In
Māori mythology
Māori mythology and Māori traditions are two major categories into which the remote oral history of New Zealand's Māori may be divided. Māori myths concern fantastic tales relating to the origins of what was the observable world for the pr ...
, Atutahi is the name of Canopus, (
Alpha Carinae).
Atutahi is the second brightest star in the night-time sky, second only to Sirius (Takurua).
''Aotahi'', ''Autahi'', and ''Atutahi'', "First-light" or "Single-light", were equivalent names that also intimated the star's solitary or self-centered nature.
Atutahi is considered to be a very
tapu star, and always dwells alone. This is seen in its position outside the Milky Way.
Of all the stars known to the Māori, Atutahi had a special place, along with Rigel (
Puanga
), signalling the Māori new year., litcolor=, observedby=New Zealanders, nickname=, official_name=, alt=, image=M45 Pleiades Pbkwee (cropped to core 9 stars).jpg, relatedto=, date2022=24 June, date2023=14 July
In Māori culture, Matariki is the ...
), because of their intimate association with
kūmara
The sweet potato or sweetpotato (''Ipomoea batatas'') is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the bindweed or morning glory family, Convolvulaceae. Its large, starchy, sweet-tasting tuberous roots are used as a root vegetable. The young shoot ...
cultivation. Their appearance in the eastern sky was the sign for planting to begin.
Atutahi and Puanga could be used to foretell the weather.
Atutahi has several different mythologies attached to it as well. One story tells of how Atutahi was left outside of the basket representing the
Milky Way
The Milky Way is the galaxy that includes our Solar System, with the name describing the galaxy's appearance from Earth: a hazy band of light seen in the night sky formed from stars that cannot be individually distinguished by the naked eye ...
when
Tane wove it. Another related myth surrounding the star says that Autahi was the first-born child of
Rangi, who refused to enter the Milky Way and so turned it sideways and rose before it. The same name is used for other stars and constellations throughout Polynesia.
[Makemson 1941:pp200-202]
Other names
*Aotahi
*Autahi
*Atutahi-mā-Rehua
References
*E. Best, ''Astronomical Knowledge of the Maori'' Dominion Museum Monograph No. 3. (Museum of New Zealand: Wellington), 1955.
*MW Makemson ''The Morning Star Rises: an account of Polynesian astronomy'' (Yale University Press 1941)
*E.R. Tregear, ''Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary'' (Lyon and Blair: Lambton Quay, 1891).
Māori mythology
Canopus
{{Māori-myth-stub