Australia Star Lore of the Australian Aboriginal

The Boorong The Boorong are one of twenty clans of the Wergaia language group in north-western Victoria. The were accomplished star-gazers with a sophisticated knowledge of astronomy. Living relatively close to both Sydney and Melbourne, they became the most intensively studied Australian Aboriginal nation when it comes to star lore and astronomy.

Boorong art presented by The Torch Project

The extensive material warranted the creation of an individual page for Boorong star lore. To keep a complete record of Aboriginal star lore on one site, we added a short note at the end of every constellation, linking to the respective Boorong story.

Aquila

The Boorong called Altair (α Aqu) Totyarguil, the Purple-crowned Lorikeet. Click here for the full story.

Ara and Pavo Wardaman The Wardaman people of the Northern Territory saw two flying foxes in the stars of Ara and the neighbouring constellation Pavo. Source: Wikipedia

Flying Foxes Source: Wikipedia

Aboriginal art Source: Wikipedia

Auriga and Cygnus

Garadjari For the Garadjari in Western Astralia, Capella (α Aurigae) and Deneb (α Cygni) are a Langgur and a Pardjidja, an opossum and a quoll (sometimes called a spotted native cat). The faint stars between Capella and Deneb are the opossum's tracks. Source: Dianne Johnson: Night Skies of Aboriginal Australia p. 161

Opossum Source: Wikipedia

Quoll Source: Wikipedia

The Boorong called Capella (α Aur) Purra, the Kangaroo. Click here for the full story.

Boötes

Torres Strait Islanders For the Torres Strait Islanders, Arcturus (α Boo) is the home of the Dogai. The Dogai are spiritual beings that invariably take the form of ugly women, often with hideous features.

Dogai and Arcturus; © Tommy Pau

It is said that the Dogai swing Beizam's tail causing wild winds and very high tides. Beizam's is represented by the Big Dipper. Naiger, a strong north east wind blows when Dogai is seen - from October to the end of December. During thess stormy days, octopus and sardines can be seen dead floating on the water and dry coconuts fall before maturing. Source: Tommy Pau

Yolngu The people on Millingimbi Island (part of the Yolngu language group) see a man and a women in Arcturus (α Boo) and Muphrid (η Boötis), the two bright southernmost stars of the constellation Boötes. Source: Dianne Johnson p. 165

The Boorong called Arcturus (α Boo) Marpeankurrk. Her daughter is Zeta Boötis, called Weetkurrk. Click here for the full story.

Canis Major

Dharumba The Dharumba (part of the Dhurga language group) in New Southwales tell a story about the stars of Canis Major: Wunbula, a Bat, had his two wives, Murrbumbool a Brown Snake and Moondtha, a Black Snake. When his wifes tried to burying him alive while he was hunting a wombat down its hole, he impaled them on spears and they all went to the sky, forming a constellation called Munowra. Sources: Wikipedia and Dianne Johnson p. 166

Bat and Moon Source: braveant.com.au

The Boorong called Sirius (α CMa) Warepil, the male wedge-tailed eagle. Click here for the full story.

Canis Minor

Wardaman The Wardaman people of the Northern Territory gave Procyon and Gomeisa the names Magum and Gurumana, describing them as humans who were transformed into gum trees (Eucalyptus) in the dreamtime. Although their skin had turned to bark, they were able to speak with a human voice by rustling their leaves. Source: Wikipedia

Gum Tree © Gale Sutton

Capricornus

The Boorong see the double star Algiedi Prima (α1 Cap) and Algiedi Secunda (α2 Cap) as the fingers of Collenbitchick. Click here for the full story.

Carina Wotjobaluk In the creation story of the Wotjobaluk people in what is now Victoria, Canopus (α Carinae) is Waa, the crow. One day, the hungry crow tried to eat the egg of Tchingal. Tchingal then chased Waa and the giant blows to the mountains where Waa tried to hide shaped the countryside of the land of the Wotjobaluk people. Source: Budja Budja Aboriginal Cooperative

Crow © Iluka Art & Design

The Boorong, also from in what is now Victoria, call Canopus (α Car) War, the crow and Eta Carinae Collowgullouric War, the wife of War. Click here for the full story.

Carina and Eridanus

Wati To the Wati in the Western Desert, Canopus (α Carinae), the second brightest star in the night sky and Achernar (α Eridani) are the fires of two sky heroes, which are represented by the Magellanic Clouds. The heroes judge the life and accomplishments of people when they are dying. Evil people are speared by the older spirit (the Large Magellanic Cloud) and then taken to Achernar, which is the fire of the younger spirit (the Small Magellanic Cloud), where they are being cooked and eaten. The spirits of good people are protected by the older spirit and are taken to his fire, which is Canopus. Sources: Wikipedia, Dianne Johnson p. 174

Fire Dreaming © Jorna Newberry

Warnindhilyagwa The Warnindhilyagwa live far away from the Wati at Groote Eylandt in the Northern Territory, but to them too, Achernar is the fire of spirits represented by the Magellanic Clouds. For the Warnindhilyagwa , the Clouds represent the Jukara, an old man and an old woman who cannot gather their own food. Source: Dianne Johnson p. 163

The Boorong called Achernar (α Eri) Yerredetkurrk, the owlet nightjar. Click here for the full story.

Carina and Vela

Torres Strait Islanders The stars Avior (ε Car), Aspidiske (ι Car), Alspehina (δ Vel) and Markeb (κ Vel) form an asterism known as the False Cross. The Torres Strait Islanders call this formation Maima. It rises just before the Carina Nebula, which is called Sia by the islanders. The Heliacal rising of Sia indicates that Tagai, the most sacret constellation (see Centaurus) is going to rise soon and that the ceremonial grounds have to be prepared for ceremony. Sia's rising is called Tagai maike (Tagai nearby). Sources: Tommy Pau, A.C. Hadden: Cambridge Anthropological Expedition to Torres Straits p. 132

Sia Ceremony; © Tommy Pau

Centaurus and Lupus

Torres Strait Islanders In the mythology of the Torres Strait Islanders, the creator is a great hero named Tagai. The islanders have a large constellation consisting mostly of stars from the western constellations Centaurus and Lupus. For a map of Torres Strait Islanders constellations, click the image to the right. For a detailed description with the native names of all the stars involved, see Folk-Lore Quarterly, Here is a story about Tagai, as told by the Torres Strait Islanders. For an illustrated version of the story, see Tommy Pau's Story of the Stars from Eastern Torres Strait. Tagai, a great fisherman, was out with his crew of 12, called the Zugubals on their canoe. They were having no luck catching any fish so Tagai left the group and went searching for fish in a nearby reef. Tagai had left the group for a long time and as the day grew hotter, the remaining crew of 12 became tired and frustrated. They consumed all their own water supplies and eventually drank all of Tagai’s water. When Tagai returned and saw his supplies consumed, he flew into a rage and killed all 12 of his crew. He sent six of the crew to Usal (the Pleiades star cluster) and the other six he sent to Utimal (Orion) and there he told them to wait, never to bother him again. Sources: deadlystory.com, Wikipedia, Tommy Pau, The Great Canoes in the Sky, Folk-Lore Quarterly, Vol. I, 1890, Astronomy and Music in the Torres Strait

Constellations of the Torres Strait Islanders (Click to enlarge) Source: Queensland Curiculum Tagai and Crew © Tommy Pau

Coma Berenices

The Boorong called the faint constellation Coma Berenices Tourtchin Boionggerra, the Stars of the Needlewood. Click here for the full story.

Corona Australis

Paakantyi The people living along the Darling River in New South Wales have a story about the constellation Corona Australis being the boomerang of their hero Wukkarno, who is represented by Altair (α Aquilae). The Boorong have a similar story about the boomerang of their hero Totyarguil. Source: Dianne Johnson p. 170

Boomerang Source: artyfactory.com

Old records left an uncertainty weather the constellation Corona Australis or Corona Borealis represents that boomerang. Both constellations have the shape of a boomerang, but since Corona Australis is always in the sky at the same time as Altair, it has been identified by Morieson as the constellation in question. Source: Morieson p.115

The Boorong too see a boomerang, thrown by the hero Totyarguil, in Corona Australis. Click here for the full story.

Crux, Centaurus, and the Coalsack Nebula The further south one travels, the brighter the Southern Cross shines. Thus, the constellation plays a prominent role in star lore in the southern hemisphere. Very often, the stars of the Cross are combined with the two bright stars of Eridanus and with the Coalsack Nebula.

Alpha and Beta Centauri pointing towards the Cross Source: earthsky.org Right: Coalsack Nebula and Southern Cross Source: Wikipedia

Alpha Centauri and Hadar (β Centauri) are among the brightest stars in the southern sky - Alpha Centauri is the third brightest star in the night sky. The two stars are called the Pointers, as a line connecting the two leads directly to the southern Cross.

The Coalsack Nebula is the most prominent dark nebula in the skies, visible to the naked eye near the Southern Cross, as a dark patch obscuring a brief section of the Milky Way.

Aranda The Aranda people of the central Australian part of the Northern Territories see the talon of an eagle in the Southern Cross with the Coalsack Nebula being its nest and the pointers being its throwing stick. Source: Australasian Science According to Haynes et al., the Aranda and their neighbors, the Luritja people formed a quadrangular constellation called Iritjinga out of γ Centauri, δ Centauri, γ Crucis and δ Crucis. Iritjinga means "Eagle-Hawk", another word for the Wedge tailed eagle. Source: Wikipedia

Eagle-Hawk in the Arms of the Nortnern Territory Source: Wikipedia

Kaurna The Kaurna from the Adelaide region see the footprint of the wedge-tailed eagle in the Southern Cross, which they call Wilto. Other nations further north, the Ngadjuri and Nukunu tell the same tale. Source: Australasian Science

Eagle Prints © Clifford Possum

Yankunytjatjara The Yankunytjatjara add a variation to the eagle talon story. To them, the Southern Cross is not the footprint of an eagle, but the print of an emu. Source: Australasian Science

Torres Strait Islanders for the Torres Strait Islanders, the Southern Cross is part of the Tagai constellation (see Centaurus). Most sources (like A.C. Hadden) call the constellation the left hand of Tagai. However, Wikipedia, without naming a source, writes, that the Islanders "... saw γ Centauri as the handle and the four stars as the trident of Tagai's Fishing Spear." Sources: Wikipedia, A.C. Hadden: Cambridge Anthropological Expedition to Torres Straits p. 132

Adnyamathanha The Adnyamathanha in South Australia often refer to the Southern Cross as Wildu Mandawi, the place where deceased spirits travel up into the heavens. Source: Australasian Science In Adnyamathanha folklore, the pointer stars are two creation heroes, escaping from a bush fire. Source: Dianne Johnson p. 167

Nyulnyul Aboriginal people at Australia's northwest coast tell a story about how the fire came to the people. They see the Southern Cross as the camp of two mothers who came to earth in search of food. The fire sticks they carried got out of control and the fire was captured by the people. The fires of the mothers are represented by the pointer stars. Source: Dianne Johnson p. 167

Rock painting from the Kimberley Region Source: Wikipedia

Galbu To the Galbu (part of the Yolngu language group in the Northern Territories), the stars of the Southern Cross form a stingray that is eternally pursued by a shark, represented by the Pointers. Source: Dianne Johnson p. 164

Stingray © Donald Blitner

Ngarrindjeri Half a continent away, the Ngarrindjeri people in South Australia have the same story of a stingray named Nunganari, pursued by two sharks. Source: Australasian Science

Oenpelli To the Oenpelli in the Northern Territory, the Coalsack Nebula represents a fruit tree. Garakma, a celestial family, feeds on the fruit and on waterlily bulbs from the Milky Way. Source: Dianne Johnson p. 163 In another Oenpelli myth, the stars of the Southern Cross represent the bright eyes of Nangurgal, a group of starmen (the large stars of the Cross) and their sons (the smaller stars of the Cross). They catch a snake (the Coal Sack) and eat it. Source: Dianne Johnson p. 164

Wardaman The Wardaman people of the Northern Territory called the constellation we know as Crux Ginan - a Bag of Songs. In 2018, the Working Group on Star Names of the International Astronomical Union approved the name Ginan for Epsilon Crucis, the "fifth star" of the Cross. Sources: Wikipedia, abc.net.au Australian writer W. E. Harney reports that to the Wardaman people, the Coalsack Nebula represents head and shoulders of a law-man watching the people to ensure they do not break traditional law. According to the website Indigenous Astronomy, this law-man, called Utdjungon will "...cast a fiery star to the Earth if laws and traditions are not followed. The falling star will cause the earth to shake and the trees to topple." Both Indigenous Astronomy and the blog Aboriginal Astronomy report that the believe of meteors being a form of punishment is wide spread in Aboriginal culture. Sources: Wikipedia Indigenous Astronomy

Milky Way star map © Bill Yidumduma Harney, senior Wardaman elder Wolfe Creek Meteorite Crater Source: theconversation.com

Warnindhilyagwa The Warnindhilyagwa see the Coalsack Nebula as a fish called Alakitja, which is is speared by two brothers. The blog Aboriginal Astronomy tells the story: Alakitja was a large rock cod, a fish who lived in the water of the River, the Milky Way. He swam to reach his favourite water hole. He swam carefully past the fishtraps placed there by the Sky People. He swam past the many water lilies with their white flowers shining so brightly that people could se them, and they called them stars. Finally he reached a water hole, where he rested under a rock way from the hot Sun.

Spear Fishing © GROOTE ISLAND

The Two Brothers were hungry. They had been busy making mountains and rivers on Earth and they now looked for food. They crept up to the water hole and saw the gigantic fish Alakitja. They drove their spears into Alakitja and pulled the fish from the water hole. They shared the fish and each brother made his own campfire. They can still be seen there today. The two campfires are the stars Delta Crucis and Gamma Crucis. The two brightest stars of the cross, Alpha and Beta Crucis, are the Two Brothers. The fish is the dark patch close by (the Coal Sack). The two pointers, Alpha and Beta Centauri are friends of the brothers who are waiting for their share of Alakitja the fish. Sources: Aboriginal Astronomy, Dianne Johnson p. 163

The Boorong in what is now Victoria see the Southern Cross as Bunya, the opossum, the pointer stars as Berm Berm-gle, two hero hunters and the Coalsack Nebula as the head of Tchingal, the giant Enu. Click here and here for the full stories.

Wotjobaluk The Wotjobaluk (also from what is now Victoria) have a similar story. In their version, the brothers are called the Bram-bram-bult brothers and β Crucis is their mother, called Druk. β Crucis is Bunya, the timid possum. δ, ε and α Crucis are the three spears that struck Tchingal in the chest, through his neck, and in the rump, repectively. Source: Budja Budja Aboriginal Cooperative The Wotjobaluk too see the Coalsack Nebula as the Giant Emu Tchingal, but in a different story also interpret the Nebula as the top of a giant pine tree that can be used to climb to the sky. Source: ABC TV Australia

Australian Pine; etsy.com

Delphinus Torres Strait Islanders The Torres Strait Islanders call Delphinus Mabesor, which means trumpet shell.

Trumpet Shell; Source: Wikipedia

The Boorong call Delphinus Otchocut, the great fish. Click here for the full story.

Gemini

Tasmania In eastern Tasmania, Castor (α Geminorum) and Pollux (β Geminorum) are seen as two ancestor men who created fire, walking on the road of the Milky Way. Source: theconversation.com

The Boorong called (Castor, α Gem) Yurree, the fan-tailed cockatoo and (Pollux, β Gem) Wanjel , the long-necked tortoise. Click here for the full story.

Hydra Warnindhilyagwa The "head" of the constellation Hydra is formed by the stars Sigma, Delta, Rho, Zeta and Eta Hydrae. The Warnindhilyagwa of Groote Eylandt in the Northern Territory call this asterism Unwala, which is an ancestral crab. Sources: Wikipedia, Dianne Johnson p. 162 Wikipedia links to the stars: Minchir (σ Hydrae), Minazal I (δ Hydrae), Minazal IV (ρ Hydrae), Hydrobius or Minazal V (ζ Hydrae), Minazal II (η Hydrae)

Crab © Narritjin Maymuru

Lupus

Yolngu The Yolngu people in the Northern Territories see a scorpion in the constellation otherwise known as Lupus. Source: Dianne Johnson p. 164

Lynx Warnindhilyagwa To the Warnindhilyagwa, the dimmer stars in the constellation Lynx are scorpions, old childless star-people who hunt and fish over the sky. The two brighter stars at the southern end of the constellation, α Lyncis and 38 Lyncis are the fire on which they cook their food. Source: Dianne Johnson p. 163

Scorpion © Lilly Pilly Inspirations

Lyra

The Boorong called Vega (α Lyrae) Neilloan, the Malleefowl. Click here for the full story.

Magellanic Clouds The Magellanic Clouds are two irregular dwarf galaxies brightly visible in the Southern Celestial Hemisphere. They are part of the myths of many Aboriginal people.

The Magellanic Clouds Source: Wikipedia

Garadjari In Garadjari mythology, the Magellanic Clouds are the spirits of two ancestral heroes, called Bagadjimbiri. The Bagadjimbiri were two brothers and creator gods who arose from the ground as dingos. Once, when they took human form, they had an argument with the cat-person Ngariman, who was annoyed by their laughter. Ngariman took the brothers underground and killed them, but their mother Dilga drowned Ngariman and revived her sons, turning them into snakes. Their spirits went to live in the sky as clouds. Sources: Wikipedia, Dianne Johnson p. 162

Brothers © Bill Yidumduma Harney

Warnindhilyagwa To the Warnindhilyagwa The Magellanic Clouds are the camps of the Jukara, an old man and an old woman who cannot gather their own food. Their fire is Achernar (α Eridani), which is the same as in the mythology of the Wati at the opposite side of the continent. Source: Dianne Johnson p. 163

Wati To the Wati in the Western Desert, the Magellanic Clouds are two sky heroes who judge the life and accomplishments of people when they are dying. Evil people are speared by the older spirit (the Large Magellanic Cloud) and then taken to Achernar (α Eridani), which is the fire of the younger spirit (the Small Magellanic Cloud), where they are being cooked and eaten. The spirits of good people are protected by the older spirit and are taken to his fire, which is Canopus (α Carinae). Sources: Wikipedia, Dianne Johnson p. 174

Spirits of Fires © David Dunn

Yolngu The Yolngu people in the Northern Territories see two sisters and their dogs in the Magellanic Cloud. The older sister (the Large Magellanic Cloud) is believed to leave during the dry season (April to September) as only the Small Magellanic Cloud is visible during that time. Source: Dianne Johnson p. 165

Dreamtime Sisters © Colleen Wallace Nungari

Milky Way The Milky Way is our home galaxy. What we see in the night sky is a hazy band of light formed from stars that cannot be individually distinguished by the naked eye. The Milky Way is much more prominent in the southern hemisphere, making it a key part of Aboriginal star lore. Similar to the Inca in South America, Australian Aboriginals saw distinctive patterns in dark patches caused by nebulae along the Milky Way.

Emu © Jessica Gullberg

Kangaroo © Jessica Gullberg

Uluru & Milky Way © Isaak Schiller

In A Comparison of Dark Constellations of the Milky Way, Steven R. Gullberg et al. provides a good description of the patterns seen by Aboriginal people: "Emu in the Sky” is perhaps the best-known Aboriginal constellation ... It comprises dark nebulae within the plane of the Milky Way. The Coalsack Nebula, near the Southern Cross, forms the head, and the body extends along the Milky Way, outlined by the galactic bulge through the constellations of Scorpius and Sagittarius. ... In traditions of the Kamilaroi and Euahlayi people of northern New South Wales, the position of the celestial emu at dusk throughout the year denotes the animal’s behavior patterns and seasonal change, and is linked with initiation ceremonies. Source: Steven R. Gullberg et al.

Emu Rock Art in Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park, Sydney Source: sydneyoutback.rezdy.com

Emu in the sky and on the rocks © Barnaby Norris

Dark nebulae in the Milky Way below the Emu in the Sky are said by certain cultures to represent a kangaroo. Beyond the kangaroo, a section of the Milky Way was thought by some to represent crocodiles. The Crocodiles first become visible in late summer. When the Emu and the Kangaroo have disappeared, the Crocodiles emerge instead. The belly of the Emu becomes the first Crocodile’s head. Certain Aborigines see the Crocodiles lying in the river of the Milky Way and use this to time ceremonial travel in September and October. Source: Steven R. Gullberg et al.

Western Kimberley The Aboriginal people of Western Kimberley in Western Australia call the dark patch in the Milky Way between Centaurus and Scorpio Galalang, an ancestral hero who lives in the dark patch. Alpha Centauri and Beta Centauri (Hadar) are two feathers from his headdress, one white from a parrot, the other dark from an owl. Source: Dianne Johnson p. 165

Dark patches near α and β Centauri © amazingsky.net

Moon

Wemba-Wemba The Wemba-Wemba people at Lake Boga in Victoria tell the legend of The Redcap Robin's Redbreast and the Mountains of the Moon: "A woman's husband is greedy and selfish and resents any food being given to her brother who lives with them. One day he came back to camp to find the boy eating so he grabbed the boy by the legs and swung him around until he became sick, then cruelly threw a lot of burning coals on his breast, upon which the boy turned into a Jallegourk gourek, or Red-capped Robin, with a beautiful red breast. This behaviour outraged the sister so much she threw the coals in the face of her husband and told him to go up into the skies. He became the Moon, the mountains of which are the dark smudge left by the hot ashes." Source: John Morieson B.A: The Night Sky of the Boorong

Red-capped Robin Source: Wikipedia

Orion

Aranda The Aranda see an emu in the stars of Orion. Source: Australasian Science

Kaurna The Kaurna see the stars of Orion as a group of men called the Tinniinyaranna hunting emus and kangaroos on the banks of a celestial river. Source: Australasian Science

Wardaman In the creation story of the Wardaman people of northern Australia, Wulajabi, the Black Headed Python and his sister Water Python make the rivers all over the world. Orion's star Saiph (κ Ori) is seen as the digging stick used by Wulajabi to carve the canyons. Source: Wikipedia

Yolngu Perhaps the most commonly know Australian Aboriginal star lore is the Yolngu story of the celestial canoe. The Yolngu people call the constellation Orion Julpan, the Canoe. Betelgeuse (α Orionis) and Rigel (β Orionis) are the bow and the stern of the canoe. The stars of Orion's Belt are three three brothers of the Nulkal (King-fish) clan. One time, the three brothers went fishing but all they could catch were king-fish, which, being from the King Fish Clan, they were not allowed to eat but had to throw back into the water. Eventually, one of the brothers became so hungry that he broke the law, and caught and ate a king-fish, represented by the Orion Nebula. Walu, The Sun-woman became so angry at him for breaking the law that she created a waterspout that lifted them right up into the sky, where they can still be seen today. Sources: Wikipedia and Dianne Johnson p. 166

Canoe in the Stars © Ray Norris

The people on Millingimbi Island (which are part of the Yolngu language group) extend the canoe story across several asterisms. In addition the the above described canoe with the three brothers, the long paddles are represented by the stars of the constellations Gemini and Eridanus. The wifes of the brothers are the Pleiades and the fish are represented by the Hyades. Sources: Oxford Academy and Dianne Johnson p. 164

The Boorong tell the story of the Kulkunbulla, a group of young men dancing a dance called corroboree. Rigel (β Ori) is called Collowgullouric Warepil, wife of Warepil. Click here for the full story.

Orion and Pleiades

Adnyamathanha The Adnyamathanha in South Australia show two asterisms in their national flag: The southern part of Orion is called Mirarrityi, meaning The Saucepan and the Pleiades are Artunyi or The Seven Sisters. Mirarrityi (Orion) represents Miru Muda, the Men’s story line, Artunyi represents Artu Muda, the Women’s story line.

Adnyamathanha flag Source: Flags of the World

They are both placed in the sky, called Ngiiarri, while the Sun is placed in the land, called Yarta. A long time ago the Artunyi were the wives of an old Akurra, a giant creation water serpent who created much of the lands and waters upon the land. Akurra was very jealous because the Artunyi were all very beautiful women. One day, while his wives were swimming in an Awi-urtu (water-hole) some men (Yura Miru) came along, saw them and immediately fell in love with them and wanted to take them for their wives. The old Akurra snuck up on the Yura Miru. He then came up from beneath the water hole, swallowed all seven of his wives and immediately spat them out of his mouth high up into the sky, so that his wives would forever be out of the reaches and clutches of the Yura Miru. The part of the sky where the Artunyi now reside is called Wali Vari, meaning home creek. The Adnyamathanha believe it is the spiritual home they return to when they die. Source: Aboriginal Astronomy

A number of groups in New South Wales too see Orion as a group of men called the Berai-Berai, pursuing a group of women (the Pleiades). Source: Australasian Science

Torres Strait Islanders In the story of creation hero Tagai and his crewmates (see "Centaurus and Lupus" above), Tagai kills twelve of his crewmates in rage. But since his crewmates were spiritual beings, they could not die, but became stars instead. Tagai hang six of them, on a seg. A seg is anything put in line on a string. He then sent them into the sky and they became Sěg, Orion's Belt and Sword. (The constellation Orion as a whole is called Utimal by the Torres Strait Islanders). The other six were skewered and became Usiam (the Pleiades). In an uncanny resemblance to the Greek myth about Orion and the Scorpion, Tagai and his friend Kareg were then placed far away from their former mates in a canoe outlined by the stars of Scorpius. Sources: deadlystory.com, Wikipedia, Tommy Pau, Hamacher et al.: Astronomy and Music in the Torres Strait

Six men hang on a seg (Orion) Six men skewered (Pleiades) © Tommy Pau

Pleiades

The Maya-Mayi One of the most popular Aboriginal dream time stories circulation on the internet it the myth of the Maya-Mayi. Unfortunately, everywhere we looked, the story is referenced only as "Australian" without information of which of the 400 Australian Aboriginal nations can be credited. Here is the story as we found it at Mother Goose Australia: The stars we now call the Pleiades were once seven beautiful sisters called the Maya-Mayi. Every man who ever saw them wished that he could marry one of them. One day the seven sisters were using their digging sticks to open up a nest of wood ants to eat the larvae. When they had done so they sat down to enjoy the feast, but they didn't realize they were being spied upon by a warrior, Warrumma. Lonely Wurrumma had set out to look for a wife. He came into the camp and the sisters invited Wurrumma to share their campfire and meal. Next morning, Wurrumma left, pretending to continue his journey, but his plan was to capture a couple of the sisters and take them as wives.

Book cover Source: goodreads.com

Warrumma crept close to the sisters. He quietly reached out his hand and took two of their digging sticks and then retreated to his hiding place. The five sisters who could find their sticks continued to gather food, but the two who couldn't find theirs stayed behind. Warrumma jumped up from his hiding place and seized both girls around their waists, holding them firmly. They screamed loudly but no one heard. They struggled but Warrumma was so strong. When they had finally stopped screaming and struggling, Warrumma explained that he was lonely and that he would take care of them and that he wanted to marry them. The two girls travelled with him, but always looked for a chance to escape. One day their chance came.... Wurrumma had stopped for lunch. ”Strip some bark from those two trees,” he ordered, “so I can build a fire.”

So each sister swung her stone axe into a tree. The axes stuck fast, and two trees began to grow. They quickly rose higher and higher with the sisters clinging to their axes until the trees had reached heaven. Then the other five sisters appeared in the sky and helped the two in the trees to climb up and join them amidst the clouds. Those seven sisters turned into stars in the night sky, which are called the Mayamayi by the Australian Aborigines. If you look closely at the constellation, you may see the two freed sisters, just arriving at their sister’s camp in the sky. And as for lonely Wurrumma, why, he’s STILL looking for a wife. © Mother Goose Australia

Seven Sisters Source: Marlene Doolan

Wurundjeri The Wurundjeri people in south central Victoria tell the story of the Karatgurk and Waa, the crow. The Karatgurk were seven sisters who lived by the Yarra River where Melbourne now stands. In the Dreamtime, the Karatgurk alone possessed the secret of fire. Each one carried a live coal on the end of her digging stick, allowing them to cook the yams which the dug out of the ground. The sisters refused to share their coals with anybody.

Seven Sisters Dreaming © Alma Granites

One day Crow found a cooked yam and, finding it tastier than the raw vegetables he had been eating, decided he would cook his food from then on. However, the Karatgurk women refused to share their fire with him and Crow resolved to trick them into giving it up. Crow caught and hid a number of snakes in an ant mound then called the women over, telling them that he had discovered ant larvae were far tastier than yams. The women began digging, angering the snakes, which attacked. Shrieking, the sisters struck the snakes with their digging sticks, hitting them with such force that the live coals flew off. Crow, who had been waiting for this, gathered the coals up and hid them in a kangaroo skin bag. The women soon discovered the theft and chased him, but the bird simply flew out of their reach, and this fire was brought to mankind. Afterwards, the Karatgurk sisters were swept into the sky. Their glowing fire sticks became the Pleiades star cluster. Sources: Wikipedia, Mythology Wikia

Yolngu The people on Millingimbi Island (part of the Yolngu language group) see the Pleiades as the wifes of three brothers, represented by Orion's Belt. The the brothers are part of the Yolngu myth of the Canoe in the Sky. Source: Dianne Johnson p. 165

In Boorong mythology, the Pleiades are a group of young women called Larnankurrk. Click here for the full story.

Sagittarius Torres Strait Islanders To the Torres Strait Islanders, Sagittarius was a hunter called Gep. Gep is a ray-finned sucker fish, that was used to catch small turtles by latching a rope to its tail and throwing it near a turtle for it to latch itself to the turtle's shell and be pulled by the hunters. Sources: Tommy Pau, Wikipedia

Suckerfish and turtle © Tommy Pau

Scorpius

Torres Strait Islanders Tagai is a large constellation made up of Lupus, Centaurus, Crux, Corvus, with part of Hydra and one of the stars of Ara. In the culture of the Torres Strait Islanders, Tagai is a creation hero. He is depicted as a fisherman standing in a canoe outlined by the stars of Scorpius. In one story (see "Centaurus and Lupus" above), Tagai kills twelve of his crewmates in rage. But since his crewmates were spiritual beings, they could not die, but became stars (Orion and the Pleiades) instead. The only one who was not killed in Tagai's rage was his "first mate" Kareg, who in some sources is called Tagai's brother while other sources call him his friend. After the onslaught, in an uncanny resemblance to the Greek myth about Orion and the Scorpion, Tagai and Kareg were placed far away from their former mates in a canoe outlined by the stars of Scorpius. Kareg is personified as Antares (α Scorpii), the bright red star sitting at the stern of the canoe. Kareg was an important part of the Islander's agricultural calendar. The star's heliacal rising marked the time at which a little red bug called Moramor was going to attack the Yam plants. Sources: deadlystory.com, Wikipedia, Tommy Pau, Hamacher et al.: Astronomy and Music in the Torres Strait, Folk-Lore Quarterly, Vol. I, 1890

Tagai constellation Source: Wikipedia Kareg and Tagai in their canoe © Glen Mackie

Wardaman The star ε Scorpii bore the traditional name Larawag in the culture of the Wardaman people of the Northern territory of Australia, meaning "clear sighting." On 19 November 19, 2017 the IAU Working Group on Star Names approved the name Larawag for ε Scorpii in the organization's star catalogue. Sources: Wikipedia

Warnindhilyagwa The Warnindhilyagwa have a special meaning for the two stars at the very tip of the Scorpion's "stinger." To them, Shaula (λ Scorpii) and Lesath (υ Scorpii) are the children of Duwardwara and Barnimbida. Duwardwara, the woman is represented by Jupiter, while the man, Barnimbida, is represented by Venus. Source: Dianne Johnson p. 162

Yolngu The people of Arnhem Land saw a crocodile called Ingalpir in the constellation we know as Scorpius. This part of the Northern Territory was the first place at which Australian Aboriginals had contact with their Asian neighbours. At least since the 18th century (and probably earlier) Muslim traders from Sulawesi visited Arnhem Land each year to trade, harvest, and process sea cucumbers. When Ingalpir appeared in the evening sky, the Aboriginal people know that the boats of the Malay traders would arrive from the north. Sources: Geocaching.com and Bryan E. Penprase, The Power of Stars p. 80

Crocodile Dreaming © Doongal Aboriginal Art

Wangaibon The Wangaibon in New South Wales tell a story about Antares (α Scorpii): Gwarmbilla, the eaglehawk had two wives, a mallee-hen and a whip-snake. Gulabirra, a lizard-man wanted the wives and they wanted him. So, one day, Gwarmbilla was out hunting, his wifes set a trap, filled with bone spikes and blood. The eaglehawk fell into the trap, but his mother pulled him out. Until this day, he is still covered red with blood. The mother took the two wives and put them either side of the eagle (Tau Scorpii and Sigma Scorpii, so they could never stray again. Source: Dianne Johnson p. 171

Eagle Hawk © Jack Britten

The Boorong have a similar story, in which Antares is Djuit, the Red-rumped parrot. Click here for the full story.

Taurus Bundjalung The people along the Clarence River in New South Wales call Aldebaran (α Tauri) Karambal, a man who fell in love with another man’s wife. He was pursued by the husband and took refuge in a tree. The pursuer set the tree on fire, the flames of which carried Karambal into the sky, where he still retains the color of the fire. Source: Dianne Johnson p. 169

Wandjina Fire Spirit © George Dean

The Boorong called Aldebaran (α Tau) Gellarlec, an old man, who chants and beats time to the dance of the Kulkunbulla. Click here for the full story.

Ursa Major Torres Strait Islanders The Torres Strait Islanders see a shark, called Beizam in the stars of the Big Dipper, which hangs "up side down" in the southern hemisphere. When these stars appear in the north over New Guinea, Islanders know the mating season of the shark is starting and that they should plant banana, sugar cane, and sweet potato. The tail of the shark is formed by Arcturus (α Boo) and Gemma (α CrB). Source: A Shark in the Stars, Tommy Pau

Beizam, © Brian Robinson Beizam, © Tommy Pau

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