Awarhakoya
Authors: Youla Azkarrula, Susanne M Hoffmann
This is the Locono name for the Coma Berenices (πλόκαμος) star cluster (Melotte 111). The literal translation is "Spirit of the awara palm".
Etymology and History
The Awarra Palm (Astrocaryum Vulgare) is home to French Guiana, Guyana and Suriname in the northeast of the South American continent.
The constellation Awarhakoya ‘Spirit of the awara palm’ has the shape of an awara palm (Astrocaryum vulgare). Its appearance high in the sky in January means that awara fruits are ripening. In the following months, Awarhakoya moves closer to the horizon, meaning that the fruits will soon fall to the ground to be picked. This occurs in the small dry season (mid-February to April), known as awarhadlithe, a term derived from the name of the palm.[1][2] There are no myths about Awarhakoya but it is said that the constellation is followed by that of the Hadorhikoya ‘Spirit of the red acouchi’ and Hokorherokoya ‘Spirit of the red-rumped agouti’. Their appearance signals that the rodents are gathering by the palms to eat the fallen fruit. Awarhakoya is recognized today in stars close to the Western constellation Coma Berenices, but older sources suggest it is near Sirius.[3] It is the only constellation named after a plant, which speaks to the importance of the awara palm to the Lokono. The Kari’na also have a constellation of the awara, sometimes recognized in the same stars.[2][4][5]
Mythology
All HIP Stars within this constellation
IAU Working Group Star Names
The name was suggested to the IAU WGSN in 2024. No decision yet.
Weblinks
Reference
- ↑ Coll, Cornelius van. 1903. “Gegevens over Land En Volk van Suriname I - Suriname’s Oorspronkelijke Bevolking.” Bijdragen Tot de Taal-, Land- En Volkenkunde / Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences of Southeast Asia 55 (1): 453–529.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Penard, Frederik Paul, and Arthur Philip Penard. 1907. De Menschetende Aanbidders Der Zonneslang. Paramaribo: H.B. Heyde.
- ↑ Goeje, Claudius Henricus de. 1942. “De Inwijding Tot Medicijnman Bij de Arawakken (Guyana) in Tekst En Mythe.” Bijdragen Tot de Taal-, Land- En Volkenkunde van Nederlandsch-Indië 101: 211–76.
- ↑ Ahlbrinck, Willem. 1931. Encyclopaedie Der Karaïben. Amsterdam: Koninklijke Akademie van Wetenschappen.
- ↑ Rybka, Konrad (online). Lokono sky culture in Stellarium, https://github.com/stellarium/stellarium , printed in Hoffmann and Wolfschmidt (eds., 2022), Astronomy in Culture --Cultures of Astronomy. Astronomie in der Kultur--Kulturen der Astronomie.: Featuring the Proceedings of the Splinter Meeting at the Annual Conference of the Astronomische Gesselschafb Sept. 14-16, 2021, tredition, Ahrensburg (Germany): 706-726.
