Kama tala: Difference between revisions

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== IAU Working Group on Star Names ==
== IAU Working Group on Star Names ==
In March 2026, it has been proposed to use the name "Kamatala" for a star in the area to preserve the Lokono heritage. The star 85 Tau (HIP 21137).


== References ==
== References ==

Revision as of 03:07, 5 May 2026

Lokono constellation: Kama tâla (jaw of tapir) in the planetarium software Stellarium (CC-BY Konrad Rybka)

Kama tala is an Arawakan constellation name from Lokono. This constellation is referring to jaw of tapir.

Etymology and History

Spelling Variants

  • Kama tâla

Origin of Constellation

The constellation Kama tâla ‘Jaw of the tapir’ is one of the few constellations identified easily by the contemporary Lokono, just like Mabukuli, to which it is related in a myth. [1][2]

Mythology / Religion

The Penard brothers recount the story of an unsuccessful hunter, who cuts meat off his leg and gives it to his wife and mother-in-law, telling them it is tapir meat (Tapirus terrestris).[3] He then asks his fellow people to follow him and help bring the rest of the tapir, but when they arrive at the place they only find the akalali plant with which he treated his wounds. His body turned into Kama tâla and his spirit into Mabukuli. In a Kari’na story, on the other hand, Kama tâla was the remains of a tapir that the mythical twins were hunting, one of whom accidentally gets his leg severed and becomes the constellation of man without a thigh.

All HIP Stars within this constellation

Convex Hull for the stars inside Kama tala (CC BY Konrad Rybka).

IAU Working Group on Star Names

In March 2026, it has been proposed to use the name "Kamatala" for a star in the area to preserve the Lokono heritage. The star 85 Tau (HIP 21137).

References

  1. Goeje, Claudius Henricus de. 1928. The Arawak Language of Guiana. Amsterdam: Uitgave van der Koninklijke Akademie von Wetenschappen te Amsterdam.
  2. Baarle, Peter van, Mauricius Alberto Sabajo, van der Stap Gerdy, Sabajo Andreas L., and Sabajo Lucia L. 1989. Arhwaka lokonong djang: Arowakse taalkursus en woordenboek. Haarlem; Amsterdam: Sociaal-culturele Vereniging Ikyoshie ; Instituut voor Algemene Taalwetenschap, Universiteit van Amsterdam.
  3. Penard, Frederik Paul, and Arthur Philip Penard. 1907. De Menschetende Aanbidders Der Zonneslang. Paramaribo: H.B. Heyde.