Presenting spectacular photographs of astronomical objects of the southern sky, all taken by author Stephen Chadwick, this book explores what peoples of the South Pacific see when they look up at the heavens and what they have done with this knowledge. From wives killing brothers to emus rising out of the desert and great canoes in the sky, this book offers the perfect blend of science, tradition and mythology to bring to life the most famous sights in the heavens above the southern hemisphere. The authors place this starlore in the context of contemporary understandings of astronomy. The night sky of southern societies is as rich in culture as it is in stars. Stories, myths and legends based on constellations, heavenly bodies and other night sky phenomena have played a fundamental role in shaping the culture of pre-modern civilizations throughout the world. Such starlore continues to influence societies throughout the Pacific to this day, with cultures throughout the region - from Australia and New Zealand in the south to New Guinea and Micronesia in the north - using traditional cosmology as a means of interpreting various aspects of everyday life.
Rezensionen / Stimmen
"This book presents an unusual juxtaposition of modern science-based astronomy and the star lore passed on orally through multiple generations of South Pacific and Australian Indigenous peoples. . the unusual and original combination of astronomy and anthropology makes for interesting, informative, and entertaining reading." (Richard Dodd, The Observatory, February, 2018)
"This book is a significant step in the recovery of a very important astronomical knowledge and tradition of a past civilization, that of the variety of the populations that colonized the Pacific Ocean. . The book is packed with many beautiful illustrations, pictures, photos, and maps which help the understanding of the text and are also pleasing to the eye, and it fits the needs of the interested general readers, as well as those of the professionals in the field." (Alberto Vecchiato,aaa-alb.blogspot.it, July 2017)
"The star lore and constellations of the Pacific are introduced in a very organized fashion. . It is interesting to both read about the canoes as constellations, who and why is said to maybe be travelling by them, etc. . It's a fascinating book where the different layers of what one can think, and know about the night sky are presented at about the same level, not making one side of it more prevalent than the other." (AstroMadness.com, January, 2017)
