The indigenous peoples of Australia knew about the variability of three bright stars - Aldebaran, Betelgeuse and Antares. This conclusion was made by the researcher after analyzing their folklore. This is the first evidence that primitive tribes in any part of the world knew about variable stars.
The stars are eternal and unchanging. This opinion, expressed by Aristotle, was not questioned for almost two millennia. It was only in the 16th century that a discovery occurred that forced astronomers to abandon this unshakable truth.
We now know that many stars change their brilliance over time. There are many reasons for this. There are flares, eclipses, and even periodic changes in the size of the star.
How long has humanity been familiar with this phenomenon? There is evidence that the ancient Egyptians knew about the variability of the star Algol. However, from the wise inhabitants of the Nile Valley, this could well be expected.
But did the tribes know about this that did not have a written language, did not build cities, did not taste the property stratification - did not have anything that historians unite with the sonorous word "civilization"? For a very long time there was no evidence of this.
And just recently, Duane Hamacher of Monash University in Australia published a scientific article in the Australian Journal of Anthropology in which he claims that the Australian aborigines were familiar with this astronomical phenomenon.
The first evidence of this he found in the legend of the Kokatha people about a hunter named Nyeeruna. The constellation known to us as Orion was named in his honor.
Nieruna, legend says, has a passion for the beautiful sisters of the Yugarilya. This is the Pleiades star cluster. However, timid beauties are not ready to respond to his impulse. The eldest of them, Kambugudha, known to astronomers as the Hyades star cluster, with the help of magic protects the honor of the sisters.
Promotional video:
Nieruna kindles a magical fire (star Betelgeuse) in his right hand to defeat Kombugudha. But she also owns magical pyrotechnics and creates her own fireball on her left leg (Aldebaran). A lady's leg, armed with an otherworldly flame, raises a cloud of dust in the face of the unlucky hero. This dims Nieruna's magical fire.
However, restraining the impulse of a man in love is not so easy. He fills his right hand with fire again. Kombugudha does not have time to restore his flame in time. Then she calls for help Babba (Babba), another mythological character. He fights with Nieruna to the laughter of his sisters, and then puts dingo puppies between the Don Juan and the objects of his desires. From this, Nieruna's fire dims again, and he leaves with nothing.
The researcher believes that in this form the Kolkata people reflected their observations of the variables Aldebaran and Betelgeuse. Moreover, the natives knew that Betelgeuse flares up more often. Therefore, Kombugudha does not have time to restore his fire in time.
The second story is told by the Ngarrindjeri people. It is about a young man named Waiyungari. On the night after his initiation, he was seduced by two beautiful women. But sexual intercourse during this period of life is strictly prohibited, and in order to avoid punishment, the young man and his mistresses ascended to heaven. Vayungari became the star we know as Antares, and his seductresses became the tau and sigma of Scorpio. These stars are located on both sides of Antares, like the companions of an ardent youth.
The Ngarringeri say that Vayungari sometimes gets brighter and hotter, which symbolizes his passion. These outbursts are a reminder to the initiated youths to restrain their flesh.
But Antares does get brighter sometimes. It is a variable star with a period of 4.5 years.
Haemacher concludes that this legend also reflected astronomical observation. As the author notes, Aboriginal folklore keeps the memory of many other remarkable phenomena: auroras, solar and lunar eclipses, meteorite falls and comets. But this cosmic illumination surprised many peoples, but the observation of variable stars is a unique case. It seems that at least some primitive tribes know much more about the world around them than our arrogant civilization seems to think.
Anatoly Glyantsev