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Interpretations of the Pleiades in Australian Aboriginal astronomies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 July 2011

Dianne Johnson
Dianne Johnson*
Affiliation:
Australian Centre for Independent Journalism, University of Technology in Sydney, PO Box 123, Broadway, NSW 2007, Australia email: dijohnson@pnc.com.au
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Abstract

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As there are so many Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait astronomies and cosmologies, commonalities are unusual. However one of the ‘things belonging to the sky’ that seems common to all groups across the continent is the open star cluster of the Pleiades. Yet interpretations of this cluster vary. So far I have tentatively identified four different cultural areas, the first being most of mainland Australia; the second being the islands south of mainland Australia known as Tasmania; the third being the cultural area of north-eastern Arnhem Land; and the fourth being the cultural area of the Torres Strait Islands. Within these areas, versions of the stories vary as contemporary circumstances change.

Keywords

PleiadesAustralian Aboriginal astronomiesArnhem LandGroote EylandtTorres Straitstar mythologies
Type
Contributed Papers
Information
Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union , Volume 7 , Symposium S278: “Oxford IX” International Symposium on Archaeoastronomy , January 2011 , pp. 291 - 297
Copyright
Copyright © International Astronomical Union 2011

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