when the sun is about to rise.

Then they say: ‘_isilimela_ is renewed’, ‘the year is renewed’, and

they begin to dig[576]. Among the Thonga the Pleiades are the only

constellation which bears a name--_shirimelo_; it rises in July and

August, when tilling is resumed[577]. At the southern corner of Lake

Nyassa the rising of the Pleiades early in the evening gives the sign

to begin the hoeing of the ground[578]. The Kikuyu of British East

Africa say that this constellation is the mark in the heavens to

shew the people when to plant their crops: they plant when it is in

a certain position early in the night. A dancing-song begins:--“When

the Pleiades meet the moon, the people assemble etc.”[579] The Masai

know whether it will rain or not according to the appearance or

non-appearance of the Pleiades, and the last month of the period

of the great rains, in which their evening setting falls, is named

after them. When they are no longer visible the people know that the

great rains are over, and they are not seen again until the following

season--the season of showers--has come to an end. The Masai call

the sword of Orion ‘the Old Men’, and his belt ‘the Widows’ who

follow them[580].

To the Isubu in Kamerun the constellations, which they combine

in certain groups, shew the course of the seasons; such

constellations are e. g. _tole a nyou_, the _tole_ of the

elephants, in contradistinction to _tole a moto_, the _tole_ of

men; another is ‘the Orphans’. These are summer signs, they are

all found in the eastern part of the sky[581]. In Sierra Leone

the proper time for planting is shewn by the position in which

the Pleiades are to be seen at sunset: the Bullom do not observe

or name any other stars[582]. The Bakongo associate these stars

with the rainy season: the rain comes from them, they are called

‘the Caretakers-who-guard-the-rain’[583]. When the constellation

_kole_[584] reaches the meridian, the Bangala plant more than at any

other time, because the rains, though not infrequent, are then fairly

certain[585]. In Loango Sirius is called ‘the Rain-star’, since as

long as he is visible the rains persist. Alongside of him Orion is

regarded as a sign of the rainy season[586]. In French Guinea the

people know that when the winter constellations appear above the

horizon, indicating that the end of the rains has come, it is the

time of harvest[587].

In the Indian Archipelago the observation of the Pleiades is the most

general and frequent means of determining the time for tillage. Hence

these stars are mythologically regarded as the originators of the

rice-culture. The Dyaks of Sarawak say that Si Jura on a sea-voyage

once found a fruit-tree with its roots in the sky and the branches

hanging downwards. He climbed up into it, and since his comrades

sailed away, he was obliged to climb on and on until he reached

the roots and found himself in a strange land--the country of the

Pleiades. There Si Kira received him kindly, and invited him to eat.

“Those little maggots?” replied Si Jura. Si Kira answered:--“They

are not maggots, but boiled rice”, and he explained to his guest

how the rice was cultivated and reaped, and then let him down by a

long rope near to his father’s house. Si Jura taught the Dyaks how to

cultivate rice, and the Pleiades themselves tell them when to farm;

according to the position of these stars in the heavens, morning and

evening, they cut down the forest, burn, plant, and reap[588]. In

another legend the Pleiades are six chickens which the hen follows,

invisible; formerly there were seven, and at that time men did not

know of rice, but lived on the products of the forest. One of the

chickens had come down to earth, where men gave it to eat: it would

not eat, however, but brought them a fruit with three husks, in which

there were contained three kinds of rice, that would ripen in four,

six, and eight months respectively. The hen was angry, and wished to

destroy both men and the chicken: the former were saved by Orion, but

only six chickens were left. During the time in which the Pleiades

are invisible, the hen is brooding, but the cuckoo calls as long as

they are visible[589]. The Sea-Dyaks determine the time of sowing by

observing the Pleiades. Some tribes determine the approach of the

time of rice-sowing from the observation of the stars. The Kayan of

Borneo know the most important constellations, although they do not

observe them and their motions with a practical end in view[590].

However one of the joint authors just quoted says in another place

that although the Kayan more usually determine the time of sowing

by the observation of the sun, yet both they and many other races

in Borneo sow the rice when the Pleiades at daybreak appear just

above the horizon[591]. When the time to clear fresh land in the

forest draws near, a wise man is appointed to go out before dawn and

watch for the Pleiades. As soon as they are seen to rise while it is

still dark, the people know that the time has come to begin work,

but not until they are at the zenith before dawn is it considered

desirable to burn the fallen timber and sow rice. The Dyaks begin

the rice-planting when the Pleiades reach the same position at about

3 or 4 o’clock in the morning as the sun reaches at 8 o’clock. Old

and experienced men are on the watch to determine the spot exactly.

Then a feast begins[592]. The natives of Nias, an island to the south

of Sumatra, assemble to till their fields when the Pleiades appear,

and regard it as useless to do so before that time[593]. In Sumatra

also the time for sowing was determined in this way. The Batak of the

middle of the island regulate their various agricultural operations

by the position of Orion and the Pleiades. The Achenese of the north

know that the sowing-time has come when the Pleiades rise before

the sun, at the beginning of July[594]. In northern Celebes the

rice-fields are prepared for cultivation when the Pleiades are seen

at a certain height above the horizon[595]. The Kai of German New

Guinea say that the time for labour in the fields has come when the

Pleiades are visible above the horizon at night: the Bukaua of the

same country also follow the Pleiades[596]. When the natives of the

Torres Straits Islands see the Pleiades on the horizon after sunset,

they say that the new yam-time has come[597]. The western tribes of

these straits have names for many stars, which are largely grouped

into constellations. The seasonal appearances of certain stars or

constellations were noted, and their rising regulated particular

dances, and also, as our authority thinks, the planting of yams and

sweet potatoes[598].

Accurate information for these tribes is given by Rivers in the

Reports of the Expedition to the Torres Straits. The most important

constellations are ‘the Shark’ (= the Great Bear together with

Arcturus) and _corona borealis_. Still larger is _Tagai_. This

constellation represents a man, Tagai (= Centaurus, Lupus), standing

in the prow of a canoe (Scorpio); in the stern sits Kareg (Antares).

Tagai holds in his left hand (the Southern Cross) a fishing-spear,

in his right (Corvus) some _kupa_-fruit. Below the canoe is a

sucker-fish, consisting of a part of Scorpio. _Naurwer_ are ‘the

Brothers’--Vega the elder, and Altair the younger--who in their

outstretched arms are holding sticks (β, γ _lyrae_, β, γ _aquilae_).

In Mabuiag this constellation is called _Dogai_. Our Delphinus is

called ‘the Trumpet-shell’, _kek_ is probably Achernar. Others I

omit. The most important star was _kek_, whose rising indicated not

only the beginning of many ceremonies but also the planting-season.

The risings and settings of the stars were observed, and certain

rites and agricultural occupations regulated thereby. In Badu it

was said that when only the tail of the Shark is above the horizon,

the north-west wind begins to blow ‘a little bit’: when the tail

has gone down altogether, the people begin to plant yams, and when

the Shark comes up again, yams, sweet potatoes, and bananas are

ripe. The stars also help to determine the seasons. A native of

Mabuiag gave the following list of the stars relating to the season

called _aibaud_:--_kek_ comes up, he is the sign for everything to

be done: ‘start meeting’, i. e. at the feasts the holding of which

is dependent upon plentiful supplies of food; _gil_, _usal_ (the

Pleiades): at this time the ovaries of the turtles enlarge; _pagas_

and _dede_ (Betelgeuze); _utimal_; _wapil_. Towards the end of the

season the Shark becomes visible, and then the pigeon migrates from

New Guinea to Australia, as does the _birubiru_-bird when _gitulai_

(the Crab) appears. It is expressly noted that when the people speak

of the rising or setting of a constellation or star at a certain

season, they have in mind the time of the year when the star or

constellation in question first appears or disappears on the horizon

at daybreak. Of Tagai a catasterism is related which at the same time

has reference to the phenomena of the seasons at the appearance of

the stars in question. On a fishing expedition the crew stole the

water from him and Koang. They therefore killed them and said:--“Usal

(the Pleiades), you go to New Guinea side, when you come up there

will be plenty of rain. Utimal, you go to New Guinea side, you have

to bring rain. Kwoior, when you come up over Mangrove Island just

before the south-east monsoon sets in, there will be rain in the

morning. Then the wind will shift and it will rain in the afternoon,

and you, Kek, will come up in the south between Badu and Moa and it

will be cold weather. When you go round this way and when you come

up, then the yams and sweet potatoes will ripen. You all have work

to do”[599]. A similar story is told of the Kiwai Papuans, who have

for the most part the same star-names and call most of their months

after stars: the Shark is also implicated in this story. When the

fin sets, there is more wind and high-water; when the tail sets,

more high-water; when the head rises, the copulating-season of the

turtles commences. Another myth tells how Javagi got angry and threw

Karongo up into heaven, where he and his three-pronged spear became

the constellation Antares[600].

The Melanesians of Banks Island and the northern New Hebrides are

also acquainted with the Pleiades as a sign of the approach of

the yam-harvest[601]. The inhabitants of New Britain (Bismarck

Archipelago) are guided in ascertaining the time of planting by the

position of certain stars[602]. The Moanu of the Admiralty Islands

use the stars as a guide both on land and at sea, and recognise the

season of the monsoons by them. When the Pleiades (_tjasa_) appear at

night-fall on the horizon, this is the signal for the north-west wind

to begin. But when the Thornback (Scorpio) and the Shark (Altair)

emerge as twilight begins, this shews that the south-east wind is at

hand. When ‘the Fishers’ Canoe’ (Orion, three fishermen in a canoe)

disappears from the horizon at evening, the south-east wind sets in

strongly: so also when the constellation is visible at morning on

the horizon. When it comes up at evening, the rainy season and the

north-west wind are not far off. When ‘the Bird’ (_canis major_) is

in such a position that one wing points to the north but the other is

still invisible, the time has come in which the turtles lay eggs, and

many natives then go to the Los-Reys group in order to collect them.

The Crown is called ‘the Mosquito-star’, since the mosquitoes swarm

into the houses when this constellation sets. The two largest stars

of the Circle are called _pitui an papai_: when this constellation

becomes visible in the early morning, the time is favourable for

catching the fish _papai_[603]. The natives of the Bougainville

Straits are acquainted with certain stars, especially the Pleiades;

the rising of this constellation is a sign that the _kai_-nut is

ripe: a ceremony takes place at this season[604]. On Treasury Island

a grand festival is held towards the end of October, in order--so far

as could be ascertained--to celebrate the approaching appearance of

the Pleiades above the eastern horizon after sunset. In Ugi, where of

all the stars the Pleiades alone have a name, the times for planting

and taking up yams are determined by this constellation[605]. In

Lambutjo the year is reckoned according to the position of the

Pleiades. When they are in the east, it is said that ‘they are

waiting’, when at the zenith, ‘they stand in the middle’, when in

the west, they are ‘bowed down’. When they stand low, the turtles

come up on land: the people say that they ‘go to play’, i. e. it is

the pairing season. When the Pleiades are high overhead, the white

men celebrate Christmas. When they ‘come up anew’, the people go

to look for fish. At that time ‘the Fishes’ are in the water. ‘The

Fishes’ (_corona borealis_) dip down when the Pleiades come up. When

‘the Fishes’ are in the sky, there are no fish in the water. In both

Alu and Lambutjo one division of the year is reckoned by the return

of the Pleiades, another by the almond-ripening. On the Gazelle

Peninsula the time for good fishing is the time of the appearance

of the Pleiades: at this time the fishing-nets are spread out. It

is said that ‘the Thornback’ (Pisces) and ‘the People-at-the-feast’

(the Pleiades) must not see each other; the former constellation

is called _galial_ (‘fishes’), which at this time are not to be

eaten[606]. On the island of Saa, one of the Solomon Islands, the

Southern Cross is the net with four men letting it down to catch

palolo, and the Pointers are two men cooking what is caught, since

the palolo first comes when one of the Pointers appears above the

horizon[607]. In the list of star-names given for the Carolines there

are also references to the seasons. In Ponape _le-poniong_ is seen

at the time of the variable winds. In Lamotrek Corvus is called ‘the

Viewer-of-the-taro-patches’, since he is visible during the taro

season; the name of Arcturus is formed from _ara_, ‘to conclude’,

and _moi_, ‘to come’, and the star is so called because his rising

indicates the end of the north-east winds, which bring visiting

parties to the island; the appearance of Capella means heavy gales

and bad weather[608].

Among the astronomically learned Polynesians time-estimations

according to stars play an important part: most of these however

belong to the chapters on the months and the year. In Samoa it is at

present an exception if an old fisherman can indicate and name this

or that star which at its entrance into this or that constellation

(_sic!_) announces the beginning of an abundant _bonino_-catch,

the immediate return of the South Sea herring, the _atuli_, to

its accustomed spawning-grounds, or some other similar event of

importance in the life of the natives[609].

When the stars indicate this or that event, the primitive mind, as

so often happens, is unable to distinguish between accompanying

phenomena and causal connexion; it follows that the stars are

regarded as authors of the events accompanying their appearance,

when these take place without the interference of men. So in ancient

Greece the expressions (a certain star) ‘indicates’ (σημαίνει)

or ‘makes’ (ποιεῖ) certain weather were not kept apart, and the

stars were regarded as causes of the atmospheric phenomena[610]. A

similar process of reasoning is not seldom found among primitive

peoples, and a few instances have already been given, such as

the warming-incantation of the Bushmen against Canopus and

Sirius, the name given to the Pleiades among the Bakongo (‘the

Caretakers-who-guard-the-rain’), and the belief that the rain comes

from them, the myth of the Euahlayi tribe that the Pleiades let ice

fall down on to the earth in winter and cause thunderstorms, in

other words send the rain, and the belief of the Marshall Islanders

that the various positions of certain stars cause storms or good

winds[611]. The same idea is very clearly seen in the account of

the Hottentots given by a missionary of the 17th century[612]. At

the return of the Pleiades the natives celebrate an anniversary: as

soon as the stars appear above the eastern horizon the mothers lift

their little ones in their arms, run up to some eminence, and shew to

them these friendly stars, and teach them to stretch out their hands

towards them. The people of the kraal assemble to dance and sing

according to the old custom of their ancestors. The chorus is always:

“O Tiqua, our father above our heads, give rain to us that the fruits

(bulbs etc.), _uientjes_, may ripen and that we may have plenty of

food: send us a good year!”

The natives of Australia (perhaps of Victoria), according to an old

account, worship the heavenly bodies and think that natural causes

are governed by certain constellations. They have names for these,

and sing and dance to win the favour of the Pleiades, which are

worshipped by one group as the giver of rain; should the rain be

deferred, curses instead of blessings are bestowed on them[613].

The Euahlayi tribe thinks that the Pleiades bring frost and winter

thunderstorms, and that the Milky Way by its change of position

brings rain[614]. An old native, chief of the Gingi tribe, when the

rain would not stop, turned to the souls of his dead friends in the

Milky Way with certain charms, until they made the rain cease. The

Milky Way is regarded as a stream with fertile banks[615].

These facts being so, there is nothing strange in an account which

unfortunately comes from a writer whose evidence in other respects

is open to grave doubt. We are told that Andy, a native of New

South Wales, found the statement that the sun is the source of heat

ridiculous, and said:--“If the sun makes the warm weather come in

summer-time, why does he not make the winter warm, for he is seen

every day?” The influence which produces heat, in the belief of

the natives, accompanies the Pleiades. When these are visible at a

certain altitude above the horizon, it is spring, _begagewog_; when

they rise to their highest altitude, it is summer, _winuga_; when

in autumn they sink down again towards the horizon, it is _domda_

(‘autumn’); in winter they are barely visible or are lost to view

altogether; it is then winter (_magur_), and cold. The ordinary

stars have no kind of influence on the seasons, but simply the

Pleiades[616]. The account agrees very well with what is otherwise

known of the stellar science of the Australians, and is perfectly

credible. A precisely similar story comes from the other side of

the globe. At the beginning of the 18th century, when the Lapps

were still heathens, one of the questions which a missionary among

these people put to them about their gods was:--“Have you prayed

the Pleiades to warm the weather?” In accordance with this a Lapp

myth relates that a servant driven out on a very cold night by

a cruel master was saved by the Pleiades. One of the Lapp names

for these stars, which evidently points to this idea, is ‘the

Sheep-skins’[617]. The Greeks had the same belief in Sirius as the

cause of the summer heat.[618]

From this belief in the stars as causes of the natural phenomena

it is but a short step to attempt to draw from the manner of their

appearance conclusions as to the kind of phenomenon caused by them.

To the Bakongo the Pleiades are the guardians of the rain, and when

they are clearly to be seen at the beginning of the rainy season

the people expect a good season, i. e. sufficient but not too much

rain[619]. The Nandi of British East Africa know by the appearance

or non-appearance of the Pleiades whether they may expect a good

or a bad harvest[620]. The Guarayu of S. America believe that when

the Pleiades at their reappearance are surrounded by a circle, it

is a good omen: but if this circle is wanting, all must die[621].

In Macedonia the Pleiades are called ‘the Clucking or Brooding

Hen’ (ἡ κλωσσαριά); their setting announces the advent of winter,

and from the accompanying conditions omens are drawn as to the

quantity of the forthcoming crop and the fertility of the cattle.

If the constellation sets in a cloudy sky, this portends a rich

harvest[622]. Similar weather-rules and prognostications are found

in abundance in modern European folk-lore and in the so-called

peasants’ calendars. The origin in the popular astrological beliefs

of antiquity is usually taken for granted. It is true that astrology,

especially under Mohammedan influence, has penetrated very deeply

even among little civilised peoples such as the negroes of Central

Africa and the Malays of the Indian Archipelago; but I see no cogent

reason for finding in the above-mentioned world-wide examples of

a belief in the influence of the stars upon natural phenomena any

influence of that astrology which derives from ancient Babylon.

Rather do these myths and traditions seem to afford an analogy to

the initial stages of the Babylonian astrology, and to shew that the

whole vast system of astrology had its root in primitive thinking.

And the Babylonian prognostications from stars and sky remained,

until a very late period, quite primitive. These observations cannot

be followed up further: astrology and its origins lie outside the

limits of the present study.

It has been shewn, then, that even among the most primitive peoples

of the globe the stars are known, observed, considered, and used for

the determination of time--the Pleiades, indeed, first and foremost,

but other constellations as well; of the not nearly so frequent

determination of the advance of night from the motions of the stars

we have already spoken in chapter I. There is however a difference

that should not be neglected between this method of determining time

and the time-indications from natural phases. So far as I have been

able to discover, the stars are never used in a narrative, i. e.

where the date of any familiar event is to be given, but only where

practical rules for the constantly recurring occupations and labours

are concerned, and also for the festivals. The method therefore does

not apply to the historical event in the wider sense, but only to the

reiterated event the recurrence of which is empirically known. The

consciousness of a fixed and constant order is therefore impressed

upon the mind of primitive man much more powerfully by the eternal

revolution of the constellations than by the variation of the

seasons.