1888.] Lore of the South African Natives. 305 



Miss Gierke has shown in an interesting paper contributed to 

 Nature, how Hesperus and Phosphorus, Orion and Arktos, the 

 Pleiads and Hyads nearly complete the list of stars distinguished 

 by name in the Homeric poems from the rest of the " stellar 

 multitude." The Bushman can shew us a longer list than this. 



Thus, we learn from Dr. Bleek, that the Pointers of the Southern 

 Cross are called the Male Lions ; «, (i, y, Crucis are the Lionesses. 

 Aldebaran is the Male Hartebeest, « Orionis the Female Hartebeest ; 

 the Male Eland is Procyon, his wives are Castor and Pollux, the 

 Magellanic clouds are Steinboks, the Sword and the Stars in the 

 Belt of Orion are Tortoises, &c., &c. 



Both Greek and Bushman dated their seasons by the annual rising of 

 the Stars ; but, while the Greek pictured groups in the sky with which 

 he connected legends of god and heroes the Bushman traced no constel- 

 lations. He named the single Stars which he saw at certain periods 

 from the animals or other objects which at such time come into season 

 t)r became more abundant. Thus Canopus or the "Ant Qgg''^ star by 

 its appearance shows that this article of food might now be sought for. 

 The Bushmen classify the Stars into night stars and dawn stars. 

 Jupiter is known as the " Dawn's Heart," and Leonis is her child. 



The following legends profess to describe the origin of some of 

 the heavenly bodies : 



The Milky Way was formed by a girl of the ancient race throwing 

 ashes into the sky. 



The Sun was a man formerly living on the earth from whose arm- 

 pits light proceeded. It, however, only illuminated a small space 

 :round his house ; and while he was asleep some children of the 

 ancient Bushmen were sent to throw him into the sky " since when he 

 shines over the whole earth." 



The Moon was caused by the Mantis or chief Bushman deity 



throwing his shoe into the sky, ordering it to become the Moon and 



disperse a darkness which was caused by the bursting of the eland's 



^all bladder. The Moon is red because the shoe of the Mantis was 



covered with the red dust of Bushmanland. 



But according to another legend our satellite was a man who had 



incurred the wrath of the Sun. The Sun attacked him with his 



■ knife, i.e., his rays, until the Moon was by degrees cut away, all but a 



little piece, which the Moon implored him to spare for his children. 



.'.He then began to increase again until he reached his original size, 



7when the process was repeated. 



