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Aboriginal Astronomy

In 1788, when the British drove the Indigenous Australians out of their land, British

navigators possessed a high level of knowledge about Australias sky. However, the

Aborigines knew much more than the British about the Southern Sky

The Canoe in Orion

The constellation Orion is very well known in

Australians. However, Aborigines see the

constellation differently; they see it as a canoe.

This canoe constellation is called, The Canoe in

Orion. This constellation inspired the creation of

many myths, and it also acts as a calendar to

show Indigenous Australians a variety of changesin the natural world.

A myth from the Yolngu people of the Northern

Territory tells how three brothers of the King-fish

clan went fishing; however, all they were able to

catch were king-fish. One of the three brothers

broke the law of the King-fish clan stating that

you werent allowed to eat king-fish and ate one

of their catches in order to satisfy his hunger.

When the Sun-woman saw this, she created a waterspout which shot the brothers into

the sky, and to this day, you can still see them. What we know as the Belt of Orion

are the three brothers.

The Kuwema people of Katherine in the Northern Territory used the Canoe of Orion

as a calendar; they knew the when the constellation rose, dingoes will bore puppies

which help the people survive, and they knew the constellation rose in the early

morning of winter.

The Emu in the Sky

The Emu in the Sky is a mass of dark dust clouds in

space, forming an emu-like shape. The head of the

emu is known as the Coalsack which is the dark

spot next to the Southern Cross.

The Emu in the Sky shows that emus have laid their

eggs, allowing Indigenous Australians to collect

them. Emu eggs are an important source of food for

the Aborigines, as it contains high protein.

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The Emu in the Sky is of great significance to the elderly Aborigines, because it

represents a male emu. Male emus hatch their mates eggs and look after the young

until they are strong enough to look after themselves. The elderly Indigenous

Australians carry out initiation ceremonies that allowed boys to be guided intomanhood.

Banumbirr and the Morning Star Ceremony

What we call Venus is known to the Indigenous Australians as Banumbirr. It is

said that she travelled from the east to the west, and along the way, she created and

named animals and lands.

Yolngu people communicate with their deceased ancestors through the important

Morning Star Ceremony. The ceremony starts at dusk and last the entire night, whenthe main section of the ceremony is when Banumbirr rises a few hours before dawn.

Aborigines believe she holds

a faint rope where messages

are sent and prevents her

from going too far away from

the sun. The Morning Star

Ceremony tells us two things.

It tells us that the Yolngu

people have observed that

Venus always stay close to

the sun, and it also tells us

that because Venus only rises

a few hours before dawn at

certain times of the year, the ceremony had to be planned beforehand, meaning the

Yolngu people had tracked the motion of Venus across the sky.

Sean Gong