Tahiti (All Terms)
Authors: ASE Tech Team
The names of the stars in the Tahitian sky mainly come from the "genealogy of the stars", a text which was recited to the English missionary John Muggridge Orsmond in 1818 by Ruanui, an old lady from Bora Bora, in the leeward islands, northwest of Tahiti. It was enhanced thanks to the logbook of J.R. Forster, a naturalist on the 2nd expedition of Captain James Cook (1772-1776), but also thanks to accounts from Europeans living in Tahiti at the end of the 18th century such as J.Morisson (1789-1791) and lastly thanks to the many observations and records of the first missionnaries at the turn of the 19th century.
The "Genealogy of the stars" was published later on by Teuira Henry, the granddaughter of J. M. Orsmond, in the book "Ancient Tahiti" (1928). This long poem, whose key asset was its transcription in the vernacular tongue by J.Orsmond in 1818, then translated in English, narrates the birth of the stars, the Moon, the Sun and the planets as a genealogy. Children of the divine couple Rua-tupua-nui and Atea, the astral bodies, take partners and give birth to other celestial bodies to populate the sky. Shell, egg or seed, the sky is seen as a creator space revealing divine manifestations such as clouds, swells, currents and winds and yielding the principle of life.
Linking space, time and men: an "environmental" calendar
Based on very precise observations, the experts of ancient times or tahu'a developed an acute knowledge of the stellar movement, linking closely the sky, the space and the time to the cycles of the environment, of the animals and of the plants. They were indissociable. This knowledge was passed down in the form of environmental calendars. Known and controlled by the elites, leaders and specialists, those calendars planned the propitiatory ceremonies and the community activities such as agriculture and fishing. They were set on the observation of the stars, planets and constellations, and related to the Sun's come and go movement between north and south, the shifting of the Moon, the seasons of the main winds and swells. The astral bodies, observed at night, after the sunset or before sunrise, were bearers of different functions which are available to us through their names which are oftentimes long, but which give each of them a proper identity. For example, the Pleiades, also called Matari'i in Tahiti, had a crucial cultural role and were used namely to divide the year into 2 seasons: from November to May, a hot and rainy season, known as the season of abundance, Matari'i I ni'a, and set on the fruiting of the breadfruit tree or 'uru and the return of the migrating pelagic fishes. The second season, cooler, drier, known as the season of restrictions, Matari'i i raro from May to November, during which the root crops / tubers were replacing the 'uru and the fishing in the lagoon replaced the offshore fishing.
Explore, navigate and build alliances
"Star navigation" was the subject of much research in order to determine how the reading of the sky allowed the Polynesian people to navigate with such accuracy during journeys over thousands of km between remote islands. Today the names of the stars and of the constellations are becoming keys to approach the ancient voyagers' vision of the sky: markers to reach a target island and to come back to one's island home, but also to make inter-islands alliances for in a broad sense, in the Polynesian mindset one always belongs to a network, whether it be one of men, of the divinities of the ocean or of the space. Jean-Claude Teriierooiterai, linguist and Tahitian anthropologist, spent some of his life trying to resolve this mystery. He suggested a classification of the names of the stars by their usage. Hence, the stars Pou (Pillars) were used to locate the meridians whereas the stars Ta'urua would indicate a Rua. The Rua of the stars correspond to a succession of stars rising on the horizon at an essentially identical declination and they would enable the voyager to steer a course (Thesis "Mythes, astronomie, découpage du temps et navigation traditionnelle : l'héritage océanien contenu dans les mots de la langue tahitienne", J-C Teriierooiterai, 2013). Today, the "Fa'afaite i te Ao Ma'ohi" association keeps these traditional navigation techniques alive by travelling between the polynesian islands on a traditional Polynesian double-hulled canoe.[1]
Solar System Names
| Tahitian | English | Commentary |
|---|---|---|
| Rā | Sun | |
| Marama | Moon | |
| Ta'ero | Mercury | |
| Ta'urua-nui-e-horo-i-te-po'ipo'i | Venus | Great festivity who runs in the morning |
| Ta'urua-nui-e-horo-i-te-ahiahi | Great festivity who runs in the evening | |
| Fenua | Earth | |
| Maunu-'ura | Mars | Fading redness |
| Ta'urua-nui-i-tu'i-i-te-porou-o-te-ra'i | Jupiter | Great festivity who struck the zenith of the sky |
| Fetūtea | Saturn | Pale star |
notes
Here is an overview on Tahiti asterism names
| Tahitian Term | Meaning | Designation | Commentary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 'Ainanu-i-ni'a / Rehua-i-te-ra'i / Rehua | Pollux (β Geminorum) | ||
| 'Ainanu-i-raro / Pipiri | Castor (α Geminorum) | ||
| 'Ana-heuheu-pō / Pou-'ōrerorerora'a / Pou-hiti-raro / Ta'urua-feufeu / A5/T5 | Alphard (α Hydrae) | ||
| 'Ana-mua / 'Ana-hoa / Pou-tomora'a-atu-i-te-'apu-'o-te-ra'i / A1 | Antares (α Scorpii) | ||
| 'Ana-muri / A2b | Zubeneschamali (β Librae) | ||
| 'Ana-muri / 'Ana-feo / Pou-fa'a-'ere'erera'a / Pou-fa'arava'ai-atu-e-te-'a'ahi / Ta'i-rio-aitu / A2a | Aldebaran (α Tauri) | ||
| 'Ana-ni'a / Pou-fa'arava'aira'a-i-te-ra'i-'oti'a / A10 | Polaris (α Ursae Minoris) | ||
| 'Ana-roto / A3a | Regulus (α Leonis) | ||
| 'Ana-roto / Pou-Ti'amā-Ta'aroa / Mariua / A3b | Spica (α Virginis) | ||
| 'Ana-tahu'a-ta'ata-metua-te-tupu-mavae / Pou-ti'ara'a / A6 | Arcturus (Ἀρκτοῦρος) (α Boötis) | ||
| 'Ana-tahu'a-vahine-o-toa-te-manava / Pou-vāna'ana'ara'a / A7/9 | Procyon (α Canis Minoris) | ||
| 'Ana-tīpū / Pou-tia'ira'a / Pou-hiti-nia'a / A4 | Dubhe (α Ursae Majoris) | ||
| 'Ana-varu / Pou-nohora'a / Ta'urua-nui-o-mere / 'Ana iva / A9/8 | Betelgeuse (α Orionis) | ||
| Atu-ra'i-putuputu | Numerous heavenly fishes | Pisces | |
| Atu-tahi | Single bonito | Piscis Austrinus and Sculptor | |
| Fa'a-iti | Little valley | Perseus | |
| Fa'a-nui | Great valley | Auriga and Taurus | |
| Fa'a-tā-potupotu | Open valley | Gemini | |
| Māhu-ni'a | Association of stars in Dorado (no individual IAU proper name; catalog designation only) | ||
| Māhu-raro | Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) | ||
| Matari'i | Small eyes | Pleiades | |
| Matau-a-maui | Maui's hook | Scorpius | |
| Mere | Rigel (β Orionis) | ||
| Meremere / Ari'i-o-mara'i-re'a | Vega (α Lyrae) | ||
| Metua-'ai-papa | Parent eater of rock | Corvus | |
| Moana-'ohu-noa-'ei-ha'amoe-hara | Vortex ocean in which to lose crime | Crater | |
| Nā-'ainanu | The two asking for food | Pollux and Castor | |
| Nā-hui-tārava-ia-mere | The aligned stars of Mere | Belt of Orion | |
| Nā-matarua | Two eyes | Rigil Kentaurus and Hadar | |
| Pipiri | Shaula (λ Scorpii) | ||
| Pipiri-ma | The greedy | Lesath and Shaula | |
| Pira'e-tea | White sea swallow | Cygnus | |
| Pira'e-tea / Ta'urua-i-te-ha'apāra'a-manu | Deneb (α Cygni) | ||
| Pou-haerera'a / 'Ana-iva | Phact (α Columbae) | ||
| Rehua | Lesath (υ Scorpii) | ||
| Rua-o-mere | Cavern of the parental yearnings | Capricornus | |
| Tahi-ari'i | Capella (α Aurigae) | ||
| Tau-hā | Cluster of four | Crux | |
| Ta'urua-nui-e-fa'atere-va'a-iā-atu-tahi / Ta'urua-i-te-i'a-o-te-no'o | Fomalhaut (α Piscis Austrini) | ||
| Ta'urua-nui-i-te-amo-'aha / Ta'urua-fau-papa / Ta'urua-e-hiti-i-tara-te-feia'i / Fetū-roa | Sirius (α Canis Majoris) | ||
| Ta'urua-nui-o-te-hiti-'apato'a / Ta'urua-e-tupu-tai-nanu | Canopus (α Carinae) | ||
| Te-'uo-a-hiro | Hiro's kite | Scorpius | |
| Tū-i-te-moana-urifā | Stand in the sea of rank odor | Hydra | |
| Uru-meremere | Forest of parental yearnings | Orion |
Constellations
Some names of constellations managed to reach us thanks to the "Genealogy of the stars" by Ruanui and by the popular use, yet our knowledge of the asterisms of the Tahitian sky is only in its infancy. Therefore, we only mention a few names and representations on this topic. However it is interesting to notice that certain constellations of the Tahitian sky could get a different name depending on the season and on their observation. For example, the constellation of the Scorpio was visible shaped like a hook "Matau a Maui" (Maui's hook) at the beginning of the Matari'i i ni'a season. The same constellation is shaped like a "'Uo" (kite) during the Matari'i i raro season, which is also the season of the southeast wind, the Mara'amu and the season of the kites, hence lending it a different function.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]
References
- References (general)
- ↑ Tahitian working group (online). Tahitian sky culture in Stellarium, https://github.com/stellarium/stellarium
- ↑ HENRY, Teuira, 1928. Ancient Tahiti, based on material recorded by J. M. Orsmond, bul. n°48 Honolulu, Bishop Museum. - 1968 (1951). Tahiti aux temps anciens, Paris, SO, n°1, Musée de l'Homme, 722 p., [Traduit par Bertrand Jaunez].
- ↑ GRAINDORGE, Maurice, 2015. Le Ciel de Tahiti et des Mers du Sud, Papeete, Haere Po.
- ↑ TERIIEROOITERAI, Claude, 2013. Mythes, astronomie, découpage du temps et navigation traditionnelle : l’héritage océanien contenu dans les mots de la langue tahitienne, thèse de doctorat en langues et cultures océaniennes.
- ↑ ELLIS, William, 1972, A la recherche de la Polynésie d’autrefois, Paris, Publication de la Société des Océanistes N°25, 2 vol., 942 p.
- ↑ FORSTER, Johann, Reinhold, 1982. The Resolution Journal of Johann Reinholf Forster 1772-1775, 4 volumes, Edited by Michael E. Hoare, The Hakluyt Society, London. - 1996, [1778]. Observations made during a Voyage Round the World, Honolulu, UH, 446 p.
- ↑ DROLLET, Alexandre, 1989 [1922]. "Rectifications à apporter à certains noms mal orthographiés en langue tahitienne", in BSEO Papeete, N°248, p.100-101.
- ↑ LAGUESSE, Janine, 1945, "A propos des connaissances astronomiques des anciens Tahitiens", Papeete, in BSEO, N°75, pp. 141-154.
- ↑ PROKOP, Libor. Nomenclature alphanumérique des étoiles du ciel tahitien.
- ↑ SAURA Bruno, Huahine aux temps anciens, Cahiers du patrimoine n°8, 2005
