Aldu

Áldu is the reindeer cow in Sami language from Northern Europe.

Concordance, Etymology, History

In Sami tradition, we see a cosmic hunting scene in the starry sky during the dark season. The Sarvvis (Bull) first appears in the sky, followed by the hunter Faavna, who sets out to hunt Sarvvis. Thus the hunt continues night after night in cosmic equilibrium without the earth coming to an end.

The mythology is also ambiguous regarding whether the creature is a reindeer or an elk. Since only female reindeer keep their antlers during winter—as described in the mythological context—it is uncertain whether it should be a bull. It might instead represent a reindeer cow, called áldu.

Mythology

see Sarvvis.

IAU Working Group on Star Names

The name was suggested to the IAU WGSN in 2025 in collaboration of WGSN-members with the Sami-sky culture expert Rolf Jonas Persson from Norway. He had suggested to name two stars with the names of the reindeer bull and the reindeer cow, and he considered stars around δ Per appropriate choices given the centrality of Perseus to the asterism. Based on the fact that 90% of the speakers are North Sámi, it would be most appropriate to use this dialect.

In December 2025, WGSN adopted Aldu, the reindeer cow, for ε Persei.

See also Sarvvis, the reindeer bull.  

Reference

• References (general)
• References (early modern)
• Ian Ridpath's website (Star Tales )