Abstract
It is estimated that on a dark moonless night, away from city lights, we can see about 5,000 stars with the naked eye. It is no surprise, then, that star lore concerning these points of light should be so rich and varied the world over, and this is reflected in the variety of different names that exist for the same stars. Furthermore, cultures also see unique patterns in the stars and attribute different meanings to them. This chapter explores the nature of constellations and some of the watery themes that abound in interpretations of the sky, due to the importance of the sea to the people of Oceania. We find that amongst the patterns of the stars lurk watery monsters and primordial sharks. Also present are various embodiments of sailing technology in the form of canoes, sails, masts and anchors that allowed peoples to settle the empty islands of remote Oceania. Likewise, we find that fish and sharks rise and set over the Pacific, acting as markers of seasons and winds as well as reminders of the importance of the sea and of their counterparts in the waters below.
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Notes
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Chadwick, S.R., Paviour-Smith, M. (2017). The Sky Is an Ocean. In: The Great Canoes in the Sky. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-22623-1_4
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