Hawaiian and Pacific (All Terms)
Authors: ASE Tech Team, Susanne M Hoffmann, Youla Azkarrula
the culture(s) , ...
Most of the content of this page is based on Clive Ruggles's edited book Nā Inoa Hōkū (3rd edition).
Sky
Milky Way
...
Solar System Names
| Traditional Signs | Old Norse | English | Commentary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sun | |||
| Moon | |||
| Mercury | |||
| Venus | |||
| Mars | |||
| Jupiter | |||
| Saturn |
notes
Here is an overview on Norse asterism names
| Language | Original Language | Transaltion / Etymological Meaning, when possible | Commentary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marshallese | Arin-majlep | ||
| Bake Eo | |||
| Elieli | |||
| Fatana-lua | |||
| Holoea | |||
| Itua ni Bure | |||
| Laya | |||
| Leepwal | |||
| Kautoki | |||
| Pipit | |||
| Ponga-ponga | |||
| Raiti ni Bure | |||
| Sangkap-sangkap | |||
| Te Yiku-o-te-kiole | |||
| Tiaki |
Hawaiian Starlines
For years, Hawaiian navigators have memorized the position of stars as they rise and set in order to know oneʻs bearing. The knowledge of Hawaiian star navigation has been passed down orally for many generations. Much of the knowledge regarding stars and navigation were lost until the Hawaiian Renaissance in the early 1970s. Polynesian Voyage Society (PVS), founded in 1973, created Hokule’a in 1975. Hokule’a is a traditional Hawaiian voyaging canoe with the mission to revive the art of way finding. A man from Satawal, Micronesia named Mau Piailug was a master navigator/wayfinder. The knowledge of wayfinding and using the sky to navigate was passed down to Mau from his ancestors. Nainoa Thompson, current President of PVS, asked Mau to teach his knowledge of navigation to him with the intention of reviving the knowledge that was once lost to the Hawaiians. With the knowledge learned from Mau, the Hawaiian star compass and star lines were created.
Each star line is a group of main stars that will be remembered by the navigators. The stars connect making constellations. Navigators remember the rising/setting houses of these stars, the stars that connect in each line, and the lines that point directly to North and South. The star lines’ position in the night sky slowly change over time, each starline being more prevalent at night according to the season. The star lines with their according season are as follows:[1]
| No | Star division | Meaning | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Ke Ka o Makali‘i | Bailer of Makali’i | November to April |
| 2. | Ka Iwikuamo‘o | backbone (directly: Bone back-lizard) | April to July |
| 3. | Manaiakalani | The Chief's Fishline | May to October |
| 4. | Ka Lupe o Kawelo | The Kite of Kawelo | September to February |
References
- References (general)
- ↑ Mau Piailug of Satawal in Stellarium; printed in appendix of Hoffmann and Wolfschmidt (eds.): Astronomy in Culture – Cultures of Astronomy. Featuring the Proceedings of the Splinter Meeting in the Annual Meeting of the German Astronomical Society, Sept. 14-16, 2021., Reihe: Nuncius Hamburgensis 57, tredition, Hamburg & OpenScienceTechnology Berlin (cBook)
