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(Johnson, 2011; Norris, 2016). They are generally identified with a group (usually
seven, but sometimes six) of young girls, or sisters, often fleeing from the man or
men in Orion (or occasionally from the Moon or another celestial body). They are
frequently associated with sacred women’s ceremonies and stories. The Pleiades are
also important as an element of Aboriginal calendars, and in several groups their
heliacal rising marks the start of winter. For example, Norris (2016) report an
account in which ‘Seven sisters come back with turtle, fish, freshwater snakes and
also bush foods like yams and berries. The stars come in season when the food and
berries come out, They give Yolngu bush tucker, they multiply the foods in the sea
that’s why Yolngu are happy to see them’.
Johnson (2011) divides the Pleiades stories into four groups, to which I add a
fifth based on the presence of a protective dingo. The five groups are then as follows:
• In most areas of mainland Australia, the Pleiades are portrayed as girls chased by
the young men in Orion which is very similar to the Greek myth
• In Arnhem Land, stories portray the Pleiades as partners of the men in Orion. In
some versions of the story from NSW and Victoria, Orion consists of boys who
dance at night to music made by the girls in the Pleiades (Parker, 1905; Smyth,
1878).
• In south-west Australia, the stories often feature the girls being protected by their
dingoes. Because this detail is absent in stories from south-east Australia, Tindale
(1983) argued that the story predates the arrival of dingoes in Australia in about
5000 BC. The association of the Pleiades with dingoes may also stem from the
harvesting of dingo puppies by several groups as a food source at the heliacal
rising of the Pleiades (Harney, 1963; Norris, 2008; Tindale & Lindsay, 1963).
• In the Torres Strait Islands, they are (with Orion) part of the crew of Tagai’s boat
that perished at sea after Tagai caught them stealing, and threw them overboard.
• In Tasmania, there is no known Pleiades story.
Stories in which there are six are usually accompanied by a story explaining how
the “lost Pleiad” has been raped, or murdered, or has been captured by Orion, or is
in hiding from Orion.
Many Aboriginal stories refer to the sisters as pursued by the young men in Orion
(Tindale, 1983), For example, Harney (1959) reports a Central Desert version in
which the girls are being chased towards Uluru by the young Orion men from the
North, and escape by fleeing into the sky. Similarly, in Kamilaroi culture, Orion is
known as the young men who loved, and pursued, the Pleiades (Mountford, 1976;
Parker, 1905).
The Aboriginal stories of Orion and the Seven Sisters are so widespread
throughout Australia, and occur in so many different Australian Aboriginal cultures,
with local variations, that these stories are probably thousands of years old, certainly
predating the European occupation of Australia (Johnson, 2011).
Why Are There Seven Sisters?
(Johnson, 2011; Norris, 2016). They are generally identified with a group (usually
seven, but sometimes six) of young girls, or sisters, often fleeing from the man or
men in Orion (or occasionally from the Moon or another celestial body). They are
frequently associated with sacred women’s ceremonies and stories. The Pleiades are
also important as an element of Aboriginal calendars, and in several groups their
heliacal rising marks the start of winter. For example, Norris (2016) report an
account in which ‘Seven sisters come back with turtle, fish, freshwater snakes and
also bush foods like yams and berries. The stars come in season when the food and
berries come out, They give Yolngu bush tucker, they multiply the foods in the sea
that’s why Yolngu are happy to see them’.
Johnson (2011) divides the Pleiades stories into four groups, to which I add a
fifth based on the presence of a protective dingo. The five groups are then as follows:
• In most areas of mainland Australia, the Pleiades are portrayed as girls chased by
the young men in Orion which is very similar to the Greek myth
• In Arnhem Land, stories portray the Pleiades as partners of the men in Orion. In
some versions of the story from NSW and Victoria, Orion consists of boys who
dance at night to music made by the girls in the Pleiades (Parker, 1905; Smyth,
1878).
• In south-west Australia, the stories often feature the girls being protected by their
dingoes. Because this detail is absent in stories from south-east Australia, Tindale
(1983) argued that the story predates the arrival of dingoes in Australia in about
5000 BC. The association of the Pleiades with dingoes may also stem from the
harvesting of dingo puppies by several groups as a food source at the heliacal
rising of the Pleiades (Harney, 1963; Norris, 2008; Tindale & Lindsay, 1963).
• In the Torres Strait Islands, they are (with Orion) part of the crew of Tagai’s boat
that perished at sea after Tagai caught them stealing, and threw them overboard.
• In Tasmania, there is no known Pleiades story.
Stories in which there are six are usually accompanied by a story explaining how
the “lost Pleiad” has been raped, or murdered, or has been captured by Orion, or is
in hiding from Orion.
Many Aboriginal stories refer to the sisters as pursued by the young men in Orion
(Tindale, 1983), For example, Harney (1959) reports a Central Desert version in
which the girls are being chased towards Uluru by the young Orion men from the
North, and escape by fleeing into the sky. Similarly, in Kamilaroi culture, Orion is
known as the young men who loved, and pursued, the Pleiades (Mountford, 1976;
Parker, 1905).
The Aboriginal stories of Orion and the Seven Sisters are so widespread
throughout Australia, and occur in so many different Australian Aboriginal cultures,
with local variations, that these stories are probably thousands of years old, certainly
predating the European occupation of Australia (Johnson, 2011).
Why Are There Seven Sisters?