What Constellations Mean to Different Cultures | Fate & Fabled
Vložit
- čas přidán 14. 03. 2022
- The stars have guided and entertained us for thousands of years. Here we explore some of the messages people have seen in the stars through the millennia and look forward to how we might relate to the stars in the future.
Hosted by Dr. Moiya McTier & Dr. Emily Zarka, FATE & FABLED explores the stories and characters of mythologies from all around the world - why they came to be and how they impact us still today.
Host / Writer: Dr. Moiya McTier
Director: David Schulte
Executive Producer: Amanda Fox
Producer: Thomas Fernandes
Editor / Animator: P.W. Shelton
Assistant Editor: Jordyn Buckland
Illustrator: Sophie Calhoun
Script Editors: Emily Zarka, PhD & Moiya McTier, PhD
Fact Checker: Yvonne McGreevy
Aboriginal/Astronomy Consultant: Kirsten Banks, astrophysics PhD candidate
Fact Checker: Yvonne McGreevy
Additional Footage: Shutterstock
Music: APM Music
Executive in Charge (PBS): Maribel Lopez
Director of Programming (PBS): Gabrielle Ewing
Fate & Fabled is produced by Spotzen for PBS Digital Studios.
I feel like this should be it’s own series. I’d love to learn about other cultures’ star stories instead of just the Greeks, which are really the only ones I’ve been exposed to
There are so many stories it really could be.
Yeah, when I tell people I like mythology the same conversation with the different Greek gods comes up and it just shows how white washed we are
She’s so scientific about it. All the romance is gone!
Whaat, Australian aboriginal peoples have called Orion's Belt "fishermen" as well? What a coincidence!
My own grandfather, born in 1883, a farmer from the Norwegian countryside where a great many old cultural traditions were preserved, told my father that the old local name for the three stars in the region of Nordmøre was _fiskarane_ - The Fishermen.
More recently I've studied the 1192 Icelandic ms. GKS 1812 4to, where there's a small, badly damaged table over 15 celestial names in Latin/Arabic and Old Norse. The entry for Orion purportedly reads, according to the Alfræði Íslenzk (1908) p.73 _fi[ſki]karlar_ - Fishermen. Extraordinary.
It should be mentioned that in between there's another source, the Johannes Magnus from 1558, building upon Olaus Magnus from 1555, where the Nordic term for Orion has been laid out as _colum et Fusum Friggæ_ - _Friggerock_ or "The Spindle of Frigg."
I guess this is proof that humans depend on water for survival.
That is so cool! Thank you so much for sharing that!
The novel "Nation" by Terry Pratchett includes an example of Pacific island tribes that once had knowledge of star navigation that had faded into mythology. While not based on any specific group of people that I'm aware of, it does recognize that ancient peoples were better at science than the Western world has historically given them credit for.
Probably referencing the Austronesian peoples. They're well evidenced to have sailed out of Taiwan and spread all the way to Madagascar, South East Asia, Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia beginning nearly 4 millenia ago.
@@4473021 The Austronesians are incredible people. They even reached South America and Australia but didn't really settle there because those places were already populated.
@@4473021 They also made it to Japan and mainland Asia. Also since they settled Madagascar I would be surprised if none of them made it to mainland Africa.
I love that book.
It's an alternate history, which means the Nation aren't any of the particular real-world cultures within the Austronesian family, but yes, they're clearly based on aspects of a number of those peoples.
The story is about two people from different cultures having to learn from each other and also discover leadership skills. The scientifically-minded English girl Ermintrude and the more mystically-inclined Mau both learn to respect that the other's culture is not behind their own (by each one's standard, they both initially perceive each other as backward) and the discovery at the end is both of great scientific value and immensely sacred.
"Truckers' rocks too
I started this channel with Monstrum and I love Dr. Emily but this channel just keeps growing and getting better and better you guys are my favorite CZcams channel keep up the wonderful work and you are greatly appreciated all of you. I learn so much and enjoy you guys so much. 😸
I do want much more monstrum though.
golden string” 31 John Christopher Espinoza holy spirit of truth love you John Christopher Espinoza
I've never seen "the man in the moon", but when I learned that the Maya saw a rabbit in the moon, I totally got that. IMO, it does look like there's a rabbit on the face of the full moon.
Mexicans still say there's a rabbit on the moon! I remember hearing that when i was younger& then being confused when i heard that people saw a man instead lol
A lot of cultures feature the moon rabbit.
Aztecs, Maya, Korea, Cree, Japan, China, Cambodia, etc
Brazillians see St. George slaying the dragon of his legend in the Moon.
I'm more familiar with Japanese folklore associating rabbits with the moon, and for about the same reason. It's why the protagonist for Sailor Moon is named "Usagi," a word for "rabbit." There's also something about a moon goddess being a princess associated with rabbits (I'm referring to Kaguya), but I don't really remember the "why" either.
There’s such a great legend behind that.
I appreciate PBS following Australian media protocols on handling Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander sensitivities to the dead and ancestors with that disclaimer. Very considerate and respectful.
This is the only channel with multiple hosts that I subscribe to and watch every single video. Usually I dislike at least one presenter's style or topics but you guys all put out consistently awesome videos!
The sky is something that's always fascinated me since I was a little girl, to the point that there was a period where I was dead set on working for NASA when I grew up. That eventually changed, but I still experience a childlike glee whenever I look up at the stars at night.
The Pleiades are probably my favorite star cluster, because of how beautiful they look in photographs, and I can pick them out of the sky fairly easy. I also really like to watch stars twinkle. There's just something about seeing these tiny points of light flashing all different colors that fills me with an unexplainable joy.
Between the monsters and now the mythological histories, stories and lore from cultures around the world, this has quickly become my favorite CZcams channel by a pretty wide margin. Keep up the amazing work, y'all!
I live in a fairly small town of about 10K, and a couple years ago, the city "upgraded" many of the street lights from the dimmer amber lights to blinding white ones. I really hate them, because it's made it so difficult to sit in my backyard and just look up at the stars. I immediately noticed how much fewer I could see.
It's funny how different people define a small town. You said your town of 10K was small, which seems extremely crowded compared to my home town of ~1.2K. I thought that was small, but then in college I met people from towns with a population of 200 people total.
@@alexdillahunt6908 I completely understand! I've had to change my mind about what "small" is, too. I grew up in a town of 1500, and there is another teeny tiny town I've passed through that only has a population of 27, practically a village, haha.
Dr. Moiya is such a wonderful presenter! I love the way she balances personal enthusiasm and clear explanations in her delivery!
Collective action will always have more effect and influence than individual action. People working together can do more to change the world than a single person can.
The ending made me cry, that’s one of my favorite things ever. To look up at the sky and know that everyone before me has seen the same sky, the same moon. And we are all in awe at its beauty and in my case, calmness that it brings
this is one of my favorite new shows on youtube, the fact the you wonderful folks don't have more views is criminal
please keep the excellent content coming
Some time ago I was researching for native constellation names in Indonesian and Malay. The dictionaries for both languages (KBBI and PRPM) served as really great starting points to search for names and some of their functions!
Here are some interesting ones I've found:
1) *Bintang timur* (the eastern star) and *bintang barat* (the western star) are the same, Venus. It's named differently due to how it appears twice: in the morning, where it's also named *bintang pagi* (the morning star), and in the evening.
2) *Bintang tujuh* (the seven stars) or *bintang (ke)puyuh* (the sparrow/cyclone stars). They're used to predict the arrival of rice-planting season. Also notice how it's named _the sparrow/cyclone stars?_ In Indonesian and Malay, the word for both is homophonous: _(ke)puyuh,_ and it's often translated as the first one. I've been wondering why would the constellation be called such, but after hearing your explanation on how the Yamaji use them to predict rains, added with how rice is planted in the rainy season, it all suddenly makes sense! It would be more accurate to translate _(ke)puyuh_ as _cyclone_ then, compared to _sparrow_ (this would make a great mythology though! I wonder if there are stories about rain sparrows in Malaysia).
Beside that, the stars are often used in metaphors for fortune. *Berbintang gelap* (to have dark stars) means _to be in bad luck,_ while *berbintang terang* (to have bright stars) means the opposite. *Sebintang* (to be in one star) and the loaned counterpart *serasi* (same meaning) means _to match_ or _to be harmonious._
I'm really looking forward for more information on Indomalay astrology and astronomy :D while they're not used as much to navigate the seas, as compared with their neighbors the Makassar people, they still served as mythological and temporal devices.
Any updates on rain sparrow myths of Malaysia?
Hmm, I wonder if [puyuh] originally meant some type of native quail species, as this is word for 'quail' in Balinese - and it is probably the putative cognate for Tagalog (and Ilokano) [pugo] 'quail'.
I learned a lot from this and enjoyed every moment of it. I love hearing about traditions from cultures I'm not very familiar with, and I really appreciate that you make that a priority in this series.
I like the info from all the other cultures. I am so emersed in Orion being a man/hunter, that I never saw a canoe. That is great.
Tulio: the Stars are not in position for this tribute!
Miguel: Like he said. Stars. Can't do it not today
Are there books that explore the different mythologies based on the stars? I would love to explore this topic more in detail.
There are myths from Europe, North America, Japan, Central Africa, and Australia about the Pleiades that are similar. This story may be the oldest human story ever told.
Heres some African star mythology for you! ☺️
czcams.com/video/3t-52IrAbG8/video.html
Hi! We recommend Star Stories: Constellations and People by Anthony Aveni, They Dance in the Sky: Native American Star Myths by Ray A. Williamson, Star Lore: Myths, Legends, and Facts by William Tyler Olcott, Star Names: Their Lore and Meaning by Richard H. Allen, and I also cover some of the myths about the Milky Way in my upcoming book: The Milky Way An Autobiography of Our Galaxy! - Dr. McTier
The Stars We Know is a great book to go in depth about Crow beliefs and constellations.
Humanity has always been looking upward toward the stars. We understand more now than we did then but that drive to look forever up has not left us.
In Indian astronomy, the Pole Star is called Dhruva Tara (named after the boy-sage dhruva). The constellation known in the West as Ursa Major is known as Saptarishi (Seven Sages) since it is made of 7 stars.
I live in Namibia, in Southern Africa, and my Dad always told me that the Emu constellation was a Giraffe
Not sure if anyone else mentioned this, but the points of light in our sky are not *always* stars!
A great many of them are planets as well, as planets also glow. Just a fun fact! :)
Some of them are also whole clusters of stars so distant we see them as only a single point.
@@NovaSaber That too!
Constellations are everything in india. Nothing is done without referring them. It's sort of something that we do traditionally and culturally...
This channel is criminally underrated
True👍👍
loved seeing the Aboriginal stories! it’d be great to see more oceanic perspectives.
It's weird (not in a bad way) to see the warning for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples at the start of this American video. It's a commonplace thing here in Australia, seeing it here just goes to show the amount of research they did to make it.
As a non-Australian, it took me by surprise and got me curious enough to look it up. Wonder if they'll make that a regular thing or just if the video discusses Aboriginal history and culture.
@@BonaparteBardithion I do hope so given that it's a considerate thing to do. I'm an Aussie and it's on a lot of shows here, as well as a note about which tribal lands were being filmed on to give appropriate respect.
I almost never comment on videos, but I had to. This content is a source of joy. Seriously, thank you. As a fellow astrophysicist and myth fan, this video was great. I love it! Also, pretty please: Where did you get that dress? It's amazing! I need one! ✨
Keep them coming, this channel is the best 😍👌
LOVE THIS A LOT! If I could turn back time, I really wish I could study archeology that focusing on how ancient civilizations all across the world used celestial bodies and constellations for navigation, religious purpose, and storytelling of heroism and tradition. Exactly like what this video is about! So fascinating!
I laughed hard when you said "it was all about you, Orion" because me too. It doesn't matter where I am, I can always find him. I can't find the north star, but I can find Orion.
from orions right shoulder (left with you facing him) look diagonally up and to the left to find two stick figures. That's Gemini.
From his left shoulder (your right side) look up and to the right for a sideways y. Thats Taurus, and the seven sisters are near that.
From Orions right foot (your left side) look down and to the left. The bright star in that area is Sirius in the constellation canis major.
If you find Taurus and gemini and follow along the line the seem to be on, you probably wont find cancer to the left gemini bc its extremely dim. But you might find the hook that makes up leo's head. And if you follow the line to the right of Taurus, you probably wont find aries since thats a pretty dim one too (unless you dont have much light pollution, though you might see one of its stars) but you might find Pisces in the shape of a slanted v with a circle on one end and a triangle on the other
TLDR? once you know how to reliably find one constellation you can start to figure out how to find more. And then? You know exactly where to look during meteor showers :)
@@rosie5046 that seems reasonably easy. I'm going to screenshot this because I know my memory is starting to go. Thank you for such simple directions.
Oh, and fortunately, I don't usually have too much light pollution to worry about. More than I'd like, but a lost less than if I lived in a city.
@@rosie5046 I love looking at those constellations in the winter (they're up on winter nights where im at). I also found out that using the Winter Circle helps too since it has all of those constellations in it. They were some of my first constellations I saw (of course Orion being the first one lol)
You can use the Big Dipper to find the north star! Just use the pointer star Dubhe and go from that direction (about 5 finger widths) and the star it leads to is the north star. Orion rises up from the east, so avoid that area if you're looking for the star (or just go left from his left shoulder/Betelgeuse and you'll find the big dipper). The north star never rises or sets, it's just there all day and night since it's circumpolar!
@@kittycupcakes5816 the winter constellations were the first ones i could pick out too. Orion's just showing everyone the way 😂
It is good to be reminded that western European science had its foundation in star gazing and astrology. Many Renaissance thinkers were also astrologers because that was the science of the time. Let's not get started on the math needed to tell where a star will be over the horizon at any time of the day.
Many cultures have done very good astronomy. The Medicine Wheels of North America were matters of life and death. Every culture with agriculture measures the position of the stars.
Please know the difference between astronomy and astrology. SOME renaissance thinkers practiced astronomy. They tracked stars and even constellations. They didn't believe your star sign would make you compatible with someone kust because you're a virgo or whatever.
Even before the Spaniards came to the Philippines, Filipinos have long ago formed our own constellations. Balatik (Orion) and Moroporo (Pleiades) are two of the most prominent star groups known throughout the archipelago because of their strategic position in the sky, and because they are composed of bright stars.
The interesting thing is that these stars aren't actually in alignment. The stars in Orion's belt are billions of light years apart but because they're so far away they look like they form a straight line when viewed from earth.
I definitely think humanity loses part of its connection to the universe when we can't see the stars because of light pollution. Reminds me how much there is out there.
Beautifully done - stellar, even! Heh. This was truly fascinating and I am so very glad you mentioned several other cultures besides the classical Greek. I grew up on those myths, those constellations, but it's truly wondrous to hear the stories of other peoples. It makes me imagine being beside those ancient Aboriginal peoples, or some lonely Egyptian shepherd, staring up at those silent points of light... and makes me realize that the wonder and majesty of staring at the night sky is a particularly human thing, that transcends culture - we may assign many meanings and make many uses of the stars, but the fascination remains the same.
I love this channel I wish they would push out more content and more frequently
I was lucky to grow up in a small town with limited light. I've been fascinated by the stars and constellations ever since I was a lad :))
The really interesting thing about astrology is how they analyze energy.
It’s basically, “large mass object with x energy and object with y energy are n degrees apart, how can their energy as vectors combine?”
I hope we can help the light pollution problem over time, it's disappointing to get a fraction of the night sky and it's wonders
Lovely video ❤️ In Aotearoa spent my whole life watching the Southern Cross constellation
today I learned: some cultures can't look at pictures of dead people? it kinda makes sense, and I have something to look more into about the beliefs entangled with photos
Lovely video, but may I ask, why the warning label?
"There is also the tradition of, during the mourning period, avoiding reference to the names of people who have died as a mark of respect -and also because it is considered too painful for the grieving family. Today the practice continues in many communities, but has also come to encompass avoiding the publication or dissemination of photography or film footage of the deceased as well. Most forms of media in Australia include a disclaimer warning" - en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avoidance_speech
Simply put, those cultures have a very strong taboo regarding the dead. They do not directly name out of respect, so the dead are referred to with euphemisms or substitute names. The disclaimer is there because this point of etiquette has also extended to electronic formats.
@@AI-hx3fx ok
So great to hear aboriginal and torres strait islander beliefs!
The first time I saw the milky way, not just handfuls of stars, was at my grandparents'. I'll never forget that sight. I really wish we had less light pollution, because the night sky is such a grand thing and I hope to one day see it properly again.
This moved me to tears. Thank you for sharing 😊
I couldn't live in the city without view of the stars. I'm so glad I have my little homestead in northeastern Utah.
The one good think about living in rural Wisconsin is being able to see the stars at night :))
Best recent channel on CZcams in my opinion. Accessible, well researched, clearly written and smoothly delivered. Progressive instincts, creative imagination and scholarly rigor. World needs more of that right now.
I love this new series,please keep it up!
as an Australian, I love hearing about Aussie myths and legends
Only 1 quibble: if we take the Big Bang seriously, then EVERYTHING is the center of the universe! ;-)
Also, the Copernican revolution wasn't as big a deal then as we teach it today. Copernicus was still wedded to perfectly circular orbits, so his model only used slightly fewer epicycles (circles on the circles) than the Ptolemaic model. The real revolution was when Kepler used ellipses instead of circles.
Thanks for the focus on the stellar lore of other cultures!!
Very informative. Thank you!
Thank you for the opening 😌👍🏿🇦🇺
This was fascinating. I do not hear enough about the southern constellations and the people who watch them so it was a real treat.
I’m enjoying your wonderfully objective presentation. We’re here to appreciate others, not to judge their belief systems, I’d say.
Lovely episode. I found this very interesting. Laughed to myself a little at the end because I don't stay up late enough to get outside to enjoy the stars above.
Loved this episode!
what are some good resources for looking up non-Greco-Roman constellations?
The stories attached to them.
Gosh I love Fate & Fabled!!! This one is *awesome*.
Holy Neptune! I can't believe how moving I found this. Well done, Dr. McTier
Great video! Moiya, keep up the good work! 💙💛
My what a delightful surprise!
I stumbled upon this series because I was watching the Otherwords series, and I find the lovely Dr. McTier who I so enjoy listening to in Spirits, and The Newest Olympian pocasts!
Thank you for this! I would love a series on the stories that go along with the non-Greek constellations. I know so few of them and have found it surprisingly difficult to find.
Vedic (Indian) astrology is barely noticeably different from western astrology. It's sidereal, and much more detailed, (and much more accurate and useful) but it's the same planets (plus the lunar nodes) and the same constellations.
Chinese astrology, now there's a thing that I can't explain at all.
I think it is very different! It also depends upon the region in India and its specific belief system but where I live, the astrology is very different wrt western astrology.
Barely noticeable? Well....I'm sorry but you must not know a lot of Vedic astrology. Vedic astrology is waaaaaayyyyyyyy more detailed about everything. Recommend reading: Surya Siddhantha
As a night sky lover (and a nyctophile on general), I am insanely jealous of people who can see the night sky clearly. Must be breathtaking.
I loved this video. Thank you!
I enjoyed this on many levels, thanks.
@2:35 With everything moving at astronomical speeds in space it constantly surprises me that the constellations are largely unchanged from 100s of years ago to today
excellent topic!!!
I'd love to know what those people who named the constellations were smoking. I couldn't possibly see anything other than a random jumble of points in them.
I know it's dumb to promote other channels but this one goes really well with this video.
Overly sarcastic productions constellations. It's done really well
Love your dress Dr. Awesomely stellar
I honestly could listen to an entire lesson on anything related to stars and outer space it’s just so dam fascinating 🤔
Great episode! Not to be a pedantic jerk, but for future reference, the P in Ptolemy is silent
Lovely sentiment at the end there
YESSSSS to sharing facts about Australian Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islanders ❤️
Excellent episode, as always! I enjoyed it immensely. I also have to say, I love your dress. Fabulous!
The dress though 😘🤌 immaculate
Really interesting video 👏🏾
I sure loved this
I remember once when someone commented on one of Monstrum's videos complaining about "all these other videos they didn't want" on the channel. I'm glad these "other videos" are here to stay. :-)
4 years ago, I went to Labuan Bajo, Indonesia and spend 4 days 3 nights on private ship with my friends (very cheap, I might say). It was the best vacation I had. it was so quiet. Although I'm tired at night, I tried to stay awake during nighttime to sunrise just to watch the stars and also Venus and Mercury-rise in the morning.
One of my friend even got to capture milky way.
what are the apps to know more about constellations?
"As a scientist, I don't like those stats."
"Thanks to light-pollution, people can't connect to the sky the way they once did."
But if everyone could connect to the night sky like they used to, she wouldn't like that very much, either.
I've just realized your dress has a constellation pattern! Love it!
Girl you are Fabulous and fierce!!! I love tour knowledge and insight. I love ya!!!
Love this channel
This series already in my favs with monstrum. I LOVE that dress it is amazing!
I love this! ❤️
I love Dr. Moiya's dress!
Thank you so much for respecting my peoples culture with the warning at the beginning of this video ❤💛🖤
Love it, remined me if being a kid growing up in Baltimore
See this is what I actually find fascinating about astrology. The history the multicultural interpretations, the maths, the patterns (even if they aren't necessarily always actual patterns), the amazing things that people managed to figure out time after time, again and again over many generations and around the world. Stories that served very real purposes and taught very necessary lessons in many places. Human creativity.
1:00 Interesting how Orion is also on the center of her dress.
I love learning mythology
Where did she get that awesome dress!
Zodiac as a way of knowing what time of the year you're born. Nice
I love watching the night sky, sadly not so much lately because of lights of the city fading them out. Back in my outdoor days, it was great looking up at all the stars.
(So, it took me over 3-4 minutes to realize the dress was constellations and not just a pattern ... this is why I'm not a detective.)
It's a little presumptuous to state as a matter of fact that the placement of the stars in the sky is entirely random, but from a purely secular perspective, it is so interesting that humans have always looked to the sky, and told stories about the heavens that were always just out of arm's reach
i never realized that the stars on so many flags was a constellation, i hadn't really thought about the symbolism of other countries flags before but that makes so much sense and is incredibly interesting. now i just want to do a deep dive on flags with constellations on them.