The
Yolngu people of northern Australia say that the constellation of
Orion, which they call Julpan, is a
canoe. They tell the story of three brothers who went fishing, and one of them ate a fish that was forbidden under their law. Seeing this, the Sun carried the three brothers and their canoe up into the sky. The three stars in the constellation's centre, which form
Orion's Belt in Western mythology, are the three brothers; the
Orion Nebula above them is the forbidden fish; and the bright stars
Betelgeuse and
Rigel are the
bow and
stern of the canoe. This is an example of astronomical legends underpinning the ethical and social codes that people use on Earth
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