Sky Stories: Stellarium’s Collections of Celestial Lore
Stellarium is planetarium software that can be used to explore the night sky. It is a free program for personal computers available at www.stellarium.org. It is available for multiple platforms: Linux, MacOS, and Windows. Stellarium is a sophisticated program than can be mastered by users with basic computer skills. For Cultural Astronomy and Storytelling Stellarium is a valuable resource. In addition to showing the night sky from any coordinates on the surface of the Earth at any time, Stellarium includes constellation names and figures from ten different cultures! Here we have pulled together information and links to internet sites that include stories from these ten cultures that will enhance your sky exploration.
To see the sky from different cultural points of view: 1) start the Stellarium program. 2) In the lower left is the control bar consisting of a line of squares with images inside. Choose the wrench which is for the configuration window. The configuration window should pop up. 3) There are six tabs across the top of the configuration window. Click on the language tab. 4) In the language section it is possible to change the language to one of thirty different languages. The Sky Culture area is where one of ten different cultural sky maps can be loaded. Click on the culture of your choice and close the window. 5) If you do not immediately see the names and constellations, look again at the control bar at the lower left. Click the Names of Constellations button which has connected dots with text in the square.
Chinese:
In ancient times, there was a dutiful daughter (the star Vega in Lyra) who wove beautiful fabrics for her father. One day she saw an oxherdman (the star Altair in Aquila) pass near her home and fell in love. The oxherdman, too, fell in love and got her father’s permission to marry. In the days leading up to the wedding, the lovers spent all their time together neglecting their duties. The woman’s father got angry and put the celestial river (the Milky Way) between them to separate them forever. The lovers went back to their duties but begged to be rejoined. The father relented but only on one day a year would a bridge appear allowing them to cross the river.
Links to more Chinese Star Lore:
- Milky Way Mythology
- Digitalis Curricula
- StarTeach Astronomy Education: Ancient Chinese Astronomy
- English-Chinese Glossary of Chinese Star Regions, Asterisms and Star Names
- Chinese Constellation
- Archeo-Astronomy Group Project
- Ian Ridpath’s StarTales: Chapter Two, Star Maps
- Chinese Astronomy
Egyptian:
Osiris is the son of Geb – the Earth god and Nut – the sky goddess. He ruled Egypt, introduced the cultivation of grains, and made Egypt strong and civilized. His brother, Set, was jealous and tricked him into getting into a beautiful chest which in turn ended up being Osiris’ coffin. He sealed the coffin and Osiris died. Set put the coffin in the Nile River and it floated out to sea. Their sister Isis, who was also Osiris’ wife, searched for his coffin. She found it, took it back to Egypt, and hid it from Set. Through magic she was able to conceive a child with Osiris’ body. Unfortunately, Set found Osiris’ body, chopped it up, and spread it throughout Egypt. Again, Isis searched for Osiris. She found all the pieces of his body except one part that was lost in the Nile River. Through magic she was able to revive Osiris and he is now among the stars as the constellation we know as Orion. Orion rises first and then Isis follows him as the star Sirius. The Nile is the life blood of Egypt and the annual flooding of the Nile nourishes the land making agriculture possible. Every year Osiris/Orion disappears for 70 days while Isis/Sirius looks for his body. Then Osiris/Orion reappears followed by Isis/Sirius. When Isis/Sirius reappears in the night sky the Nile floods begin. Isis is said to coax life from the Nile where the last part of Osiris remains. Also, in Egypt the New Year began when Isis/Sirius reappeared.
Links to more Egyptian Star Lore:
- Cultural Astronomy
- Egyptology Online
- StarDate: Ancient Horizons
- StarTeach Astronomy Education: Ancient Egyptian Astronomy
- PDF: Ancient Egyptian Astronomy
Inuit:
A bear was peacefully foraging for food in the far North, when he heard a group of dogs coming in the distance. The bear ran to hide, but the dogs found him. They began to chase and chase the bear. Suddenly, they all went up into the sky. The brightest star of the Pleiades (Alcyone) is the bear. The other stars of the Pleiades are the dogs chasing the bear.
Links to more Inuits:
- The Arctic
- Inuit Astronomy
- On Thin Ice: Polar Bears in Climate Change
- See also the book: The Arctic Sky: Inuit Astronomy, Star Lore, and Legend
(The above website—OnThinIce–contains myths from this book.)
Korean:
A brother and sister were walking home at night through the woods when a tiger appeared and began to chase them. They ran as fast as they could and found a big tree. Up they climbed until they reached the top. They rested at the top catching their breath but after a while noticed that the tiger had discovered how to climb up after them. With nowhere left to go the children prayed for help. A rope came down from the sky and they climbed up into the sky. The brother became the moon, and his sister who was afraid of the dark became the sun.
The full story can be found at:
Links to more Korean focused Star Lore:
- Stellarium List of Constellations in other Cultures
- A Brief History of Korean Astronomy
- World Beat: Astronomy in Bloom
- Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute: Ancient Observatories
Lakota:
Wohpe was a star fallen to Earth. She was adopted into the family of winds with four grown sons. Through a series of adventures the four sons establish the four directions, and become the four winds. Wohpe fell in love with the youngest son, Okaga – the south wind. Okaga was warm, gentle, and brave. His brothers became the cold north wind, the rainy wind, and the lazy wind. She often travels with Okaga as he blows around the world every year.
Links to more Lakota Star Lore:
- Lakota Winter Solstice Stars
- Lakota Ethnoastronomy
- Lakota Star Theology
- See also the book: Lakota Star Knowledge: Studies in Lakota Stellar Theology by Ronald Goodman
Navajo:
“Awaits the Dawn” was the last star that Black God placed before stopping to rest. Instead of being a small group of stars, this star figure is actually a scattering of countless small stars in a path across the sky. The name originates from the way that Awaits the Dawn rises before dawn along the eastern horizon in January. Because this star figure resembles a bright ribbon of stars across the sky, it appears as a false dawn.
Links to more Navajo Star Lore:
- Project Astro Utah: Dilyehe
- Project Astro Utah: Tracking Rabbits in the Sky
- Project Astro Utah: Laws for Living Written Among the Stars: A Navajo Tradition
- Mask of the Black God: The Pleiades in Navajo Cosmology
- Mythology of North American Indians
- Active Astronomy
- Navajo Constellations
- See also the book: Star Trails Navajo: A Different Way to Look at the Night Sky. by Don Childrey
Norse:
Thiassi was one of the Hrim-Thursar, Frost Giants. He wanted the apples of immortality that were guarded by the woman Idun. The Gods Honir, Loki, and Odin were cooking an Ox and Thiassi, in the form of an eagle, managed to gobble up most of their meal. Loki in anger stabbed Thiassi with a spear. Thiassi seized the opportunity to fly up into the air with Loki still hanging on by his spear. He made Loki promise to bring him Idun and the apples of immortality. Loki kept his promise, but knew he needed to get them back. He transformed himself into an eagle and Thiassi gave chase. The other Gods built a huge fire and burned off Thiassi’s the feathers. Thiassi crashed to the ground where Thor killed him. Thor took the Thiassi’s eyes from his body and threw them up into the sky where they shine today as two stars.
Links to more Norse focused Star Lore:
- Viking Age Star and Constellation Names
- Norse Constellations
- Windows to the Universe: Tyr (Norse God)
- Myth, Mysteries and Wonders
- Some Norse Constellations
- See also the several books titled “Norse Myths” and “Norse Mythology.”
Polynesian:
The greatest God of them all was Maui. In his boredom, he gathered up his friends and took them on a fishing trip. He took his giant fishhook and cast it in the water. It was a magical fishhook. He pulled and pulled up the fishhook. The water boiled and steam rose up – his friends got scared. He called them cowards and told them to wait and see. He continued to pull until he pulled up a mountain! He then cast the fishhook back into the water and proceeded to pull up more mountains. He moved around the ocean pulling up mountains which became all of the islands of the Pacific. He then stomped and shaped the islands. His magical fishhook is called Ka Makau Nui o Maui in Hawaii, and Te Matau a Maui in New Zealand.
Links to More Polynesian Star Lore:
Compiled by Karrie Berglund, Digitalis Education Solutions, Inc. and J.C. Holbrook.
