Lokono (Asterism Names)

Authors: Youla Azkarrula, Susanne M Hoffmann

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Names of the Arawak groups in South America, including the Lokono in the northeast, close to the coast (CC BY Herve Gallet).

The Lokono culture is a Pre-Christian pagan culture in the northeast of the South American continent. The Lokono, also known as Arawak, are an indigenous people of the Guianas, whose territory stretches along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, from northwestern Guyana, through Suriname, to northwestern French Guiana. Not many sources on astronomical information are preserved from the Pre-Christian era. However, as one of the first indigenous groups that was encountered by the Europeans at the time of conquest, the Lokono have been in contact with non-indigenous populations for over 500 years. This contact has intensified in the last century, leading to a substantial loss of the Lokono language, traditional material and immaterial culture, changes in subsistence practices, and in particular to the disappearance of medicine-men—the traditional carriers of spiritual knowledge, most likely including ethnoastronomical knowledge. As a consequence, the modern knowledge about celestial bodies appears to be but a fraction of what the Lokono knew about stars in the past. Several constellations mentioned in older sources are forgotten or are only known from their names, while the combinations of stars they represent and the oral traditions explaining their origin and significance have been forgotten.

From contemporary and historical accounts, it appears that astronomical knowledge was not restricted to particular members of the Lokono society. However, it was the medicine-men in particular—the spiritual leaders of the Lokono known as semethi—who were required to master the various aspects of star knowledge and who might have been responsible for passing the oral traditions associated with them from one generation to another. From Rodrigo de Navarette, who around 1550 wrote one of the first accounts of the Lokono, we learn, for instance, that:

“old and wise men whom they call Cemetu assemble in the houses designed for their meetings and […] recount the traditions and exploits of their ancestors and great men, and also narrate what those ancestors heard from their forefathers; so that in this manner they remember the most ancient events of their country and people. And, in like manner they recount or preach about events relating to the heavens, the sun, moon, and stars.”

Navarette's cemetu, the medicine-men known in modern Lokono as semethi, have largely given up their practices today, which may be the reason why the transmission of astronomical knowledge has been interrupted. Many Lokono constellations appear to have been forgotten today. Our sources are therefore often limited to historical accounts written by early explorers and ethnographers of the Guianas, one of the oldest examples of which is illustrated below.

List of Lokono stars by Theodor Schulz, circa 1803

Solar System Names

Lokono	English	Commentary
Hadali	Sun
Kathi	Moon
	Mercury
Warkohoma	Venus
	Mars
Wiwa kalemero	Jupiter	shining star
	Saturn

Here is an overview on Lokono asterism names

Lokono	Etymological Meaning, when possible	Commentary
Alêti	Torch	β Centauri
Anorhâkoya	Spirit of the cocoi heron	Ursa Major
Arakabosakoya	Spirit of the gun	unknown
Awarhakoya	Spirit of the awara palm	Coma Berenices
Hadali		Sun
Hadorhikoya	Spirit of the red acouchi	unknown
Hawkoya	Spirit of the pale-throated sloth	unknown
Hikarowanakoya	Spirit of the little cuckoo	unknown
Hikorhikoya	Spirit of the yellow-footed tortoise	unknown
Hithikoya	Spirit of the black curassow	Crux
Hokorherokoya	Spirit of the red-rumped agouti	unknown
Honolikoya	Spirit of the rufescent tiger heron	unknown
Howakoya	Spirit of the white-faced saki	unknown
Ifakoya	Spirit of the Muscovy duck	Corona Australis
Imenarikoya	Spirit of the scorpion	unknown
Kabadarokoya	Spirit of the jaguar	unknown
Kama tâla	Jaw of the tapir	Hyades
Kamodokoya	Spirit of the green anaconda	unclear
Kasipenikoya	Spirit of a tortoise	unknown
Kasorhowakoya	Spirit of the four-eyed fish	λ Sco and υ Sco
Katarokoya	Spirit of the green sea turtle	Hercules
Kathi		Moon
Kibiwarhakoya	Spirit of the capibara	unknown
Korherokoya	Spirit of the parrot	unknown
Korhirhwathekoya	Spirit of the ocelot	unknown
Kwakoya	Spirit of the blue crab	Orion
Mabukuli	Man without a thigh	Orion's belt
Mali		Sirius
Maraka	Medicine-men’s rattle	unknown
Marodikoya	Spirit of the marail guan	unknown
Shimarhabokoya	Spirit of the bow and arrow	unknown
Sûtukoya	Spirit of the red-handed tamarin	unknown
Warhemedokoya	Spirit of the two-toed sloth	unknown
Warhokoma		Venus
Waya nukuthi bunaha	Path of the carriers of clay	Milky Way
Wiwa kalemero	Shining star	Jupiter
Yarheyarherokoya	Spirit of the lilac-tailed parrot	unknown
Yokhârhin	Hunter	α Centauri
Yôkoro wiwa	Scores of stars	Pleiades
Yorhada	Grill	Pegasus
Yôwanakoya	Spirit of the green iguana	unknown

Shared Guianan knowledge

The Lokono territory borders that of two linguistically unrelated indigenous peoples, the Kari’na, speaking a Cariban language, and the Warao, speaking a language isolate. Though unrelated and traditionally not intermarrying, the three groups share a great deal of material and immaterial culture. Ethnoastronomical tradition of the three peoples also shows a number of striking similarities, such as shared stellar myths, similar names of constellations, and parallels in the stellar calendar. This speaks to the contacts between the three groups and to the exchange of astronomical knowledge, possibly facilitated by their respective spiritual leaders, such as the Lokono semethi. The degree to which these traditions overlap and the directionality of their exchange require further study. Here, we focus on the Lokono and therefore do not discuss these cultural borrowings in detail, unless they shed light on the Lokono ethnoastronomy.

Stellar oral traditions

One of such shared features are myths about stars. Such oral traditions tell of the origins of particular celestial bodies, link them to one another, and explain their influence on the natural world. The Lokono constellation Hithikoya ‘Spirit of the black curassow’, for instance, is linked in a Lokono myth to that of Yokhârhin ‘Hunter’ and Alêti ‘Torch’, all three of which have Kari’na and Warao equivalents. It is these oral traditions, preserved by the medicine-men, that likely served as the main vehicle through which astronomical knowledge was passed from one generation to another. For this reason, summaries of the relevant myths are given in the description of particular constellations. Occasionally, when the relevant Lokono myth is not documented, myths of the neighboring groups are referred to in order to illuminate the significance of particular celestial bodies. Given that many of such oral traditions are shared by the Lokono and the neighboring groups, this enhancement of the poorly preserved Lokono astronomical knowledge is justified.

Calendar of spirits

The term koya ‘spirit’, found in numerous constellation names typically following a term for a particular plant or animal, is a key feature of Lokono astronomy. Walter Roth, an ethnographer of the Guianas, explains that such constellations are the spirits of the corresponding beings. At a time of the year when the constellation appears, the spirit travels from the sky to earth to breathe life into the beings it represents. As such, the koya-constellations formed a calendar, indicating what the best time is to engage in subsistence activities related to these plants and animals (e.g. hunting or gathering). The Lokono may have also known where such spirits would descend on earth; Walter Roth suggests that they called these places with the same names as the constellations but the evidence of that remains poor. Thus, Hadorhikoya ‘Spirit of the red acouchi’ would refer to the spirit, the constellation, and the place where the hadorhi is found in plenty when its constellation appears. While this toponymic knowledge is forgotten today, the koya-constellations remind us of the great understanding of the plant and animal life that the Lokono possessed.

Wiwa, the star and the year

The Lokono also have another general term that is used to refer to stars, wiwa. The term lacks the spiritual connotations of koya. It refers, on the one hand, to the physical quality of stars as something shining and, on the other hand, to the calendar year. As such, it is used, for instance, when talking about one’s age. While it can apply to any star, wiwa appears only in two proper names of celestial bodies. Yôkoro wiwa, literally ‘Scores of stars’ (Pleiades), is the most important of all Lokono constellations, whose appearance traditionally commences the Lokono calendar year. Following Yôkoro wiwa are the numerous koya-constellations, each signaling a different season in the Lokono calendar. On the other hand, Wiwa kalemero, literally ‘Shining star’ (Jupiter) appears to have been singled out solely due to its brightness. Apart from wiwa and koya, there are no generic terms distinguishing planets, stars, moons, suns, galaxies and so on in the Lokono language. For this reason, the Lokono equivalent of the Milky Way, for instance, is included among other constellations.

Sky watching practices

While the Lokono can admire the sky in the evening, to follow the Lokono stellar calendar, one has to look at the constellations around 4 am in the morning, the time when the Lokono usually wake up. The Lokono thus observe the rising of the constellations in the morning. To get the right idea of the yearly cycle of constellations, one should also set the viewing location to the Guianas (e.g. Georgetown, Paramaribo, or Cayenne in the location menu). It merits a mention that many Lokono, when drawing constellations, did not connect the stars with lines and that in some cases, there was little agreement among speakers as to which star within a constellation corresponds to which parts of the plant or animal it represents. In Stellarium, we represent constellations with lines, but it should be kept in mind that this may be a distortion of the Lokono tradition, which allows for more flexibility in interpreting particular star groups. Finally, there are restrictions on looking at some celestial bodies, since it is believed that a spirit can harm one if looked at. For instance, by full moon, mothers covered the eyes of their children so that they would not become sick. Young people were also told not to look at Yôkoro wiwa (Pleiades), or else they would not grow. Such practices applied also to other objects believed to harbor powerful spirits and included other ways of avoiding eye-contact with spirits such rubbing peppers, limes, or salt into one’s eyes.

References

• References (general)