Korku
names 32objects 17ISO 639-3 kfq
Spoken in Melghat, Amravati district, Maharashtra, and adjoining Betul and Khandwa districts, Madhya Pradesh.
tribal 31 · borrowed 1
See the Korku sky on the chart →
The sky in Korku
| Name | Object | Meaning | Register |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pati | Aldebaran | 'the husband' Head of the family group the Korku see around Aldebaran. | tribal |
| Kunva | Auriga | 'a well' Five of twelve villages. | tribal |
| Chaike | Castor and Pollux | 'water bearer' The second woman at the well. Magnitude 1.15. | tribal |
| Reike | Castor and Pollux | 'water bearer' One of the two women at the well of Auriga. Magnitude 1.90. | tribal |
| Bharada | Centaurus | Given with apparent magnitude 2.25. | tribal |
| Charakhaya | Centaurus | Given with apparent magnitude 0.55. | tribal |
| Dhanay | Centaurus | Given with apparent magnitude 0.10. | tribal |
| Pechla | Centaurus | Given with apparent magnitude 2.05. | tribal |
| Nangi | Corona Australis | — | tribal |
| Bhori Aakom | Orion | 'the bird's eggs' Given twice in the same table with two different identifications — Meissa and its neighbours (magnitude 3.50), and, as an alternate, Wezen and Adhara (1.80 and 1.50). | tribal |
| Doba 1 | Orion | 'the first bullock' Magnitude 0.15. | tribal |
| Doba 2 | Orion | 'the second bullock' Magnitude 2.05. | tribal |
| Michan | Orion | 'the rope by which the bulls are controlled' Magnitude 3.15. | tribal |
| Nangarnara manus | Orion | 'the man ploughing the field' Magnitude 0.45. | tribal |
| Harnangar | Orion's Belt | 'a plough' Reported in all twelve villages, with two bullocks and a ploughman around it. The Korku say the plough is not in the sky from April to October, and in two villages tell a story explaining why. | tribal |
| Kiding / Clemp | Scorpius | Four of twelve villages recognise the lower part of Scorpius, two the whole figure. | tribal |
| Pankheru | Sirius | 'a bird' Magnitude −1.45. | tribal |
| Miryan | Taurus | 'the central pole' The post at the centre of the threshing floor, about which the cow walks. | tribal |
| Mulga | Taurus | 'the son' Magnitude 5.50 — the faintest star named in the table, and the paper's own evidence for how dark a Melghat sky is. | tribal |
| Patni | Taurus | 'the wife' | tribal |
| Khiryan | The Hyades | the circular ground on which grain is trodden out The paper gives Aldebaran, Ain, Hyadum II and Hyadum I as the ring, with magnitudes 0.85, 3.50, 3.75 and 3.65; the word Khiryan is used both of the threshing floor and of the cow that treads it. | tribal |
| Devgan Panchayat | The Milky Way | 'the assembly of the gods' A named place within the Milky Way rather than a name for the whole band. One village in twelve also called the whole Milky Way a council of gods; nine called it a path. | tribal |
| Rata Gomez | The Moon | 'the god of the night' | tribal |
| Bhotmongari | The Pleiades | the tool used to beat grain to loosen the husk Four of twelve villages. | tribal |
| Gai Jijulu / Kuthali Ku / Gaikasai | The Pleiades | all three glossed as minced meat of the cow Seven of twelve villages. | tribal |
| Gugul gothu | The Pleiades | A third Korku name for the cluster, for which the paper gives no gloss. | tribal |
| Diya Gomez | The Sun | 'the god of the day' | tribal |
| Dhur tara | The pole star | Given with apparent magnitude 1.95. | borrowed |
| Dusara chor | Ursa Major (the Big Dipper) | 'the second thief' All twelve villages. Magnitude 2.20. | tribal |
| Kaseti / Dhona / Ghanti / Kudapa / dadudi | Ursa Major (the Big Dipper) | ghanṭī 'a bell'; dadudi and kudapa 'a water jar' The water-carrier the middle thief takes along; reported in five of twelve villages. Magnitude 1.96. | tribal |
| Pahila chor | Ursa Major (the Big Dipper) | 'the first thief' Reported in all twelve villages. Magnitude 1.75. | tribal |
| Tisara chor | Ursa Major (the Big Dipper) | 'the third thief' All twelve villages. Magnitude 1.85. | tribal |
Sources
- M.N. Vahia, Ganesh Halkare and Purushottam Dahedar, 'Astronomy of the Korku tribe of India', Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage, 19(2), 216-232 (2016), Table 2, p. 221 link