Asiatic Parallels in North American Star Lore

Milky Way, Pleiades, Orion

Bibliographic Data

ID2767947
AuthorsWilliam B Gibbons, William B Gibbon (corresponding author)
Year1972
Volume85
Issue337
Pages236
Publication date1972-07-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of American Folklore (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0021-8715 • E-ISSN: 1535-1882
PublisherUniversity of Illinois Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.2307/539498
OpenAlexW2327481723
LanguageEN
Citations received10

THE FOLKLORE OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN contains many references to popular star names, a number of which can be shown to have parallels in the Old World. One such group of parallels concerning the constellation Ursa Major was considered in an earlier article of mine wherein, by pointing out a striking similarity in names in clearly defined distribution patterns, I endeavored to establish a definite connection between certain motifs found among early tribes of both continents. The most outstanding of these motifs were the seven brothers of the linguistically affiliated Siouan, Caddoan, and Iroquoian tribes, and the bear and hunters of the Algonquian and Salish group, which I traced back to tribes of Mongolian and Finno-Ugric stock, respectively. In this article I shall present further evidence for parallels of common origin through various concepts of the Milky Way, the Pleiades, and Orion. People all over the world have thought of the Milky Way as a great span across the sky, most often taking the form of a path, river, or belt of one type or another. This is not surprising, of course, because of the physical appearance of the Milky Way itself; and it would be pointless to inject such general observations into a comparative study of this type were it not for the fact that in many instances individual names have emerged, often in discernible patterns, which attempt to explain the nature or purpose of this band of stars. One such group of names describes the Milky Way as a path of birds. In North America this concept seems to have been restricted to Indians of Algonquian stock. For example, the Timiskaming Ojibwa, as well as several other Algonquian tribes, saw in the Milky Way a path by which migratory birds made their annual trek south. Except for two instances of the motif found in South America among the Pai and Chiriguano tribes, the only other area of the world in which this motif has apparently manifested itself is a rather well defined belt whose core area was inhabited chiefly by tribes of Finno-Ugric stock. The way of the birds is recorded in both Finnish and Estonian. The name was also widely used

Astronomy · Milky Way · Parallels · Physics · Pleiades · Stars · Australian Indigenous Culture and History · Engineering

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