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Kumeyaay astronomy facts for kids

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Kumeyaay astronomy
map of California with tribal areas
Geographical range El Vallecito
Period 7000 BCE - c. 1875

Kumeyaay astronomy (called My Uuyow in the Kumeyaay language, meaning "sky knowledge") is all about how the Kumeyaay people understood the sky. The Kumeyaay are a Native American group. Their traditional homeland is in Southern California, USA, and parts of northern Baja California, Mexico. They developed a deep system of beliefs based on their sky knowledge. This also helped them keep track of time, which they called Kumeyaay Mat’taam.

The first signs of the Kumeyaay watching the sky were found at an ancient site called El Vallecito. There, a rock painting called "Men in a square" shows a square that lines up with the sun on the Fall equinox. An equinox is when day and night are about the same length. The Kumeyaay likely made these paintings during their travels. They also used sand paintings and rock art to show how the sun, moon, and stars moved across the sky.

The Kumeyaay built special places to watch and record events in the sky. Sadly, many of these important sites were damaged by vandals before they could be protected.

Sky Objects and Star Groups

The Kumeyaay people had their own names for things they saw in the sky.

  • Hatotkeur (Spine of the Sky) - This is what they called the Milky Way, which looks like a bright band of stars across the night sky.

They also had many names for groups of stars, which we call constellations. Here are some of them:

Name Meaning Western equivalent
Kwechnyay Hunter part of Orion
Hachaa Six laughing girls Pleiades
Hawitai Garter snake Lyra
Akewli Chaser part of Orion
Hechkullk Wolf Auriga, Taurus
Shallymat Arm Big Dipper
Shally Hand Leo
Pehkay Seven Cygnus
Llykuushirra Racer snake Cassiopaeia
Menniih Tarantula Canis Major/Minor
Namuuly Bear Gemini
'Ehwii Rattlesnake Draco
Shuluk Lightning Scorpius
Hetepaa Coyote Bootes
Shaaii Buzzard Virgo
'Ahaak Raven Aquila
Emuu Mountain sheep Orion's Belt
Awi yuk Gopher snake Corvus/Hydra
Nyemii Bobcat Piscis Austrinus
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