Academic literature on the topic 'Astronomy, Polynesian'

AbstractEastern Polynesian astronomy was practiced by navigators and astronomer-priests who were in charge of adjusting the lunar calendar and their annual ritual cycle of activities known as ‘The Work of the Gods’. The festivity known in Polynesia as Matariki, Matali'i or Matari'i was related to the heliacal and acronical rising and setting of the Pleiades. A study of 75 marae on the island of Raivavae, Austral Islands and of 7 marae in the island of Raiatea, Society Islands shows that there are alignments towards important star positions associated with this ritual cycle. Their use as observatories has not been documented and therefore these alignments could have served solely ritual purposes. On Easter Island all information regarding the Matariki festival coincides with the arrival of a Spanish expedition in 1770.

New Zealand is a self-governed, independent nation, a member of the British Commonwealth, and a major center of Polynesian culture in the south Pacific. The country’s two main islands lie between 34° and 47° south latitude, which places New Zealand south of many well known southern observing sites such as Sydney (Australia), Cape Town (South Africa), and Cordoba (Argentina).The population of 3.5 million people inhabit a country slightly larger than the United Kingdom. The astronomical interests of this small population are nourished by no less than 25 local and regional astronomical societies. Amateur astronomers are active in New Zealand. The Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand coordinates national interests and hosts international activities.

AbstractIn this paper we report on a 15-year project to construct a comprehensive catalogue of Hawaiian starnames documented in historical sources, published during the IAU General Assembly. Hawaiian star knowledge represents incomparable intangible heritage relating to Polynesian navigation in the Pacific. It both informs and motivates living cultural traditions aiming to reconstruct and build upon such knowledge.

AbstractThis paper presents a perspective upon how the confluence of three differing faces of time may have served as fundamental stimulus for Charles Darwin's formulation of the theory of evolution. The first temporal perspective is represented in Lyell's exposition of 'deep' geological time. This provided Darwin the temporal canvas upon which to conceive the possibility of the prolonged process of change upon which the conceptual basis of the theory of evolution is founded. The second face of time is epitomized in the linguistic treatment of temporality by the Polynesian culture, in whose environs Darwin found himself studying these respective processes of change. The linguistic and conceptual emphasis of this culture on the immediacy of a continual 'specious' present in perception and action provides evident examples of naming transformations of objects and entities well within the observational lifetime of a single individual. The juxtaposition of these conflicting, enormously 'deep' and exceptionally 'shallow' perspectives on time permits the step of insight on the process of change and consistency that became the bedrock of evolution itself. The final element of time, crucial to this whole process of understanding, was the necessary interval of duration for this synthesis to emerge. As a gentleman-scholar aboard the Beagle, Darwin possessed this boon of contemplative time in which to recognize and reconcile these vastly different yet eventually, deeply compatible views of time. Darwin's studious and painstaking development of evolution theory stands in stark contrast to the equivalent, but much more sudden brisance of understanding on behalf of Alfred Wallace whose own insight I shall argue is an exemplar of another form of time's influence.

AbstractThe relative importance of evolutionary history and ecology for traits that drive ecosystem processes is poorly understood. Consumers are essential drivers of nutrient cycling on coral reefs, and thus ecosystem productivity. We use nine consumer “chemical traits” associated with nutrient cycling, collected from 1,572 individual coral reef fishes (178 species spanning 41 families) in two biogeographic regions, the Caribbean and Polynesia, to quantify the relative importance of phylogenetic history and ecological context as drivers of chemical trait variation on coral reefs. We find: (1) phylogenetic relatedness is the best predictor of all chemical traits, substantially outweighing the importance of ecological factors thought to be key drivers of these traits, (2) phylogenetic conservatism in chemical traits is greater in the Caribbean than Polynesia, where our data suggests that ecological forces have a greater influence on chemical trait variation, and (3) differences in chemical traits between regions can be explained by differences in nutrient limitation associated with the geologic context of our study locations. Our study provides multiple lines of evidence that phylogeny is a critical determinant of contemporary nutrient dynamics on coral reefs. More broadly our findings highlight the utility of evolutionary history to improve prediction in ecosystem ecology.

Comment les Tahitiens ont-ils conceptualisé le ciel pour en faire un instrument de mesure astronomique ? Leurs traditions apportent des explications sous forme de récits cosmogoniques. Ils peuvent nous envoûter mais, ils ne sont pas considérés comme des solutions scientifiques. L'astronomie a accordé aux théories qui ont cours aujourd'hui toutes les apparences du sérieux et de la rationalité. La cosmogonie a commencé le jour où l'homme s'est posé des questions sur son environnement et ses origines. Il fallait demander à ceux qui avaient voyagé, de raconter ce qu’ils avaient vu et entendu sur les régions encore plus lointaines. Les Tahitiens font partie de ces curieux qui sont allés voir ce qu’il y avait au-delà de l’horizon et pour qui la parole d’un ancêtre était acte de foi. Les réponses se trouvent donc dans les récits mythiques et le vocabulaire utilisé, à la source des symboles intellectuels. Pour les déchiffrer, l’approche linguistique est indispensable.Dans la cosmogonie tahitienne, le dieu Ta’aroa crée le monde. Le ciel demeure cependant uni à la terre, il le soulève à l’aide de dix piliers (pou), que repèrent des étoiles appelées ‘anā. Les objets célestes peuvent ainsi émerger des abysses à l’horizon et se mouvoir sur le dôme en traçant une dizaine de chemins (rua), guidés par les plus remarquables d’entre eux, les ta’urua. Cette conceptualisation du ciel offrira aux Tahitiens un instrument de mesure spatiotemporel remarquable.Leur lexique astronomique comporte près de deux cents termes porteurs de concepts. Les revisiter conduit à découvrir leur ancienne science
How did the Tahitians conceptualize the skies in order to create their own instrument of astronomy? Traditions provide explanations in the form of cosmogony stories. They can entice or by no means are they considered scientific evidence. Astronomy has supported theories that give today a certain seriousness or rationality.Cosmogony began the day when man inquired about its environment and its origins. To fully understand, they asked those that have travelled in the past, recollecting descriptions of what they had seen and heard from faraway places.The curiosity of Tahitians has pushed them to travel beyond the horizon having only faith in the words of their ancestors. The answers can be found within the mythical recitals by understanding the vocabulary used at the source of intellectual symbols. Without a doubt, the approach of a linguist is necessary.In Tahitian cosmogony, the God Ta'aroa created the world. The sky was attached to the earth and in order to separate them; he used ten pillars "Pou", that are marked by stars in the sky called "'Anā". Celestial bodies move across the dome sky by following pathways called "Rua" and each pathway is highlighted by a dominant star called "Ta'urua". This conceptualization of the sky gave Tahitians a remarkable instrument for measuring space and time. The lexicon of astronomy terms numbers nearly two hundred. Understanding them leads one to discover their ancient science