Pipit
Among the Kendayan (Dayak Kenayatn) people of West Kalimantan province, Borneo, Indonesia, the star ν Pup is identified as a pipit, probably the paddyfield pipit (anthus rufulus).
Etymology and History
ν Pup (then ν in Argo Navis) was identified as a "pipit", or sparrow, by ethnographer M.C. Schadee in a paper on time reckoning amongst the Kendayan ("Landak Dayak") people published in 1914. It is one of a pair of stars (the other being ζ Pup) forming an asterism whose name was recorded by Schadee as Ensoelit. This is also the name of a bird -- "one that often causes great damage to rice in paddy fields". "The [two] rice thieves are close to Sirius".[1]
Mythology
IAU Working Group Star Names
Since "Pipit" is not the proper (Kenyatan) name for ν Pup, this is probably not a good choice for an IAU name. On the other hand it might be appropriate to use the asterism name Ensoelit for ν Pup, since ζ Pup already has a name (Naos). But since Ensoelit is a Dutch ethnographer's transcription of a Kenyatan name, we should first establish the modern Kenyatan linguistic conventions to determine the appropriate spelling.
Weblinks
Reference
- ↑ Schadee, M.C. (1914). “De Tijdrekening bij de Landak-Dajaks in de Westerafdeeling van Borneo”. Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde, 69, 130–139, p. 132
