Elieli: Difference between revisions
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=== How this identification was obtained? === | === How this identification was obtained? === | ||
The ethnographer Burrows produced a star chart showing the rising (tagali) and setting (tubuwuli) positions of various Ifalik navigation stars <see figure, after Burrows and Spiro 1953:<ref name=":0" /> fig. 16> with the aid of a native informant, "Tom", as follows:<blockquote>"Fig. 16 shows the positions of the stars used for navigation in Ifaluk [sic] ... Tom gave them to me [Burrows] from memory, but with a compass before us; and I wrote them down on sheets of paper with circles drawn on them like those in Fig. 16, marked to show the points of the compass. ... He approved it, and at times supervised my notations closely, so far as directions are concerned." [B&S<ref name=":0" /> p. 93] </blockquote>Then, "To identify the stars with names used in our astronomy, Dr Maud W. Makemson<ref name=":1">Makemson, Maud M. (1941). The morning Star Rises. New Haven: Yale University Press.</ref> of Vassar College, a pioneer in what might be called ethnoastronomy,* kindly responded to an appeal for help. She computed the azimuths of the stars located by Tom according to points on the compass, and identified them as nearly as possible from such rough data. Later, Dr Ward H. Goodenough<ref name=":2">Goodenough, Ward H. (1953). Native Astronomy in the Central Carolines. Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society.</ref> sent a copy of his "Native astronomy in the central Carolines" <Goodenough 1953><ref name=":2" />, which shows that the native system is, or was, the same throughout what he calls the Central Carolines Language Area. He has worked out an identification applicable to the whole area. ... Where [, as here, Makemson<ref name=":1" /> and Goodenough<ref name=":2" />] disagree, the author of this report is quite incompetent to judge where the difficulty lies, beyond the obvious conclusions that it is a matter of inadequate data." <B&S<ref name=":0" /> p. 95> | [[File:Burrows+Spiro1953 fig16.png|thumb|Star chart. Names outside the circle are those of stars aused in navigation (CC BY Burrows and Spiro 1953<ref name=":0" />, p.94).]] | ||
The ethnographer Burrows produced a star chart showing the rising (tagali) and setting (tubuwuli) positions of various Ifalik navigation stars <see figure, after Burrows and Spiro 1953:<ref name=":0" /> fig. 16> with the aid of a native informant, "Tom", as follows:<blockquote>"Fig. 16 shows the positions of the stars used for navigation in Ifaluk [sic] ... Tom gave them to me [Burrows] from memory, but with a compass before us; and I wrote them down on sheets of paper with circles drawn on them like those in Fig. 16, marked to show the points of the compass. ... He approved it, and at times supervised my notations closely, so far as directions are concerned." [B&S<ref name=":0" /> p. 93] </blockquote>'''Explanation in the figure caption of the star chart:'''<ref name=":0" /> | |||
* Taga means "rises" | |||
* tubwu "sets" | |||
* li being the definite article | |||
* Horizontal lines indicate the paths of of the stars across the sky. Inside the circle, the two words in parentheses indicate the most clearly conceived cardinal directions: (levang) north, lsuru (south). | |||
* Names inside the circle and not in parentheses are those of islands or reefs said to be reached by steering for the rising or setting points on the same radial line. | |||
Then, "To identify the stars with names used in our astronomy, Dr Maud W. Makemson<ref name=":1">Makemson, Maud M. (1941). The morning Star Rises. New Haven: Yale University Press.</ref> of Vassar College, a pioneer in what might be called ethnoastronomy,* kindly responded to an appeal for help. She computed the azimuths of the stars located by Tom according to points on the compass, and identified them as nearly as possible from such rough data. Later, Dr Ward H. Goodenough<ref name=":2">Goodenough, Ward H. (1953). Native Astronomy in the Central Carolines. Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society.</ref> sent a copy of his "Native astronomy in the central Carolines" <Goodenough 1953><ref name=":2" />, which shows that the native system is, or was, the same throughout what he calls the Central Carolines Language Area. He has worked out an identification applicable to the whole area. ... Where [, as here, Makemson<ref name=":1" /> and Goodenough<ref name=":2" />] disagree, the author of this report is quite incompetent to judge where the difficulty lies, beyond the obvious conclusions that it is a matter of inadequate data." <B&S<ref name=":0" /> p. 95> | |||
This, by the way, appears to be the earliest reference to the term, appearing many years before Baity 1973<ref>Baity, Elizabeth C. (1973). "Archaeoastronomy and ethnoastronomy so far", Current Anthropology, 14, 389-449.</ref>, which is usually quoted. | This, by the way, appears to be the earliest reference to the term, appearing many years before Baity 1973<ref>Baity, Elizabeth C. (1973). "Archaeoastronomy and ethnoastronomy so far", Current Anthropology, 14, 389-449.</ref>, which is usually quoted. | ||
Latest revision as of 14:37, 1 March 2026
Authors: Clive Ruggles, Susanne M Hoffmann
Elieli is a Micronesian star name, recorded on the island of Ifalik (Federated States of Micronesia).[1] It is attested only since the middle of the 20th century but still in use.
Concordance, Etymology, History
Name Variants
- Eliel,
- Ēlluel
Pronunciation
The meaning (if any) of Elieli in Woleaian, the indigenous language spoken in Ifalik, is unclear but the phonetically similar modern term "Eleeligu" (double "e" now signifying long "i") is a type of taro grown in the central Carolines.
Concordance & Identification
The name Elieli for a [navigators'] guiding star <NIH3, p 414, Elieli [1]> was recorded on Ifalik by ethnographers Edwin Burrows and Melford Spiro (Burrows and Spiro 1953)[2], who spent six months on the island in 1947–48. It appears in a manuscript held in the Human Relations Area Files database (https://hraf.yale.edu/) and published as a book in 1953[2]. On p. 97, they give its possible identification as either Algedi (α Cap) or ε Lep, based on azimuth calculations by Maud Makemson. Makemson does not, however, list the term in her star list in "The Morning Star Rises" <Makemson 1941>, which is restricted to Polynesia.
The name may well, however, be a variant of Eliel, or Ēlluel, other variants of which are widely recorded in the central Caroline Islands. Of so, it likely referred to Orion's belt.
How this identification was obtained?
The ethnographer Burrows produced a star chart showing the rising (tagali) and setting (tubuwuli) positions of various Ifalik navigation stars <see figure, after Burrows and Spiro 1953:[2] fig. 16> with the aid of a native informant, "Tom", as follows:
"Fig. 16 shows the positions of the stars used for navigation in Ifaluk [sic] ... Tom gave them to me [Burrows] from memory, but with a compass before us; and I wrote them down on sheets of paper with circles drawn on them like those in Fig. 16, marked to show the points of the compass. ... He approved it, and at times supervised my notations closely, so far as directions are concerned." [B&S[2] p. 93]
Explanation in the figure caption of the star chart:[2]
- Taga means "rises"
- tubwu "sets"
- li being the definite article
- Horizontal lines indicate the paths of of the stars across the sky. Inside the circle, the two words in parentheses indicate the most clearly conceived cardinal directions: (levang) north, lsuru (south).
- Names inside the circle and not in parentheses are those of islands or reefs said to be reached by steering for the rising or setting points on the same radial line.
Then, "To identify the stars with names used in our astronomy, Dr Maud W. Makemson[3] of Vassar College, a pioneer in what might be called ethnoastronomy,* kindly responded to an appeal for help. She computed the azimuths of the stars located by Tom according to points on the compass, and identified them as nearly as possible from such rough data. Later, Dr Ward H. Goodenough[4] sent a copy of his "Native astronomy in the central Carolines" <Goodenough 1953>[4], which shows that the native system is, or was, the same throughout what he calls the Central Carolines Language Area. He has worked out an identification applicable to the whole area. ... Where [, as here, Makemson[3] and Goodenough[4]] disagree, the author of this report is quite incompetent to judge where the difficulty lies, beyond the obvious conclusions that it is a matter of inadequate data." <B&S[2] p. 95>
This, by the way, appears to be the earliest reference to the term, appearing many years before Baity 1973[5], which is usually quoted.
Mythology/ Religion
mnemonic tales and cultural significance
Weblinks
- Human Relations Area Files database (https://hraf.yale.edu/)
IAU Working Group on Star Names
The name was suggested in 2026
References
- References (general)
- ↑ Johnson, Rubellite K., John K. Mahelona, and Clive Ruggles (2026). Nā Inoa Hōkū: Hawaiian and Pacific Star Names. Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Burrows, Edwin G. and Melford E. Spiro (1953). An Atoll Culture: Ethnography of Ifaluk in the Central Carolines. New Haven, CT: Human Relations Area Files.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Makemson, Maud M. (1941). The morning Star Rises. New Haven: Yale University Press.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Goodenough, Ward H. (1953). Native Astronomy in the Central Carolines. Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society.
- ↑ Baity, Elizabeth C. (1973). "Archaeoastronomy and ethnoastronomy so far", Current Anthropology, 14, 389-449.
