Star Lore Art Stars over Tyrell Creative Cowboy Team, 2002

Creative Cowboy is an Australian documentary team that has won a number of prestigous awards but is still too modest to claim any personal credit, at least not on their blog. In a documentary about the astronomy of the Boorong People of north-Western Victoria, Australia, they developed their own, quite impressive sketches of the constellations of the Boorong sky. Here are parts of the introduction to the documentary: The name "Tyrrell" is the Boorong word for sky. On an occasion when there is water in the lake, on a cloudless night when the water is still, every star in the sky can be seen reflected. Out in the lake it is easy to form the impression that one is in space, with the stars all around, above and below. Direl had both meanings, sky and space. One hundred and fifty five years ago, a Boorong family at Lake Tyrrell told William Stanbridge something of their stories relating to the night sky. Some forty stars, constellations and other celestial phenomena were named and located. William Stanbridge wrote them down and related this information in an address to the Philosophical Institute in Melbourne in 1857. In his paper he wrote down the Aboriginal term and its European equivalent. What I have done is to look for these creatures and people in the night sky, attempt to satisfactorily identify them and to draw them in the way the Boorong people may have seen them.

Tourtchin Boionggerra The Needlewood Coma Berenices

The team dedicated its work to William Stanbridge, who wrote On the Astronomy and Mythology of the Aborigines of Victoria in 1857 and to John Morieson, who published The Night Sky of the Boorong in 1966. The complete documentary can be found here. You can find short description to each picture , written by Creative Cowboy here and our own collection of Boorong star lore. here. The Museum of Victoria uses inverse versions of some of the illustrations, credited to Janet Mathews, in its Stories in the Stars. Click on the pictures for larger images.

Bunya, the Opossum Crux

Djuit, the Red-rumped Parrot Antares

Kourt-Chin, the male and female Brolga Magellanic Clouds

Kulkunbulla (young men dancing) Orion's Belt

Larnankurrk (women beating drums) Pleiades

Marpeankurrk, the White Ant Arcturus

Karik Karik, The Australian Kestrel Shaula (λ Sco) and Lesath (υ Sco)

Neilloan, the Mallee Fowl Vega

Otchocut, the Murray Cod Delphinus

Purra, the Red Kangaroo Capella

Tchingal, the Giant Emu Coalsack Nebula

Bunya and the dead Tchingal Crux and Coalsack Nebula

Totyarguil, the Purple-crowned Lorikeet Altair

Unurgunite, the Jacky Lizard Sigma Canis Majoris

Wanjel, the Long-necked Tortoise Pollux

War, the male Crow Canopus

Collowgulloric War, the female Crow Eta Carinae

Collowgulloric Warepil, the female Wedge-tailed Eagle Rigel

Weetkurrk, the Bush Lark Zeta Boötis

Yerredetkurrk, the Owlet Nightjar Alpha Eridani

Yurree, the Fantail Cuckoo Castor

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