Reunion with an Old Friend

Last night I felt as though I was reunited with an old friend: the Southern Cross. For those that don't know the Southern Cross is a constellation that can only be seen near the southern hemisphere. It is the national symbol of Australia and on their (and numerous other countries in Asia-Pacific) flag and is also tattooed on my left foot. While in Australia I would look for the Southern Cross everyday even if it meant going way out of my way to get to a dark location or to be patient and wait for clouds to pass. It was the one constant thing I had for three months while there. I was hoping you could see it from Indonesia and thought I saw it the other night but couldn't be sure because it wasn't bright enough. Last night though I confirmed that you can in fact see this constellation here.

As I walked home from the office, while listening to the evening call to prayer, I could clearly see four of the five stars in the cross AND two stars that lead up to it (which are also tattooed on my ankle). Yay - reunion! I did noticed that it is in the position of what is on my foot, and not the way I saw it in Australia (sideways). I think that's because of the time of year. In Australia it was February to the first week of May so the constellations were in different positions then I guess. That or being a bit more south makes a difference. These are the times I wish I took astronomy.

After I saw it while walking home I rushed inside, ran up the stairs after a quick hello to the family, and went to the upstairs balcony near the water tower to look more closely at my friend. Then I ran downstairs, grabbed Meertri, and ran back upstairs to point it out to her. She was excited I think because I was being goofy but didn't actually care about the stars. I asked her if Indonesians name the stars and she said no. I asked if the Minang language has any words for constellations and she said no, which explains why she thought it was weird that I was pointing it out to her.

Quite honestly I found it hard to believe that Indonesians don't name the stars. I thought every culture does that. So I googled it and found out that Indonesian's refer to it as "the stingray". However, I just asked Bu Endang and she thought it was funny that we name the stars and that each constellation has its own story. She said they do have a name for a really clear night, bright stars, big moon and that's "Bulan Purnama" which means a "god blessed sky/moon". I find this intriguing. If I was doing social science just for the sake of curiosity and not to address an environmental issue I think I would change my project right now to find out why in West Sumatra (at least, maybe all over Indonesia) the stars are not named and don't have stories.

This does explain it though why when asked what my tattoo is and I tell people, they look confused. So at least that mystery has been solved.

This evening from 3:00 to midnight we will be in the field, District Pesisir Selatan, for a community meeting about what they are going to build for disaster mitigation infrastructure. This morning I meet with the head of the Oceans and Fisheries Department for a research interview and he said I should visit a mangrove area there that is made of natural mangroves, as well as restored mangroves by the local community. Bu Endang agreed that we can go there first so now I am extra excited for our field visit.

I will report back soon. Selamat siang (Good afternoon)!