Lokono (Asterism Names)
Authors: Youla Azkarrula, Susanne M Hoffmann
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.”[#1]
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.
, but this living culture is currently being studied by ethnographers (...).
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 |
