Astronomical Myths: Based on Flammarions's "History of the Heavens"

by J. F. Blake; Camille Flammarion

The Society Islanders, who, as we have seen, divided their year by the appearance of the Pleiades at sunset, commenced their year on the first day of the appearance, about November, and also celebrated the closing of one and the opening of a new year by a "usage resembling much the popish custom of mass for souls in purgatory," each man returning to his home to offer special prayers for the spirits of departed relatives.

In the Tonga Islands, which belong to the Fiji group, the festival of Inachi, a vernal first-fruits' celebration, and also a commemoration of the dead takes place towards the end of October, and commences at sunset.

In Peru the new-year's festival occurs in the beginning of November, and is "called Ayamarca from aya, a corpse, and marca, carrying in arms, because they celebrated the solemn festival of the dead, with tears, lugubrious songs, and plaintive music; and it was customary to visit the tombs of relations, and to leave in them food and drink." The fact that this took place at the time of the discovery of Peru on the very same day as a similar ceremony takes place in Europe, was only an accidental coincidence, which is all the more remarkable because the two appear, as will be seen in the sequel, to have had the same origin, and therefore at first the same date, and to have altered from it by exactly the same amount. These instances from races south of the equator prove clearly that there exists a very general connection with new-year's day, as determined by the rising of the Pleiades at sunset, and a festival of the dead; and in some instances with an offering of first-fruits. What the origin of this connection may be is a more difficult matter. At first sight one might conjecture that with the year that was passed it was natural to connect the men that had passed away; and this may indeed be the true interpretation: but there are traditions and observances which may be thought by some to point to some ancient wide-spread catastrophe which happened at this particular season, which they yearly commemorated, and reckoned a new year from each commemoration. Such traditions and observances we shall notice as we trace the spread of this new-year's festival of the dead among various nations, and its connection, with the Pleiades.

We have seen that in India November is called the month of the Pleiades. Now on the 17th day of that month is celebrated the Hindoo Durga, a festival of the dead, and said by Greswell to have been a new-year's commemoration at the earliest time to which Indian calendars can be carried back.

Among the ancient Egyptians the same day was very noticeable, and they took care to regulate their solar calendars that it might remain unchanged. Numerous altered calendars have been discovered, but they are all regulated by this one day. This was determined by the culmination of the Pleiades at midnight. On this day commenced the solemn festival of the Isia, which, like the corroborees of the Australians, lasted three days, and was celebrated in honour of the dead, and of Osiris, the lord of tombs. Now the month Athyr was undoubtedly connected with the Pleiades, being that "in which the Pleiades are most distinct"—that is, in which they rise near and before sunset. Among the Egyptians, however, more attention was paid to astronomy than amongst the savage races with which the year of the Pleiades would appear to have originated, and they studied very carefully the connection between the positions of the stars and the entrance of the sun into the northern hemisphere, and regulated their calendar accordingly; as we shall see shortly in speaking of the pyramid builders.

The Persians formerly called the month of November Mordâd, the angel of death, and the feast of the dead took place at the same time as in Peru, and was considered a new-year's festival. It commenced also in the evening.

In Ceylon a combined festival of agriculture and of the dead takes place at the beginning of November.

Among the better known of the ancient nations of the northern hemispheres, such as the Greeks and Romans, the anomaly of having the beginning of the year at the autumnal equinox seems to have induced them to make a change to that of spring, and with this change has followed the festival of the dead, although some traces of it were left in November.

The commemoration of the dead was connected among the Egyptians with a deluge, which was typified by the priest placing the image of Osiris in a sacred coffer or ark, and launching it out into the sea till it was borne out of sight. Now when we connect this fact, and the celebration taking place on the 17th day of Athyr, with the date on which the Mosaic account of the deluge of Noah states it to have commenced, "in the second month (of the Jewish year, which corresponds to November), the 17th day of the month," it must be acknowledged that this is no chance coincidence, and that the precise date here stated must have been regulated by the Pleiades, as was the Egyptian date. This coincidence is rendered even stronger by the similiarity of traditions among the two nations concerning the dove and the tree as connected with the deluge. We find, however, no festival of the dead among the Hebrews; their better form of faith having prevented it.

We have not as yet learnt anything of the importance of the Pleiades among the ancient Babylonian astronomers, but as through their tablets we have lately become acquainted with their version of the story of the deluge, we may be led in this way to further information about their astronomical appreciation of this constellation.