Cöiquih

Authors: ASE Tech Team

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Seri constellation: Cöiquih in the planetarium software Stellarium (CC-BY Raúl Pérez-Enríquez in Stellarium)

Cöiquih is Seri constellation name. It is referring to the person.

Etymology and History

All this knowledge of Comca'ac people comes from prehispanic epoch, and it has prevailed through centuries. Still today, it is possible to hear the stories and legends behind the naming of constellations and the events on the sea and on the desert.

The description of the Comca'ac (Seri) Constellations presented here comes from the book "Bajo el cielo Comca'ac: Astronomía entre el mar y el desierto", written by Arturo Morales Blanco, in which it is possible to identify the relations between sky, sea and desert, as they are recovered by oral tradition and family memories.

This knowledge has arrived to us by oral transmission from generation to generation through time and shows how the events from the sea like the appearance of crabs or the abundance of Totoaba (a large fish, now in danger), comes along with the presence of sets of stars in the sky.

Origin of Constellation

"Hazoj Köii" is the star name for Antares among the twelve stars of Cöiquih (Person). In this constellation, the person seems to be fishing; that is why the corresponding legend affirms that Zix hantpatj (cochito fish) has at the roof of its mouth a kind of jelly substance, coming from the pulp of a cactus that the ancestors used as bait. This constellation goes, month after month, revolving in the sky and it is seen in a recumbent position when it is over Tiburón Island on midnight at September 8th.

References

• References (general)