Pongaponga

Authors: Susanne M Hoffmann, Clive Ruggles, Youla Azkarrula

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On the island of Pukapuka, one of the Northern Cook Islands in the South Pacific, the stars  ε1 (4) Lyr and ε2 (5) Lyr,  two faint stars that can just be separated with the naked eye in good conditions, are known as Na ponga-ponga-iyu-o-te-kiole, “the nostrils of the rat”. The name Ponga-Ponga (“nostrils”) is a suggested shortening of this.

Concordance, Etymology, History

Information on star knowledge on Pukapuka was obtained by ethnographers Ernest and Pearl Beaglehole during 1934 and 1935 (Beaglehole and Beaglehole 1938: 347–353) “from a number of informants” (ibid.: 348). Their report contains a star chart drawn by Robert Dean Frisbie, an American author who lived among the natives and “assisted in the identification of the star names” (ibid.: fig. 55, reproduced below).

Asterism #26 in the chart is identified in the key as “Na Pongaponga-iyu-o-te-kiole (4^ε and 5 Lyrae)”, which accords with its position in relation to #29 (α , β , γ Aql, “Tolu”), #25 (Corona Borealis, “Te Wale-o-Awitu”) and the fishes of the Milky Way. It is also listed by Makemson (1941: 245 #489) as Nga Pongaponga-iyu-o-te-kiole and by Johson, Mahelona and Ruggles (2026: 321) as Na Ponga-ponga-iyu-o-te-kiole.

The rat's tail, Te Yiku-o-te-kiole, is identified as Coma Berenices (#16), suggesting that #25—Corona Borealis,—might be the rat’s body, but it is identified instead as Te Wale-o-Awitu, “the house of Awitu”.

A different informant identified the rat as Ursa Major, α, β, γ, and δ UMa being its body and ε, ζ, and η UMa its tail, as drawn in the figure (#17). Beaglehole and Beaglehole (ibid.: 351) conclude that there is “some confusion” with the name Na Pongaponga-iyu-o-te-kiole and suggest that it could be applied to “almost any visible binary”.

Mythology

mnemonic tales and cultural significance

References

• References (general)