Aboriginal-Interpretations-Of-The-Night

AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINAL INTERPRETATIONS OF THE NIGHT SKY

Luritja Tjukurrpa of central Australia tells Australian Aboriginal cul- the story of the beginnings of life being ture has its own astronomy brought to Earth by the animal Kulu: with its own stories and All the animals had a big meeting. Who traditions which has sur- was going to carry the egg of life up to the universe? The Kulu was chosen. vived for over 60,000 years, When you see where the egg of life making it the oldest as- was carried. Meteorite has landed and dropped, split three ways. This is our tronomy using cultures in memory of the Kulu. And life began (Ha- the world. macher, D. 2011) For many thousands of years, the night CONSTELLATIONS sky has intrigued people from all over the Cultures around the world have used sto- world. Different societies around the world ries about constellations - pictures in the created their own interpretations, stories stars - to help interpret and make use of and meanings for the things they observed what we can see in the night sky. Some Ab- in the night sky. original constellations are constructed by looking for the spaces between stars, rather Aboriginal culture is massively diverse than the stars themselves. with over 400 different language groups in different regions of Australia. Different cul- ORION tural groups have formed their own expla- The well-known constellation of Orion the nations of the sky and these have different hunter was also observed by Aboriginal meanings and importance. While not every people. The Yolngu people of the Northern story is the same across the country, some Territory called the same constellation stories are common to many different Abo- Djulpan. In Djulpan, the three stars we riginal groups. know as Orion’s Belt represent three broth- ers fishing in a canoe. The Djulpan brothers METEORS are chasing a group of sisters - represented Meteors have been seen as omens, tools, by the Pleiades constellation. This is sur- beginnings, endings, weapons and rewards. prisingly similar to the European story of Shooting stars were seen by some as ‘fiery the hunter Orion chasing the Seven Sisters. demon eyes’ and were omens for death and disease. The Warlpiri people from an area CALENDAR SKY in the Northern Territory also believed that The night sky was also important as a cal- the Tjukurrpa was brought to earth by wise endar for Aboriginal Australians. The move- men travelling as falling stars and bring- ment of constellations was connected to ing stories to the people. An Arrernte and AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINAL INTERPRETATIONS OF THE NIGHT SKY

the changing of the seasons and the avail- ability of food sources. The Boorong people Djulpan: Djulpan is the name given to the knew that mallee-fowl would build their constellation of Orion by the Yolngu people. nests at the same time when the star Lyra The constellation depicts the three stars in appeared in the sky. For the Yolngu peo- Orion’s belt as three brothers fishing in a ple, the rising of the Scorpius constellation canoe who were banished into the heavens heralded the arrival of Macassan fishermen for eating king-fish which was against the from Indonesia and the Pitjantjatjara peo- law in the king-fish clan. ple knew that winter began when Pleiades rose in the dawn sky. Luritja: The Luritja lands border the lands of the Arrente people to the West and are Some of the information in this fact sheet South of Alice Springs. has been collected by Ray Norris and Du- ane Hamacher. Macassan: The Macassan are Indonesian fishermen who regularly landed on the Thanks to Simon Forrest, Elder in Residence northern coast of Australia to trade with at Curtin University for his contributions. local Aboriginal people.

Pitjantjatjara: The Pitjantjatnara are the GLOSSARY aboriginal people of the Central Australian Arrernte: The Arrernte are the traditional desert. The rock formations of Uluru and owners of the Arrernte lands in Central Kata Tjuta are some of their sacred sites. Australia which includes the town of Alice Springs. Tjukurrpa: Tjukurrpa is the central Australian Aboriginal word for the Boorong: The Boorong people are an understandings, laws and explanations of Aboriginal Australian group whose the spiritual and natural world. traditional lands are near Lake Tyrell in North-West Victoria. Warlpiri people: The Warlpiri people are traditional owners of lands north of the Constellation: A constellation is a defined Luritja country in the Northern Territory. region of the celestial sphere (night sky) that can be interpreted to form a shape Yolngu people: The Yolgnu people are the when viewed from the Earth. They are often traditional owners of lands in the northeast constructed like a dot-to-dot picture in the of the Arnhem shelf in the Northern stars. Stars within constellations are not Territory. Their proximity to the Northern actually related, as they are at varying coastline meant that these people were distances from the Earth, but are useful for able to trade locally found sea cucumber identifying regions of the night sky. with Indonesian fishermen.