Introduction
Astronomy was an important part of the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures. Observations of the sky were not the task assigned to a limited circle of chosen individuals’ rather, they were an integral component of indigenous Australians’ life (Johnson, 2014). Aboriginal Australians had the knowledge not only of the sun, the moon, and the stars but also about several planets, including Saturn. This paper aims to compare and contrast the natural phenomena associated with Saturn’s rings, such as comets and meteoroids, from the perspective of cultures included in Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural groups. These cultures include Kamilaroi, Noongar, Western Desert cultures, Torres Strait Islanders, and other cultures.
Saturn’s Rings From Cultural Perspective
Although there are no records about the rings of Saturn in the culture of indigenous Australians, some knowledge exists about their views of this planet. In the Kamilaroi and Wailwan cultures, Saturn is related to a small bird (wunygal) (Hamacher & Banks, 2018). In contrast, in the Western Desert cultures, Saturn was called Irukulpinja and was considered the brother of Venus (Iruwanja) (Hamacher & Banks, 2018). Jupiter was believed to be the dog of these two brothers, and Saturn spent most of its time with Jupiter to catch food for Venus (Hamacher & Banks, 2018). Thus, people of these cultures recognized that moving planets were different from fixed stars. Unfortunately, no information was found regarding how Torres Strait Islanders viewed this planet. However, evidence shows that Torres Strait Islanders were able to distinguish planets from stars as the former has unsteady light (Johnson, 2014). Thus, although the particular perceptions of Saturn could be different, indigenous Australian cultures generally were able to tell stars from planets.
One natural phenomenon associated with Saturn’s rings is comets since pieces of comets are one of the constituents of the rings. In the Pitjantjatjara culture, which was common in northwest South Australia, comets (wurluru) were regarded as spears that were sometimes thrown by a ferociously powerful ancestral man across the dark sky (Johnson, 2014). A similar view was held by people in Central Australia who believed that “comets were spears thrown by an ancestral hero to make his wife obedient” (Johnson, 2014). In the Arrernte culture, comets were thought to point to neighboring communities in which someone had died (Forster, 2021). Overall, comets were seen as bad and ominous and were associated with death or evil.
Another natural phenomenon associated with Saturn’s rings is meteoroids that turn into either meteors or meteorites after they enter the Earth’s atmosphere. There is some evidence that indigenous Australians, for example, the Noongar people, could distinguish between meteors and comets (Forster, 2021). In the Euahlayi culture, a big meteor falling with a thunderclap meant that a great man had died (Fuller et al., 2014). When several stars shot off from the falling meteor, it was believed that a man had died and left a large family behind (Fuller et al., 2014). The Kamilaroi people waited for a meteor to appear after death, which would signify a new baby since they believed that the life taken should be replaced with the life given (Fuller et al., 2014). The same view existed in the Noongar culture, which saw meteors as spirit children returning to Earth (Forster, 2021). Thus, like comets, meteors were linked to death in indigenous Australian cultures, but they also signified the beginning of a new life.
Conclusion
In conclusion, although natural phenomena associated with Saturn’s rings could have slightly different details in indigenous Australian cultures, their representation in different Australian cultures had much in common. Indigenous Australian cultures paid great attention to observing the sky, noting differences between stars and planets and the patterns in the movement of celestial bodies. Furthermore, some perceptions of natural phenomena were similar in different Australian cultures, for example, the association between comets or meteors and death.
References
Forster, P. (2021). Review of Aboriginal astronomy and navigation: A Western Australian focus. Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia, 38, E066. Web.
Fuller, R. S., Norris, R. P., & Trudgett, M. (2014). The astronomy of the Kamilaroi and Euahlayi peoples and their neighbours. Australian Aboriginal Studies, 2, 3-27.
Hamacher, D. W., & Banks, K. (2018). The planets in indigenous Australian traditions. In R. Read (Ed.), Oxford research encyclopedia of planetary science (pp. 1-15). Oxford University Press.
Johnson, D. (2014). Night skies of Aboriginal Australia. Sydney University Press.