The Chukchee form out of the stars Altair and Tarared in Aquila a constellation named pchittin, which is believed to be a forefather of the tribe who, after death, ascended into heaven. Since this constellation begins to appear above the horizon at the time of the winter solstice, it is said to usher in the light of the new year, and most families belonging to the tribes living by the sea bring their sacrifices at its first appearing[559].
Among the N. American Indians the determination of time from constellations is rare. The Blackfeet Indians regulate their most important feasts by the Pleiades, a feast is held about the first and the last day of the occultation of these stars. It includes two sacred vigils and the solemn blessing and planting of the seed, and is the opening of the agricultural year[560]. According to another legend of the same tribe, the Pleiades are seven children who ascended into heaven because they had no yellow hides of the buffalo calves. Therefore the Pleiades are invisible during the time when the buffalo calves are yellow (the spring). But when these turn brown, in autumn, the lost children can be seen in the sky every night[561]. Among the Tusayan Indians of Arizona the culmination of the Pleiades is often used to determine the proper time for beginning a sacred nocturnal rite[562].
The S. American Indians have much greater knowledge of the stars, and in consequence frequently connect stellar phenomena, especially those of the Pleiades, with phases of Nature. In north-west Brazil the Indians determine the time of planting from the position of certain constellations, in particular the Pleiades. If these have disappeared below the horizon, the regular heavy rains will begin. The Siusi gave an accurate account of the progress of the constellations, by which they calculate the seasons, and in explanation drew three diagrams in the sand. No. 1 had 3 constellations:—‘a Second Crab’, which obviously consists of the three bright stars west of Leo, ‘the Crab’, composed of the principal stars of Leo, and ‘the Youths’, i. e. the Pleiades. When these set, continuous rain falls, the river begins to rise, beginning of the rainy season, planting of manioc. No. 2 had 2 constellations:—‘the Fishing-basket’, in Orion, and kakudzuta, the northern part of Eridanus, in which other tribes see a dancing-implement. When these set, much rain falls, the water in the river is at its highest. No. 3 was ‘the Great Serpent’, i. e. Scorpio. When this sets there is little or no rain, the water is at its lowest[563]. The natives of Brazil are acquainted with the course of the constellations, with their height and the period and time of their appearance in and disappearance from the sky, and according to them they divide up their seasons. In the valley of the Amazon it is said that during the first few days of the appearance of the Pleiades, while they are still low, birds, and especially fowls, roost on low branches or beams, and that the higher the constellation rises the higher the birds roost also. These stars bring cold and rain: when they disappear the snakes lose their poison. The canes used for arrows must be cut before their appearance, or else the arrows will be worm-eaten. The Pleiades disappear, and appear again in June. Their appearance coincides with the renewal of the vegetation and of animal life. Hence the legend says that everything that has appeared before the constellation will be renewed, i. e. its appearance marks the beginning of spring[564]. The Bakairi reckoned by natural phases, but were also well acquainted with astronomical signs, and spoke of certain constellations which reappeared at the beginning of the dry season: they referred to stars in the vicinity of Orion, ‘the Manioc-pole’[565]. The Tamanaco of the Orinoco called the Pleiades ‘the Mat’. They recognised the approach of winter from the signs of Nature[566], but also from the fact that the Pleiades at sunset were not too far distant from the western horizon: the evening setting falls at the beginning of May[567]. The Lengua Indians of Paraguay connect the beginning of spring with the rising of the Pleiades, and at this time celebrate feasts which are generally of a markedly immoral nature[568]. The Guarani of the same country recognised the time of sowing by the observation of the Pleiades[569]. The Guarayu call the Pleiades piangi; when they disappear the dry season begins, and when Orion is no longer visible a period of cold dew begins. The Chacobo of north-eastern Bolivia regulate the time of sowing by the position of the Pleiades in relation to the spot where the sun rises[570]. The Chané and Chiriguano do the same. When the Pleiades rise above the horizon very early in the morning, the time for sowing has come: it is important for this to be finished before the rainy season sets in[571]. Still further tribes, for which I refer to Frazer, relate myths about the Pleiades, worship them, and celebrate feasts at their appearance. So did the inhabitants of ancient Peru, who called the Pleiades ‘the Maize-heap’[572]. It might probably be thought that the observation of the Pleiades has spread from this ancient civilised people among the inhabitants of S. America, but it is of so primitive a character that it rather appears to have been one of the rudiments of the astronomical knowledge of the people of the Incas.
In Africa also the observation of the stars, and above all of the Pleiades, is wide-spread. In view of the dissemination of this knowledge all over the world it is making a quite unnecessary exception to state that it came into Africa from Egypt. Moreover this assertion does not correspond with the facts, since among the Egyptians Sirius, and not the Pleiades, occupied the chief place. The observation of the appearance of Canopus and Sirius we have already found highly developed among the Bushmen, that of the Pleiades among the Hottentots. The Bechuana of Central S. Africa are directed by the positions of certain stars in the heavens that the time has arrived in the revolving year when particular roots can be dug up for use, or when they may commence their labours of the field. This is their likhakologo (‘turnings’ or ‘revolvings’), at what we should call the spring-time of the year. The Pleiades they call selemela, which may be translated ‘cultivator’ or ‘the precursor of agriculture’ (from lemela, ‘to cultivate for’, and se, a pronominal prefix, distinguishing these stars as the actors). When the Pleiades assume a certain position in the heavens it is the signal to commence cultivating their fields and gardens[573]. The Caffres determine the time of sowing by observing the Pleiades[574]; the Bantu tribes of S. Africa regard their rising shortly after sunset as indicating the planting-season[575]. The Amazulu call the Pleiades isilimela, which has the same meaning as the Bechuana name, since they begin to dig up the soil when the Pleiades appear. The people say: ‘isilimela dies and is not seen’, and at last, when winter is coming to an end, it begins to appear, one of its stars first and then three, until, continuing to increase, it becomes a cluster of stars and is perfectly clearly seen when the sun is about to rise. Then they say: ‘isilimela is renewed’, ‘the year is renewed’, and they begin to dig[576]. Among the Thonga the Pleiades are the only constellation which bears a name—shirimelo; it rises in July and August, when tilling is resumed[577]. At the southern corner of Lake Nyassa the rising of the Pleiades early in the evening gives the sign to begin the hoeing of the ground[578]. The Kikuyu of British East Africa say that this constellation is the mark in the heavens to shew the people when to plant their crops: they plant when it is in a certain position early in the night. A dancing-song begins:—“When the Pleiades meet the moon, the people assemble etc.”[579] The Masai know whether it will rain or not according to the appearance or non-appearance of the Pleiades, and the last month of the period of the great rains, in which their evening setting falls, is named after them. When they are no longer visible the people know that the great rains are over, and they are not seen again until the following season—the season of showers—has come to an end. The Masai call the sword of Orion ‘the Old Men’, and his belt ‘the Widows’ who follow them[580].
To the Isubu in Kamerun the constellations, which they combine in certain groups, shew the course of the seasons; such constellations are e. g. tole a nyou, the tole of the elephants, in contradistinction to tole a moto, the tole of men; another is ‘the Orphans’. These are summer signs, they are all found in the eastern part of the sky[581]. In Sierra Leone the proper time for planting is shewn by the position in which the Pleiades are to be seen at sunset: the Bullom do not observe or name any other stars[582]. The Bakongo associate these stars with the rainy season: the rain comes from them, they are called ‘the Caretakers-who-guard-the-rain’[583]. When the constellation kole[584] reaches the meridian, the Bangala plant more than at any other time, because the rains, though not infrequent, are then fairly certain[585]. In Loango Sirius is called ‘the Rain-star’, since as long as he is visible the rains persist. Alongside of him Orion is regarded as a sign of the rainy season[586]. In French Guinea the people know that when the winter constellations appear above the horizon, indicating that the end of the rains has come, it is the time of harvest[587].
In the Indian Archipelago the observation of the Pleiades is the most general and frequent means of determining the time for tillage. Hence these stars are mythologically regarded as the originators of the rice-culture. The Dyaks of Sarawak say that Si Jura on a sea-voyage once found a fruit-tree with its roots in the sky and the branches hanging downwards. He climbed up into it, and since his comrades sailed away, he was obliged to climb on and on until he reached the roots and found himself in a strange land—the country of the Pleiades. There Si Kira received him kindly, and invited him to eat. “Those little maggots?” replied Si Jura. Si Kira answered:—“They are not maggots, but boiled rice”, and he explained to his guest how the rice was cultivated and reaped, and then let him down by a long rope near to his father’s house. Si Jura taught the Dyaks how to cultivate rice, and the Pleiades themselves tell them when to farm; according to the position of these stars in the heavens, morning and evening, they cut down the forest, burn, plant, and reap[588]. In another legend the Pleiades are six chickens which the hen follows, invisible; formerly there were seven, and at that time men did not know of rice, but lived on the products of the forest. One of the chickens had come down to earth, where men gave it to eat: it would not eat, however, but brought them a fruit with three husks, in which there were contained three kinds of rice, that would ripen in four, six, and eight months respectively. The hen was angry, and wished to destroy both men and the chicken: the former were saved by Orion, but only six chickens were left. During the time in which the Pleiades are invisible, the hen is brooding, but the cuckoo calls as long as they are visible[589]. The Sea-Dyaks determine the time of sowing by observing the Pleiades. Some tribes determine the approach of the time of rice-sowing from the observation of the stars. The Kayan of Borneo know the most important constellations, although they do not observe them and their motions with a practical end in view[590]. However one of the joint authors just quoted says in another place that although the Kayan more usually determine the time of sowing by the observation of the sun, yet both they and many other races in Borneo sow the rice when the Pleiades at daybreak appear just above the horizon[591]. When the time to clear fresh land in the forest draws near, a wise man is appointed to go out before dawn and watch for the Pleiades. As soon as they are seen to rise while it is still dark, the people know that the time has come to begin work, but not until they are at the zenith before dawn is it considered desirable to burn the fallen timber and sow rice. The Dyaks begin the rice-planting when the Pleiades reach the same position at about 3 or 4 o’clock in the morning as the sun reaches at 8 o’clock. Old and experienced men are on the watch to determine the spot exactly. Then a feast begins[592]. The natives of Nias, an island to the south of Sumatra, assemble to till their fields when the Pleiades appear, and regard it as useless to do so before that time[593]. In Sumatra also the time for sowing was determined in this way. The Batak of the middle of the island regulate their various agricultural operations by the position of Orion and the Pleiades. The Achenese of the north know that the sowing-time has come when the Pleiades rise before the sun, at the beginning of July[594]. In northern Celebes the rice-fields are prepared for cultivation when the Pleiades are seen at a certain height above the horizon[595]. The Kai of German New Guinea say that the time for labour in the fields has come when the Pleiades are visible above the horizon at night: the Bukaua of the same country also follow the Pleiades[596]. When the natives of the Torres Straits Islands see the Pleiades on the horizon after sunset, they say that the new yam-time has come[597]. The western tribes of these straits have names for many stars, which are largely grouped into constellations. The seasonal appearances of certain stars or constellations were noted, and their rising regulated particular dances, and also, as our authority thinks, the planting of yams and sweet potatoes[598].
Accurate information for these tribes is given by Rivers in the Reports of the Expedition to the Torres Straits. The most important constellations are ‘the Shark’ (= the Great Bear together with Arcturus) and corona borealis. Still larger is Tagai. This constellation represents a man, Tagai (= Centaurus, Lupus), standing in the prow of a canoe (Scorpio); in the stern sits Kareg (Antares). Tagai holds in his left hand (the Southern Cross) a fishing-spear, in his right (Corvus) some kupa-fruit. Below the canoe is a sucker-fish, consisting of a part of Scorpio. Naurwer are ‘the Brothers’—Vega the elder, and Altair the younger—who in their outstretched arms are holding sticks (β, γ lyrae, β, γ aquilae). In Mabuiag this constellation is called Dogai. Our Delphinus is called ‘the Trumpet-shell’, kek is probably Achernar. Others I omit. The most important star was kek, whose rising indicated not only the beginning of many ceremonies but also the planting-season. The risings and settings of the stars were observed, and certain rites and agricultural occupations regulated thereby. In Badu it was said that when only the tail of the Shark is above the horizon, the north-west wind begins to blow ‘a little bit’: when the tail has gone down altogether, the people begin to plant yams, and when the Shark comes up again, yams, sweet potatoes, and bananas are ripe. The stars also help to determine the seasons. A native of Mabuiag gave the following list of the stars relating to the season called aibaud:—kek comes up, he is the sign for everything to be done: ‘start meeting’, i. e. at the feasts the holding of which is dependent upon plentiful supplies of food; gil, usal (the Pleiades): at this time the ovaries of the turtles enlarge; pagas and dede (Betelgeuze); utimal; wapil. Towards the end of the season the Shark becomes visible, and then the pigeon migrates from New Guinea to Australia, as does the birubiru-bird when gitulai (the Crab) appears. It is expressly noted that when the people speak of the rising or setting of a constellation or star at a certain season, they have in mind the time of the year when the star or constellation in question first appears or disappears on the horizon at daybreak. Of Tagai a catasterism is related which at the same time has reference to the phenomena of the seasons at the appearance of the stars in question. On a fishing expedition the crew stole the water from him and Koang. They therefore killed them and said:—“Usal (the Pleiades), you go to New Guinea side, when you come up there will be plenty of rain. Utimal, you go to New Guinea side, you have to bring rain. Kwoior, when you come up over Mangrove Island just before the south-east monsoon sets in, there will be rain in the morning. Then the wind will shift and it will rain in the afternoon, and you, Kek, will come up in the south between Badu and Moa and it will be cold weather. When you go round this way and when you come up, then the yams and sweet potatoes will ripen. You all have work to do”[599]. A similar story is told of the Kiwai Papuans, who have for the most part the same star-names and call most of their months after stars: the Shark is also implicated in this story. When the fin sets, there is more wind and high-water; when the tail sets, more high-water; when the head rises, the copulating-season of the turtles commences. Another myth tells how Javagi got angry and threw Karongo up into heaven, where he and his three-pronged spear became the constellation Antares[600].
The Melanesians of Banks Island and the northern New Hebrides are also acquainted with the Pleiades as a sign of the approach of the yam-harvest[601]. The inhabitants of New Britain (Bismarck Archipelago) are guided in ascertaining the time of planting by the position of certain stars[602]. The Moanu of the Admiralty Islands use the stars as a guide both on land and at sea, and recognise the season of the monsoons by them. When the Pleiades (tjasa) appear at night-fall on the horizon, this is the signal for the north-west wind to begin. But when the Thornback (Scorpio) and the Shark (Altair) emerge as twilight begins, this shews that the south-east wind is at hand. When ‘the Fishers’ Canoe’ (Orion, three fishermen in a canoe) disappears from the horizon at evening, the south-east wind sets in strongly: so also when the constellation is visible at morning on the horizon. When it comes up at evening, the rainy season and the north-west wind are not far off. When ‘the Bird’ (canis major) is in such a position that one wing points to the north but the other is still invisible, the time has come in which the turtles lay eggs, and many natives then go to the Los-Reys group in order to collect them. The Crown is called ‘the Mosquito-star’, since the mosquitoes swarm into the houses when this constellation sets. The two largest stars of the Circle are called pitui an papai: when this constellation becomes visible in the early morning, the time is favourable for catching the fish papai[603]. The natives of the Bougainville Straits are acquainted with certain stars, especially the Pleiades; the rising of this constellation is a sign that the kai-nut is ripe: a ceremony takes place at this season[604]. On Treasury Island a grand festival is held towards the end of October, in order—so far as could be ascertained—to celebrate the approaching appearance of the Pleiades above the eastern horizon after sunset. In Ugi, where of all the stars the Pleiades alone have a name, the times for planting and taking up yams are determined by this constellation[605]. In Lambutjo the year is reckoned according to the position of the Pleiades. When they are in the east, it is said that ‘they are waiting’, when at the zenith, ‘they stand in the middle’, when in the west, they are ‘bowed down’. When they stand low, the turtles come up on land: the people say that they ‘go to play’, i. e. it is the pairing season. When the Pleiades are high overhead, the white men celebrate Christmas. When they ‘come up anew’, the people go to look for fish. At that time ‘the Fishes’ are in the water. ‘The Fishes’ (corona borealis) dip down when the Pleiades come up. When ‘the Fishes’ are in the sky, there are no fish in the water. In both Alu and Lambutjo one division of the year is reckoned by the return of the Pleiades, another by the almond-ripening. On the Gazelle Peninsula the time for good fishing is the time of the appearance of the Pleiades: at this time the fishing-nets are spread out. It is said that ‘the Thornback’ (Pisces) and ‘the People-at-the-feast’ (the Pleiades) must not see each other; the former constellation is called galial (‘fishes’), which at this time are not to be eaten[606]. On the island of Saa, one of the Solomon Islands, the Southern Cross is the net with four men letting it down to catch palolo, and the Pointers are two men cooking what is caught, since the palolo first comes when one of the Pointers appears above the horizon[607]. In the list of star-names given for the Carolines there are also references to the seasons. In Ponape le-poniong is seen at the time of the variable winds. In Lamotrek Corvus is called ‘the Viewer-of-the-taro-patches’, since he is visible during the taro season; the name of Arcturus is formed from ara, ‘to conclude’, and moi, ‘to come’, and the star is so called because his rising indicates the end of the north-east winds, which bring visiting parties to the island; the appearance of Capella means heavy gales and bad weather[608].
Among the astronomically learned Polynesians time-estimations according to stars play an important part: most of these however belong to the chapters on the months and the year. In Samoa it is at present an exception if an old fisherman can indicate and name this or that star which at its entrance into this or that constellation (sic!) announces the beginning of an abundant bonino-catch, the immediate return of the South Sea herring, the atuli, to its accustomed spawning-grounds, or some other similar event of importance in the life of the natives[609].
When the stars indicate this or that event, the primitive mind, as so often happens, is unable to distinguish between accompanying phenomena and causal connexion; it follows that the stars are regarded as authors of the events accompanying their appearance, when these take place without the interference of men. So in ancient Greece the expressions (a certain star) ‘indicates’ (σημαίνει) or ‘makes’ (ποιεῖ) certain weather were not kept apart, and the stars were regarded as causes of the atmospheric phenomena[610]. A similar process of reasoning is not seldom found among primitive peoples, and a few instances have already been given, such as the warming-incantation of the Bushmen against Canopus and Sirius, the name given to the Pleiades among the Bakongo (‘the Caretakers-who-guard-the-rain’), and the belief that the rain comes from them, the myth of the Euahlayi tribe that the Pleiades let ice fall down on to the earth in winter and cause thunderstorms, in other words send the rain, and the belief of the Marshall Islanders that the various positions of certain stars cause storms or good winds[611]. The same idea is very clearly seen in the account of the Hottentots given by a missionary of the 17th century[612]. At the return of the Pleiades the natives celebrate an anniversary: as soon as the stars appear above the eastern horizon the mothers lift their little ones in their arms, run up to some eminence, and shew to them these friendly stars, and teach them to stretch out their hands towards them. The people of the kraal assemble to dance and sing according to the old custom of their ancestors. The chorus is always: “O Tiqua, our father above our heads, give rain to us that the fruits (bulbs etc.), uientjes, may ripen and that we may have plenty of food: send us a good year!”