Australian Aboriginal astronomy facts for kids
Aboriginal Australians were among the first people to study the sky. Their understanding of the stars might be the oldest still used today. They watched the Sun, Moon, stars, and planets. This helped them understand how people, nature, and the sky are connected. These ideas shaped their view of the universe. They are still a big part of their culture and knowledge. Many legends, art forms, music, and ceremonies come from looking at things in the sky. Many groups see spiritual meanings in these sky objects. Some used this knowledge to create useful calendars.
Aboriginal culture shares knowledge through stories, songs, and dances. This is called an oral tradition. Some knowledge is kept secret. It is only taught to people who have gone through special ceremonies. Some things are only known by men, others only by women. The first written record of Aboriginal astronomy was in 1857. It was written by William Edward Stanbridge. He was an Englishman who became friends with the Boorong people in Victoria.
Astronomy is part of Aboriginal people's social, cultural, and religious knowledge. It is different from Western scientific theory. There are many Aboriginal groups in Australia. Each group understands the sky in different ways. Their ideas share similar themes. But they can also be very different. Most sky objects and events are seen as figures or events from the Dreaming. Unlike other ancient cultures, these beliefs are still part of modern life for Aboriginal Australians.
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Sun and Moon Stories
In most Aboriginal cultures, the Sun is seen as a woman. The Moon is seen as a man. In Arnhem Land, people say the Sun wakes up each morning. She lights a fire at her camp in the east. Then she carries a torch across the sky. This creates daylight. The Yolngu people call her Walu. They believe her ochre body paint brushes onto the clouds at sunrise and sunset. At night, she travels underground back to her camp.
Similar stories explain the phases of the Moon. For example, the Kuwema people say the Moon grows fat at each full moon. He eats the spirits of those who break tribal rules. Some coastal people, like the Yolngu, saw the link between the Moon and the tides. In other groups, the Moon is linked with fertility. This is because the lunar cycle is similar to female cycles.
Solar and lunar eclipses were often explained as the male Moon and female Sun marrying. Some astronomers think this shows Aboriginal Australians understood how eclipses happen. They knew the Sun and Moon's paths crossed. Norris (2009) says early Aboriginal Australians understood this well. They could see a lunar eclipse was caused by the Sun and Moon lining up.
Star Groups and Stories
In Central Australia, anthropologist Charles P. Mountford wrote about the desert peoples. He said most stars in the Southern Hemisphere had Aboriginal myths. Most groups see red, white, blue, and yellow stars. Stars are often grouped in special ways. Some groups even use social family systems to classify stars. So many Aboriginal constellations are different from Western ones.
The wide band of the Milky Way across the night sky is often seen as a legendary river. Some groups in the central desert believe the river divides two tribes of ancestor spirits. These spirits live on either side. To some groups, the stars along the river are fish. Other groups, like the Yolngu, believe the stars are the campfires of their ancestors. Other groups identify the Milky Way as the Rainbow Serpent. This is a major creator being.
The Emu in the Sky
The Emu is a constellation known to many Aboriginal groups. It is not like Western constellations. It is made of dark shadows between the bands of the Milky Way. These shadows are caused by dust and gas clouds in space. The emu's head is the very dark Coalsack nebula. It is next to the Southern Cross. The body and legs are other dark clouds. They trail along the Milky Way and across the Scorpius constellation.
This sky shape is said to have influenced rock art drawings of emus. Where it appeared in the sky told people when to hold ceremonies. North of Sydney are famous rock engravings. One shows an emu in the same pose as the sky emu. In autumn, the sky emu stands over its rock portrait. This tells the Kuring-gai people it is time to gather emu eggs.
The Southern Cross is easy to spot at the emu's head. There are many different stories about it across Australia. Some groups see it as an eagle, a sky god, or both. For the Arrernte, it is the foot of Waluwara, an eagle spirit. The four bright stars are his talons. The Coalsack is his nest. The Ngarrindjeri people of South Australia see the Southern Cross as a stingray. Two sharks chase it. The sharks are Alpha Centauri and Beta Centauri. These sharks are a sacred totem to the Ngarrindjeri.
In Victoria, the Boorong people saw the Southern Cross as the possum Bunya. He was hiding from an emu spirit. This emu's outline could be seen in the Coalsack nebula. To the Wardaman, the Coalsack is the head of a "law man." In 1972, the poet Oodgeroo Noonuccal wrote about the Southern Cross. She said it was the hands and feet of a wise leader named Mirabooka. He was given eternal life as a spirit in the sky.
Orion and the Pleiades
Aboriginal stories about Orion and Pleiades are very similar to Greek mythology. The stars of Orion are often linked to young men. These are usually fishermen or hunters. The seven stars of Pleiades are usually seen as young women. The two constellations often appear together in legends. They are part of the Dreamings of several language groups.
In the central desert, the Pleiades are seven sisters. They are running from a man in some Orion stars. In Pitjantjatjara legend, the Pleiades are the Kungkarungkara. They are seven ancestral sisters. A pack of dingos guards them from Njiru, the hunter. Njiru is the stars in Orion's Belt. The sisters turned into birds and flew to safety in the sky. But Njiru still chases them. Other legends are less harsh. The Adnyamathanha believe the Pleiades are the wives of the Orion stars. Tiwi people see them as kangaroos chased by dingos.
The similarity between these legends and the Greek Orion and Pleiades is likely a coincidence. There is no proof of any cultural link.
Yolngu people see the constellation of Orion as a canoe. They tell of three brothers who went fishing. One ate a forbidden fish. The Sun saw this and blew the brothers and their canoe into the sky. The three stars in the center, Orion's Belt, are the brothers. The Orion nebula above them is the forbidden fish. The bright stars Betelgeuse and Rigel are the front and back of the canoe. This legend teaches a moral lesson. Aboriginal myths often focus on moral lessons. They remind people what foods are allowed.
Tagai
Tagai is a large constellation. It includes Scorpius, Lupus, Centaurus, Crux, Corvus, part of Hydra, and a star from Ara. For the Torres Strait Islanders, Tagai is a legendary sea hero. He is shown as a fisherman in a canoe. His crew is the six stars of the Pleiades and six stars of Orion. In the legend, Tagai's crew eats all the food and water. Tagai punishes them by tying them together. He throws them into the ocean. The stars in the sky are said to be their reflection.
The islanders used this constellation to know the seasons. This calendar helped them with fishing and farming. It also guided their rituals and social activities. The Pleiades appearing told them it was turtle-mating season. It was time for travel and planting before the rainy season.
Comets and Meteors
New things in the sky, like comets and meteors, were often seen as bad omens. They could mean death or evil spirits. Ngarrindjeri people say a meteor means a deadly disease. Tiwi-speaking people and the Kuninjku in Arnhem Land saw meteors as eyes of evil spirits. These spirits ran across the sky. They hunted for the souls of the sick and dying. Many other cultures also believed comets and meteors brought bad luck and death.
Impact events are also in Aboriginal legends. This includes creation stories about landforms. One example is the Arrernte story of Gosse's Bluff. This is an impact crater nearly 150 million years old. The Arrernte legend says a baby's cradle fell from the sky world. The baby's mother and father are the evening and morning stars (Venus). They are still searching for their baby. Other legends tell of falling stars that bring fire to Earth.
Practical Uses of Sky Knowledge
Aboriginal Australians traditionally used the stars to navigate. This is still true in the remote outback. There might not be other signs or landmarks. They also use the Sun, Moon, and stars to tell the time. Aboriginal calendars are often more complex than Western ones. Many groups in northern Australia use a calendar with six seasons. They know the season by which stars are visible.
In 1857, William Edward Stanbridge wrote about the Boorong people. He described how they used astronomy to understand seasons. They saw the constellation Lyra as a malleefowl. They called it Neilloan. It disappears from the southern sky in October. This told the Boorong that the bird's egg-laying season had begun.
Other groups know that when Orion first appears, dingo puppies are about to be born. When Scorpius appears, the Yolngu know the Macassan fishermen would soon arrive. They came to fish for sea cucumber and trade goods. For the Pitjantjatjara, the Pleiades rising at dawn (in May) marks the start of the cool season. This is when some desert animals go into hibernation.
Images for kids
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1 dollar commemorative coin issued in 2020 by the Royal Australian Mint, with the seven sisters on the reverse.
See also
In Spanish: Astronomía aborigen australiana para niños
