Darlugal

Not to be confused with DAR.LUGAL.

Authors: Susanne M Hoffmann

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Darlugal is a modern IAU-star name in Lepus, derived from Sumerian DAR.LUGAL, The Rooster, which is the Mesopotamian constellation that covers this area.

Concordance, Etymology, History

Etymology:

The Sumerian term is written syllabically in Akkadian Akkadian tarlugallu/ tarnugallu. The identification with roosters is confirmed by the Mesopotamian Bird-Call texts where the bird’s cry is taḫtatâ ana tutu - "You have committed a sin against the god Tutu", this being the Akkadian equivalent of English “cook-a-doodle-doo.”

Roosters were only domesticated in the middle of the -2nd millennium. They are documented with certainty in the Indus culture and in Egypt from around -1400 on, so that it is reasonable to assume that they were also kept in Mesopotamia around this time. It is assumed that they were initially kept mainly for amusement by organising cockfights on which bets could be placed (this cultural practice is documented by Homer in the 8th century BCE). Domesticated roosters (actually francolins) therefore date to the same period as the oldest known astronomical compendium, MUL.APIN, written in cuneiform.

IAU Working Group on Star Names

The name was suggested and approved by the IAU WGSN in 2026; it honours an indigenous Sumerian constellation and some culture history of the domestication of chicken in Asia in the 2nd millennium BCE.

As this star is already named ..., the WGSN chose ... (not to apply/ to apply the name to a neighbouring star/ to ...) in the IAU-CSN.

Reference

• References (general)
• References (early modern)
• Ian Ridpath's website (Star Tales )