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REMARK S 



O N 



THE 



A R T,S 

 AND ■ 

 SCIENCES 



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This attention to the great luminaries and the flars, rendered it 



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necefTary to diflinguifh each of them by a peculiar name. The fun 

 -has the name of £r^,and the moon that of M^r^j/;?^, the planet Venus 



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is called Tourooa, Jupiter Mataree, and Saturn Na-ta-Ma. The fe- 

 ven ilars have the name of E-whettoo-owhaay^ Sirius or the Dog-ftar 

 ^a-whettoQ-rha-y the flars forming the belt of Orion are named 



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E-whettoo-mahoo 'j the milky way is known by the denomination of 



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T-eiya, and a comet or blazing flar by that of E-whettoo-werra ', 



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the natives have alfo a name for a fliooting ftar and call it Epao, 

 and think that it is an evil genius palling rapidly through the 

 heavens. They are doubtlefs acquainted with other flars, than 



thofe here enumerated, and 



their rifing or fetting are enabled 



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to judge of the time of the night, and likewife of the points of the 



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heavens though they have no compafs. It is very well known that 

 their imperfed. aflronomical knowledge is only applicable to the 



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parts of the world which are near to 0-Taheitee, as the appearances 



would 



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* To give. the literal figmfication of the i-^ames of all the flars, is a talk too difficult for 

 the imperfect knowledge .of the Tahcitean language I am mailer of, however I'll give here 

 the interpretation of fuch names as arc obvious to me. The feven ftars are called E^ivbettaO' 

 anvhaa^ or the Jiars of the neft ; probably- the natives abfl:ra6led from the pofitlon of the-ftars, 

 the figure of a bird's neft. The Dog-ftar Ta-nvhettoo rodh the great Jiar^ and this name is 

 very properly given. The milky way or T'^clya feems to %nify a faiU A coijiet or 



lifies the huming/tau 



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