Yay Xapi Hanopas

Authors: ASE Tech Team

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

Yay Xapi Hanopas is Seri constellation name. It is referring to the young hunter.

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.

Mythology / Religion

The young hunter, says the legend, was a boy who went hunting, and several weeks after his departure he was still absent, and the members of his camp considered him dead. But several months later, at daybreak, he has shown himself to his parents who were surprised telling him: "We thought you were dead, we have spent many days looking for you, until we were tired; we cried for you a lot". The young man told his parents: "I live near the beach, I found a good place and stayed there". "But what kind of water you drink?" They asked. "I found any water and that is I drink, Haxhaxaha tahomisi", he said to them while talking about the Tecomate Bay. According to this legend, the young hunter became the Constellation with Canopus at its centre caused by a conflict with his elder brother. It appears directly towards the south.

References

• References (general)