Star Maps and Travelling to Ceremonies -- the Euahlayi People and Their Use of the Night Sky (original) (raw)

The Astronomy of the Kamilaroi and Euahlayi Peoples and their Neighbours (thesis)

MPhil Thesis, Macquarie University (accepted Mar 15), 2014

The Kamilaroi and Euahlayi peoples and their neighbours, the Ngemba and Murrawarri, are a large Australian Aboriginal cultural grouping located in the north central and northwest of New South Wales. They have a rich history in the literature on culture and language, but have been neglected when the cultural astronomy of Australian Indigenous groups has been reported. This study examined the literature for detailed knowledge of the sky, and collected stories from Aboriginal people of these language groups who practice their culture. Combined, this knowledge was used to create a database to add to the larger body of knowledge on cultural astronomy in Australia. Specific detailed knowledge on the Emu in the Sky, and the use of star maps to teach travel to ceremony, was analysed and reported, along with the larger collection of knowledge, in journal articles that form the basis of this thesis by publication. The hypotheses that this cultural grouping has a rich cultural astronomy, and some of this knowledge was ethnoscientific in nature, were answered in the affirmative through an analysis of the collected data and stories. The results of this study point to a number of new areas of potential research in Aboriginal cultural astronomy.

On the Astronomical Knowledge and Traditions of Aboriginal Australians

Doctor of Philosophy Thesis, Department of Indigenous Studies, Macquarie University, 2012

Historian of science David Pingree defines science in a broad context as the process of systematically explaining perceived or imaginary phenomena. Although Westerners tend to think of science being restricted to Western culture, I argue in this thesis that astronomical scientific knowledge is found in Aboriginal traditions. Although research into the astronomical traditions of Aboriginal Australians stretches back for more than 150 years, it is relatively scant in the literature. We do know that the sun, moon, and night sky have been an important and inseparable component of the landscape to hundreds of Australian Aboriginal groups for thousands (perhaps tens-of-thousands) of years. The literature reveals that astronomical knowledge was used for time keeping, denoting seasonal change and the availability of food sources, navigation, and tidal prediction. It was also important for rituals and ceremonies, birth totems, marriage systems, cultural mnemonics, and folklore. Despite this, the field remains relatively unresearched considering the diversity of Aboriginal cultures and the length of time people have inhabited Australia (well over 40,000 years). Additionally, very little research investigating the nature and role of transient celestial phenomena has been conducted, leaving our understanding of Indigenous astronomical knowledge grossly incomplete. This thesis is an attempt to overcome this deficiency, with a specific focus on transient celestial phenomena. My research, situated in the field of cultural astronomy, draws from the sub-disciplines of archaeoastronomy, ethnoastronomy, historical astronomy, and geomythology. This approach incorporates the methodologies and theories of disciplines in the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities. This thesis, by publication, makes use of archaeological, ethnographic, and historical records, astronomical software packages, and geographic programs to better understand the ages of astronomical traditions and the role and nature of eclipses, comets, meteors, impact events, and certain variable stars. I also test the hypothesis that certain types of stone arrangements have preferred orientations that probably relate to astronomical phenomena. This research shows that Aboriginal astronomical traditions explain the motions of celestial bodies and the relationship between events in the sky and events on Earth. I explore how Aboriginal people perceived and made use of particular astronomical phenomena, such as meteors and comets, and show that Aboriginal people made careful observations of the motions of celestial bodies. I provide evidence that Aboriginal people noticed the change in brightness of particular stars, described the kinematics of eclipses, explained how lunar phases are related to ocean tides, and acknowledged the relationship between meteors, meteorites, impact events, and impact craters. I then show that linear stone arrangements in New South Wales have a preferred orientation to the cardinal points and explore astronomical reasons for this. In the Appendix, I include biographical details of William Edward Stanbridge, one of the first people to write in depth about Aboriginal astronomical traditions, which were compiled from historic records.

The Astronomy of the Kamilaroi and Euahlayi Peoples and Their Neighbours

Australian Aboriginal Studies 2014/2, 2014

The Kamilaroi people and their neighbours, the Euahlayi, Ngemba and Murrawarri, are an Aboriginal cultural grouping located in north-west and north central New South Wales. They have a rich history, but have been missed in much of the literature concerning sky knowledge in culture. This study collected stories, some not previously reported in an academic format, from Aboriginal people practising their culture, augmented with stories from the literature, and analysed the data to create a database of sky knowledge that will be added to the larger body of Aboriginal cultural knowledge in Australia. We found that there is a strong sky culture reflected in the stories, and we explored the stories for evidence of an ethnoscientific approach to knowledge of the sky.

The Astronomy of Aboriginal Australia

"The Role of Astronomy in Society and Culture", edited by D. Valls-Gabaud & A. Boksenberg. Cambridge University Press, pp. 39-47, 2009

The traditional cultures of Aboriginal Australians include a significant astronomical component, which is usually reported in terms of songs or stories associated with stars and constellations. Here we argue that the astronomical components extend further, and include a search for meaning in the sky, beyond simply mirroring the earth-bound understanding. In particular, we have found that traditional Aboriginal cultures include a deep understanding of the motion of objects in the sky, and that this knowledge was used for practical purposes such as constructing calendars. We also present evidence that traditional Aboriginal Australians made careful records and measurements of cyclical phenomena, and paid careful attention to unexpected phenomena such as eclipses and meteorite impacts

Searching for the astronomy of aboriginal Australians

2007

Abstract. It is widely accepted that the traditional culture of Aboriginal Australians has a significant astronomical component, but it is unclear whether this component extended beyond ceremonial songs and stories. Here I summarise a growing body of evidence that there was a deep understanding of the motion of objects in the sky, that this knowledge was used for practical purposes such as constructing calendars, and there may even be evidence for careful records and measurements. Key words: Australia Aboriginal

"Bridging the Gap" through Australian Cultural Astronomy

"Archaeoastronomy & Ethnoastronomy - Building Bridges Between Cultures", edited by C.L.N. Ruggles. Cambridge University Press, pp. 282-290, 2011

For more than 50,000 years, Indigenous Australians have incorporated celestial events into their oral traditions and used the motions of celestial bodies for navigation, time-keeping, food economics, and social structure. In this paper, we explore the ways in which Aboriginal people made careful observations of the sky, measurements of celestial bodies, and incorporated astronomical events into complex oral traditions by searching for written records of time-keeping using celestial bodies, the use of rising and setting stars as indicators of special events, recorded observations of variable stars, the solar cycle, and lunar phases (including ocean tides and eclipses) in oral tradition, as well as astronomical measurements of the equinox, solstice, and cardinal points.

The astronomy of the Kamilaroi people and their neighbours

The Kamilaroi people and their neighbours, the Euahlayi, Ngemba, and Murrawarri, are an Aboriginal cultural grouping located in the northwest and north central of New South Wales. They have a rich history, but have been missed in much of the literature concerned with sky knowledge in culture. This study collected stories, some of which have not previously been reported in an academic format, from Aboriginal people practicing their culture, augmented with stories from the literature, and analysed the data to create a database of sky knowledge that will be added to the larger body of Aboriginal cultural knowledge in Australia. We found that there is a strong sky culture reflected in the stories, and we also explored the stories for evidence of an ethnoscientific approach to knowledge of the sky.

Stars that vary in brightness shine in the oral traditions of Aboriginal Australians

The Conversation (Australia), 9 November, 2017

Aboriginal Australians have been observing the stars for more than 65,000 years, and many of their oral traditions have been recorded since colonisation. These traditions tell of all kinds of celestial events, such as the annual rising of stars, passing comets, eclipses of the Sun and Moon, auroral displays, and even meteorite impacts. But new research, recently published in The Australian Journal of Anthropology, reveals that Aboriginal oral traditions describe the variable nature of three red-giant stars: Betelgeuse, Aldebaran and Antares. This challenges the history of astronomy and tells us that Aboriginal Australians were even more careful observers of the night sky than they have been given credit for.

The Astronomy of the Aboriginal Peoples of the Sydney Basin

Essays on Astronomical History and Heritage: A Tribute to Wayne Orchiston on his 80th Birthday, edited by Steven Gullberg and Peter Robertson. Springer Press, New York., 2023

We present results of a preliminary study of the astronomical knowledge and traditions of the seven major Aboriginal language groups in the Sydney Basin. We establish a basic dataset of oral traditions (stories), vocabulary, and examples of cultural heritage relating to astronomical traditions laying the foundation for further study. Using a combination of primarily ethno-historical documents and material culture, with preliminary ethnographic work with two consultants, we explore the relationship between Aboriginal astronomical knowledge and cultural traditions, cosmology, natural resources, calendar development, law, ceremony, and material traditions. We conduct a thematic analysis of the collected information and place this within a larger framework of comparative analysis with other Aboriginal communities in southeastern Australia in general. Warning to Aboriginal Readers: This paper contains the names of Aboriginal people who have passed away and references to cultural subjects that may not be appropriate for the reader.

Loading...

Loading Preview

Sorry, preview is currently unavailable. You can download the paper by clicking the button above.

Indigenous Astronomy at the University of Melbourne

Dhoombak Goobgoowana: A History of Indigenous Australia and the University of Melbourne, Volume 1: Truth, edited by Ross L. Jones, James Waghorne, and Marcia Langton. Melbourne University Publishing, 2024