Turko-Mongols of Central and Inner Asia: The Pleiades as Part of Folk Knowledge

Abstract

Introduction. The The Pleiades star cluster was the most important asterism in the life of Inner and Central Asian nomads — of all the astral objects visible in the night sky — as a guide in time and space during the hours of darkness. The study is relevant enough since it further clarifies and expands the understanding of Turko-Mongolian traditional astronomical knowledge. Goals. The paper examines two versions of how the Pleiades influence climate traced in worldviews of Turko-Mongols inhabiting the designated region, and some popular interpretations of certain astronomical phenomena associated with the Pleiades. Materials and methods. The work employs a comprehensive, systemic-historical approach to investigate the past, the research methodology being that inherent to historical and ethnographic disciplines. The main research sources are publications dealing with mythologies and folklore patterns of Turko-Mongols that articulate certain ideas of nomads about the Pleiades star cluster. Results. The pastoral ‘Lunar-Pleiadian’ calendar based on the astronomical phenomenon of Moon- Pleiades conjunctions is most relevant across habitats of Turko-Mongols. The latter’s traditional ideas inherent to folk knowledge and myths tend to associate the appearance of the Pleiades in the sky — with the approach of the cold season. However, the myths happen to contain opposing views regarding climatic conditions when the Pleiades were yet on earth: some say those days witnessed extreme cold emitted by the Pleiades; others, on the contrary, narrate about eternal summer and heat. So, after the Pleiades were expelled to heaven a summer appeared on earth (in version one) or the eternal summer was disrupted by winter months (in version two). While the appearance of the Pleiades in the sky brought the long-awaited cool air and rains in the southern latitudes, in the northern ones their image tends to be depicted as ‘master of cold’ and the patron of hunting. Conclusions. Mythological plots about the Pleiades in folk lore and knowledge of Turko-Mongols contain several unique versions of climate change, including motifs of how a star was stolen, how a spare star (stars) was destructed by animals, a shaman or an archer. The myths from northern cold latitudes contain a character responsible for the spread of cold — cow antetyped by the constellation Taurus well known in southern areas.

Keywords

• central asia
• inner asia
• pleiades star cluster
• turkic and mongolic peoples
• winter
• summer
• struggle between animals