Our Companions in the Sky

Ian Duffield looks to the skies to revisit some of the oldest tales ever told about animals and their importance to humanity.

Our ancestors would surely have gazed at the heavens with wonder and awe. Since earliest times — long, long, before the pyramids — the Moon, the stars, and the Milky Way have created feelings amongst people everywhere of divinity and mystery, and have become embedded into our religious and spiritual lives.

For the people wandering the earth, the night skies offered much more than visual splendour; in the celestial canopy, there was confirmation of their gods’ existence and power, beacons for earthly journeys, and, importantly, spiritual guidance through individual stars. It is nowadays easy to dismiss this idea, but the concept of a ‘guiding star’ stretches back to ancient times, and has been axiomatic to the spiritual faith of countless people.

It is an idea that is captured beautifully in the Coldplay song A Sky Full Of Stars, when Chris Martin, singing smoothly but with intensity, personifies the sky and stars, calling to them and vowing “to give you my heart”:

‘Cause you’re a sky, you’re a sky full of stars, 

I’m gonna give you my heart, 

‘Cause you’re a sky, you’re a sky full of stars,

You light up the path 

It’s easy to envisage our forebears, on clear, still nights, sitting round a fire, baking and sharing food from the embers, telling clan stories, talking about the seasons, discussing partners at first sight, and, significantly, pointing out figures and their movements through the heavens. Within their pagan framework, star watchers would seek figures in the heavens with which they bonded, the gods who ruled over them, and the images of animals which were so much part of their everyday lives. Such evenings would have been absorbing, convivial, and quite possibly enchanting.

Conventionally, there are 88 listed constellations in the heavens, although some, like Taurus, include smaller star configurations. Of these, 42 are named after animals, signifying for our ancestors the importance of our animal companions.

The Cross

In the southern hemisphere, the smallest but most distinctive and best-known constellation is the Southern Cross. The talisman Cross consists of five apparent stars, although the brightest, Acrux, at the bottom of the Cross, consists of three stars. Note that if you move four and a half times down an imaginary line from Gacrux (at the top) through Acrux, you would very closely reach the south celestial pole.

Because of its continuous and distinctive presence, many southern hemisphere civilizations have used the Cross as a navigation tool. Centuries before the age of the famous (or infamous) European explorers, Polynesian seafarers were utilising the Cross, with many other star configurations, in their trans-Pacific exploration, including the migration to Aotearoa from Hawaiki.

Similarly, the Zulus of South Africa call the Cross the Tree of Life, the constellation being crucial to accurate navigation through dense bush, and therefore their ultimate survival.

In an Aboriginal legend, a giant eagle nests within the Coalsack, the dark patch below the arm of the Cross, and the eagle’s weapon is kept in the Centaurus pointer stars (Rigil Kentaurus and Hadar), which are like extensions of the arm of the Cross.

The Bull

The constellation of Centaurus surrounds the Cross on three sides. It vaguely resembles an animal with a diamond-shaped head; some legends recount that Centaurus is attacking (or fending away) the constellation of Lupus, the wolf, which stands before it.

In Greek mythology, Centaurs were half horse and half human, and sometimes considered savage, although Chiron, with whom the constellation is associated, was famed for his gentle nature and vast knowledge of astronomy, medicine, and music. Many famous Greek figures, like Hercules, Achilles, and Orpheus studied at his academy.

The bull was an important object of worship for the Egyptians, and revered by many other ancient cultures. In the heavens, he had his own dominant constellation which came to be called Taurus. Legends pertaining to Taurus date back to Babylonia, at least 4000 years ago. In Greek mythology, the legend of the bull is personified by Zeus. He was love-smitten for  the princess Europa, who spent time on the sea shore, wishing she could travel beyond the horizon. To win her love, Zeus transformed himself into a white bull and approached Europa and lowered his head. The princess looked into his pleading eyes, and realised he was offering her the opportunity to fulfil her dream of travel. She climbed on to his back, whereupon Zeus dashed into the sea, and swam to Crete, where he transformed himself back to human form, and convinced Europa of his true love. She was so overwhelmed by his sincerity, that she accepted him as her lover.

It is cruelly ironic that early European cultures paid homage to the bull in magnificent rock paintings, but subsequent generations used the animal as an object of torture and ritual killing. 

You can view the Taurus constellation by drawing a line from Sirius (our brightest star, from Spring) through the belt of Orion and through the other side to reach the red-hued star, Aldebaran, the eye of the bull.

Matariki

The grouping of stars called the Pleiades, is technically part of Taurus. It consists of seven visible stars, although the actual number is much larger. Many cultures, including writers of the Old Testament, mention the Pleiades. In Aotearoa, the star cluster is called Matariki, which translates as ‘little eyes’ (there are other meanings). It has special significance as its first appearance signals the advent of the Maori New Year. When Matariki first appears before dawn, offerings of young kumara shoots are offered to Matariki and her six children, for they will watch over and protect the crops. It is a time of festivity, the seven women of the cluster are greeted with waiata of hope for the future, and lamentations for the deceased. 

The Western Mono Indians, according  to Wikipedia, believed the Pleiades were a group of women who were overly fond of eating onions, and as a consequence were ejected from their homes by their husbands. Repenting in loneliness, the husbands searched for their wives, but they had wandered off into the sky, never to return!

Wikipedia also mentions  the equivalent festival in Hawaii which is known as Makahiki. The Makahiki season begins with a new moon following the rising of the Pleiades (or makali`i) just after sunset instead of the heliacal (dawn) rising. (Interestingly, the Subaru logo is derived from the Pleiades).

The Scorpion

The constellation of Scorpius is central to the Maori legend of the birth of Aotearoa. When Maui fished up the North Island (Te Ika a Maui), he baited his hook, Te Matau, with his own blood, and pulled the land mass from the ocean. Other Pacific Islands have similar  stories as to their origin. 

Many other cultures associate Scorpius with the image of the scorpion. He was the deadly enemy of Orion, which is why in mythology, they are said to chase each other across the heavens, culminating in Orion being stung to death.

Scorpius straddles the Milky Way, between the constellations of Sagittarius and Libra.

At the heart of Scorpio lies Antares, a giant red star, so named because of its similarity to Mars (Ares). Antares is said to be a double star, but this is difficult to discern, even with binoculars. There are two bright stars in the tail of Scorpius (Shaula and Lesath), named for the sting, and three bright stars west of Antares representing the scorpion claw.

The Ship

The constellation of Carina represents the keel of the Argonauts’ ship, the Argo Navis. For many years, the Greek legend of Jason and the Golden Fleece was part of our school curriculum, so some readers will be familiar  with the story. Jason and his companions rowed and sailed west into the Black Sea in search of the magical Golden Fleece, which came from the ram, Aries, which itself gave name to another Zodiac sign. 

In Spring, Carina stretches over the southern sky, and is relatively simple to locate as a key indicator is Canopus, the second brightest star in our sky and named after the captain of  Jason’s ship. In some legends, Canopus, fittingly, represents the rudder of the ship. Carina forms part of the much larger constellation Argo Navis, with Vela (the sail), and Puppis (the poop, or deck).

To the Polynesians, Canopus was known as Atutuahi, the God of the Heavens. They revered the magnificent star as the Mother of the Moon and the Stars. Like the Southern Cross, Atutuahi was a key navigation star for trans-Pacific voyages. 

The concept of a great ship in the heavens  goes back to antiquity. Similarly, the legends of gigantic floods covering the ‘known’ Earth, anticipating the more recent theory of climate disruption, are common to many cultures, from the Egyptians to the Hindus. These include the Hebrew story in Genesis of the great deluge, and Noah’s visionary determination to save many animal species. (Curiously, in Sunday School literature, despite the flood’s Middle Eastern location, the animals trooping in pairs up the ark gangplank were usually from the African savanna: lions, elephants, hippos and the like). Speculation aside, there is little evidence which links the massive flooding of the Middle East other than in a symbolic way, with the vast constellation of Argo Navis in the heavens. 

Argo Navis stretches across much of the southern sky, so it’s my wishful speculation to imagine that Jason and his enthralled companions were on a fantastical journey, weaving their way serenely through the millions of smiling, beckoning stars and nebula which comprise the Milky Way.

Aotearoa Vegan and Plant Based Living Magazine
This article was sourced from the Spring  2024 edition of The Vegan Society magazine.
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