Astronomy of the Ma’anyan of central Borneo
When I was about 10, a youngster, I learned about constellations. An assistant scoutmaster used a light pointer to show us the various stars and constellations. He tried to show me the constellation of Cassiopeia but I did not see a chair, I saw something else. He sighed and said okay. I learned about the Dippers, Orion and a few others. While at University, on cold winter nights, I took girls to a field or the beach and showed them the stars and as they put their heads back to look, I kissed them. They usually reciprocated. My next adventure in astronomy was a course in college where I became utterly confused. Finally, when Dad died, he was an Air Force pilot, I saw among his effects a folded brown cut-out newspaper clipping with the words “From Orion to the Cross”. Dad was never a religious guy so I pondered the meaning. Then it dawned on me that flying an aeroplane meant from Orion to the Southern Cross the constellation of Australia visible from the air. When my daughter and I visited Australia I asked to be shown the Southern Cross. Most people looked at me blankly and pointed it up there. “Where?” I asked. I don’t think I ever saw it. When I moved to Kuching 15 years ago, I purchased a telescope thinking this would be the best place to view the stars from my balcony. I did not know that cloud covers came off the South China Sea and obscured views most nights.
I have looked for and found in my obscure readings for this blog, indeed most of my readings are from obscure sources, small articles about the Pleiades. Now, here is an article about the sun and stars as seen with the eyes of people who live in central Borneo. Enjoy!
The Ma’anyan
The Dayak M’anyan tribe live in central Borneo. They are the ones who were captured, enslaved and sent to Madagascar over a thousand years ago. This maritime voyage possibly explains the acquisition of astronomy. One of the tribe’s cultural assets is their knowledge of astronomy, which they use as a tool for determining direction and time as well as predicting farming seasons.
Determining Day
The Ma’anyam have nineteen terms to express daylight. A few of these include:
In the morning, the sun can be reached with a pole, the sun is on top of the bushes, the sun is on top of the tree tops, afternoon, dim, night, midnight, come into the light and big dawn.
The pole is the one used to pick fruit from a tall tree. Dim means the sun has set but it is not yet dark. At this time everything looks dim.
Constellations
1. Southern Cross-points to the south
2. Big Dipper-Points to the north
3. Orion-Points to the east when Orion is on the horizon. It marks the beginning of the year when it is visible from 19:00 to 20:00. It begins the harvest season when the constellation is directly overhead.
4. Taurus- Points directly west when Orion is directly overhead.
5. Pleiades-points to the east when it is directly overhead. Good season for hunting and fishing when the brightest star can be seen.
6. Aquila points east when on the horizon
7. Sagittarius points to the west of Lira is on the horizon and Sagitta is in the middle
8. Venus points to the east if seen in the morning
9. Venus points to the west if seen in the afternoon
10 Four stars from the Big Dipper-rice growing season begins
Ma’anyam Words
1. Lewa Magariwai (Magariwai’s House) and Kalingan (kite)-Southern Cross
2. Awahat (Name of a man) Big Dipper
3. Uwui Pusi Nalau and Ulu Pusi Magarwai (traps) Orion
4. Sungkang Eha (animal jaws) Taurus
5. Ulet Wadi (worms) Pleadies
6. Dada Awahat (chest of Awahat) Aquila
7. Tali Puhet Awahat (umbilical cord of Awahat) Lira
8. Phuhat Awahat (naval of Awahat) Lira
9. Panyarawan Venus in the morning
10. Mateanaru Adiau-Ghost sun Venus in the afternoon
11. Tenrek Kapui- whiting sign ? four stars from the constellation of the Big Dipper growing season begins when the constellation is on the horizon.
When you are down our way on the equator star gazing or simply want to kiss a girl imagine you are viewing a guy named Awahat and his constellation, (the Big Dipper), his chest (Aquila)his umbilical cord (Lira) or his naval (Lira).
Imagine Orion not stretching across the heavens but as a trap. Taurus is not a bull but animal jaws. The Pleides, not as the seven sisters, but as a group of worms. Venus in the afternoon is a ghost sun.
From
Dwiani Septiana et al Astronomy and Time Among the Dayak Ma’anyan in Mukhammad Isnaeni et al Some Efforts in Language and Literature Preservation in Indonesia New York: Nova Science Publishers, 2025
Tom McLaughlin for BorneoHistory.net