Coyatchicüra

From All Skies Encyclopaedia

Authors: ASE Tech Team

Tikuna constellation: Coyatchicüra (Cayman’s Jaw) in the planetarium software Stellarium (CC-BY Tikuna's Stellarium Team)

Coyatchicüra is Tikuna constellation name. This constellation is referring to the Caiman’s Jaw.[1]

Etymology and History

The movements of the Tikuna constellations correspond to an interpretation of the seasonality of rainfall, as the Tikuna narratives suggest. These constellations are related to myths referencing the ascension and fall of Wücütcha (a heavenly beast related to the Jaguar Clan), Coyatchicüra (Caiman’s Jaw) and Baweta (Tracajá, the Aquatic Turtle Collective), the Anteater’s fight with the Jaguar, and the Way of the Tapir.

Origin of Constellation

According to the testimony of the Tikuna indigenous people, Baweta (the Pleiades Star Cluster) appears in the eastern sky towards the end of November, at nightfall. After Baweta rises, Caiman’s Jaw rises. Wücütcha’s leg corresponds to a portion of The Orion Constellation; and it begins to disappear from the western sky around the 20th of May, at nightfall. About one month earlier, the Caiman’s Jaw, corresponding to The Hyades Star Cluster in Taurus, also disappears to the West.

According to Vieira’s interpretation, the “V” shape that Western astronomy relates to the head of Taurus is called Coyatchicüra (Caiman’s Jaw).

The indigenous people illustrate it as a narration in the sky:

“The stars fit into their respective constellations. First is Wücütcha. After winter, summer begins to walk. It is the Jaguar. After him, comes Coyathicüra in the month of May, at nightfall, when the Caiman’s Jaw appears on the beach. Baweta appears in September, the month of the turtle. In May, Wücütcha and Coyatchicüra fall. They all fall together at the end of May. In July, they come again. Baweta already begins to appear in July. When Wücütcha falls, beginning in May, caimans and turtles begin to appear. The apex is in September.”

“In May, all the constellations fall, together with their planets. It is summertime. Later, in July, they appear again for the New Year. Coya and Wücütcha leave the sky from May to September. Later, in July, they appear again.”

Fernando Marques or Ütchancu – translated by Lucho

The Tikuna interpret processes affected by a succession of meteorological changes that, in turn, determine the rainy and the dry seasons. In this region of Western Amazon, the rainy season runs from December to March and the dry season from June to September. During April, May, October, and November the rainfall is intermediate. In November, the water level starts to rise and in late December the tides occur. During the month of May, the water level drops until September, the peak of the drought. The periods of El Niño imply a rain deficit, causing the extreme drought of the great river; during La Niña, the cooling of the Pacific increases the amount of water, causing dramatic tides and floods.

Although dependent on weather variability, at the September Equinox the Tikuna observe how fog affects how they see in early morning; the Pleiades star cluster disappears on the morning horizon in early June and reappears in the evening, in late November. The goal of the Tikuna is to predict the intensity of the coming rains in order to negotiate with the entity Mawü, the “Master of Rain,” the effects of the floods on their subsistence activities.

According to the explanations found in Enepü (a Tikuna community in the indigenous Land Eware II, in the Brazilian State of Amazon, in Western Amazonia), the influence of seasonality upon Tikuna subsistence activities is more prevalent along the Solimões. In the headwaters of the igarapés, where Enepü is situated, plenty of food exists all year long. In Enepü, trees and palms, such as the ingá and açaí, are fertile all year long due to the “virginity” and the enrichment of the soil by natural compost. The same thing occurs with the fishing in Lake Preto, within the limits of Enepü, where they can supply themselves abundantly with fish all year long. On the Solimões, however, one finds fish only from April to July, when the water level drops. Abundance in the hunt is also from April to July (or September, at most), along the Solimões. Fishing becomes more difficult when the river is high. The fruit of the native açaí palm is collected in summer, and customarily saved for preparation during winter—time of poor hunting and fishing. Through planning and regular gardening, harvests are available all year long. The harvest of cultivated plants also occurs during the drought months. There is a certain degree of flexibility in adapting the agricultural calendar to the rainy season (when fishing and hunting are not productive) and the dry season, (when fishing is more abundant); however, difficulties involving navigation and transport grow as the water level drops along the igarapés linking the river. Traditional culture, however, is not prepared for unforeseen alterations in the rainy season, such as it occurred in 2002. In that year, July saw the beginning of the repiquete (the rise on water levels), which normally occurs in September. This destroyed the short-range agricultural cycle and made the fish scarcer, changing alimentary habits.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]

Mythology / Religion

IAU Working Group on Star Names

References

  1. ↑ Priscila Faulhaber & Fernando Vieira & Walmir Thomazi Cardoso & Youssif Ghantous Filho & Pedro Inácio Pinheiro & Luís Angel Ramos & Marcio D´Olne Campos (online). Tikuna sky culture in Stellarium, https://github.com/stellarium/stellarium.
  2. ↑ FAULHABER, Priscila, 2004. As estrelas eram terrenas. Antropologia do clima, da iconografia e das constelações Tikuna. Revista de Antropologia, (2): 379-426.
  3. ↑ FAULHABER, Priscila, 2011. Ticuna knowledge, Worecü stars and sky movements. Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union / Volume 7 / Symposium S278, pp 58 – 64.
  4. ↑ FAULHABER, Priscila, 2015. Ticuna Astronomy, Mythology and Cosmovision. In: C.L.N. Ruggles (ed.), Handbook of Archaeoastronomy and Ethnoastronomy, New York, Springer, 2015, pp 953 – 957.
  5. ↑ Leitura Interpretativa sobre Relações Céu-Terra entre os Índios Tikuna. In: FAULHABER, Priscila; LOPEZ, Alejandro; ATHIAS, Renato (Orgs.). Dossiê sobre Antropologia e Astronomia Cultural. Recife, Revista Anthropológicas, Ano 21, volume 28 (1), Junho, 2017: 73-104.
  6. ↑ GOULARD, Jean-Pierre. “Entre Mortales e Inmortales: El ser según los Tikuna de la Amazonía”. Mundo Amazonico, 2010, 1:359-361.
  7. ↑ OLIVEIRA FILHO, João Pacheco de (Coord.) (1998) – ATLAS DAS TERRAS TICUNA. Projeto Museu Nacional/FINEP/PPG-7- CGTT. Rio de Janeiro.
  8. ↑ NIMUENDAJÚ, Curt 1952 – “The Tukuna”. Publications in American Archaeology and Ethnology volume XLV (org: Robert Lowie). Berkeley and Los Angeles, University of California Press.
  9. ↑ FAULHABER e CAMPOS·Identificando Corpos Celestes no Ponto de Vista da Iconografia Tikuna. Revista Avá, Missiones, Argentina, 2020, pp 90-104.
  10. ↑ 2021 Sol e Lua na iconografia Tikuna. Revista Cosmovisiones/Cosmovisões. Ano 1, n,1 La Plata, Universidade de La Plata, Argentina, 2020, pp 90-104 acesso em 23 de agosto de 2021
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