Work

Eclipses in Australian Aboriginal Astronomy

Year: 2011

Type: preprint

Abstract: We explore 50 Australian Aboriginal accounts of lunar and solar eclipses to determine how Aboriginal groups understood this phenomenon. We summarise the literature on Aboriginal references to eclipses, showing that many Aboriginal groups viewed eclipses negatively, frequently associating them with bad omens, evil magic, disease, blood and death. In many communities, Elders or medicine men were believed to have the ability to control or avert eclipses by magical means, solidifying their role as provider and protector within the community. We also show that many Aboriginal groups understood the motions of the sun-earth-moon system, the connection between the lunar phases and tides, and acknowledged that solar eclipses were caused by the moon blocking the sun.

Source: arXiv (Cornell University)

DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.1105.2635

Authors: Hamacher, Duane W., Norris, Ray P.

Institutions: Monash University, Macquarie University, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Astronomy and Space

Language: English

Topic: Australian Indigenous Culture and History

Subfield: Anthropology

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funders: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Macquarie University, State Library of New South Wales

OpenAlex ID: W2963979997

Cites: 47

Cited by: 20

Related to: 20