Seven Sisters (mythology)
The Seven Sisters, also known as the Pleiades, are figures in various Aboriginal mythologies, representing themes of perseverance, sacrifice, and transformation. In one prominent tale, seven sisters undergo rigorous trials to prepare themselves for a higher state of existence. These trials test their endurance against hunger, pain, and fear, guided by tribal elders who emphasize the severity of the challenges. Their journey culminates in their transformation into stars, becoming the Pleiades cluster in the Taurus constellation, which serves as a celestial reminder of their trials.
Different Aboriginal groups feature variations of the Seven Sisters' story, such as the Karatgurk sisters who embody the discovery of fire and the Napaltjarri sisters chased by a suitor. The Pleiades star cluster is significant in various cultures globally, marking important seasonal events. In contemporary contexts, Aboriginal artists like Gabriella Possum Nungurrayi draw on these myths, emphasizing their cultural importance and the tradition of passing down stories through generations. Overall, the Seven Sisters symbolize resilience and the connection between earthly struggles and celestial existence.
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Subject Terms
Seven Sisters (mythology)
Author: Traditional
Time Period: 999 BCE–1 BCE; 1 CE–500 CE
Country or Culture: Australia
Genre: Myth
PLOT SUMMARY
When seven sisters reach adolescence, they decide that the only way for them to transcend into a higher state of being is to subject themselves to a series of grueling trials that will teach them to control the effects of hunger, pain, and fear. The sisters believe that upon completion of these trials, their bodies and their minds will be prepared to advance into higher beings. They consult the elders of the tribe for guidance through these trials. The elders warn the girls that the ordeals they wish to undergo will be extremely severe, but the sisters remain steadfast in their request to go through with them.
The first stage of the trials lasts for three years. During this time, the sisters are separated from their siblings. The elders feed the girls only a small portion of food at sunrise and at sunset. These two meager portions consist of fish or meat from an emu, kangaroo, or wombat. When the third year of this hunger trial is completed, the sisters have to travel on a journey through thick brush filled with thorns that tears at their flesh. They have to trek across plains and rivers during the day, enduring blazing heat along the way. At the end of the weeklong journey, the elders instruct them to fast for three days as they travel farther under the hot sun.
The sisters continue on despite their weakness from heat and hunger. At the end of the third day, the girls arrive at a campground where the elders prepare kangaroo and emu for them to eat. Each girl is given a flint knife and instructed to cut from one of the animals the amount of food they wish to eat. The elders are impressed when, after so many days of hunger, each girl takes only a normal-sized portion for themselves, rather than a large one. Afterward, the sisters pass several more grueling trials designed to control their appetites.
The purpose of the next stage of trials is for the sisters to overcome pain. The elders bring the girls to an area where sacred ceremonies are performed. Here, in front of other tribe members, the elders use axes and sticks to knock out a front tooth of each girl. Then a knife is drawn across their breasts and hot ashes are rubbed into the wounds, increasing the pain and healing them at the same time. After two days of recovery, the sisters are put through several more painful trials, including sleeping on a bed of ants, lying on hot cinders, and piercing their noses. The girls remain unfaltering throughout.
The final trial is for the sisters to control fear. For hours the elders tell the girls frightful stories about ghastly spirits and ghosts and then instruct them to camp out on a burial ground of their great-grandfathers. Despite several attempts during the night by the elders to scare the girls, they remain in their campground until daybreak. The next day, the elders and sisters rejoice. The girls have successfully passed all of their trials. The other girls of the tribe are so proud of the sisters that they consent to undergo the same trials.
The Great Spirit is also very pleased with the girls. He sends a great star to transport the sisters into the heavens where they can live on as celestial beings without pain or death. They become the constellation known as the Seven Sisters (the Pleiades). When people look up at the constellation, they are reminded of the difficult trials the girls endured.
SIGNIFICANCE
The story of the Seven Sisters is featured in the mythology of several Aboriginal groups. In one version, the girls are known as the Karatgurk who refuse to share their secret of fire. The girls possess live coals on the ends of sticks with which they used to dig up and cook yams. One day, the ancestral being Crow tricks the girls into losing their coals. He flies away to use the coals for himself. When others find out about the coals and harass Crow for them, he throws some of the coals to them, thus delivering fire to mankind. The Karatgurk sisters are then swept into the sky, where their fire sticks become the Pleiades star cluster.
Another depiction of the Seven Sisters and the Pleiades creation refers to the girls as the Napaltjarri sisters. In this story, a man named Jilbi Tjakamarra is chasing the sisters as he tries to use love magic on one of them. During the chase, spirits turn the sisters into stars and, while still in pursuit, Jilbi transforms himself into the Morning Star in Orion’s belt.
Stars and constellations play an important role in Aboriginal mythology. They are used frequently as reminders of the moral lessons taught in their myths. When the Seven Sisters ascend to the sky, the myth says they become the Pleiades star cluster, located in the Taurus constellation. This star cluster appears in various mythologies from all over the world, including that of the Greeks, the Norse, and the Celts. In some parts of the world, the stars within the cluster are visible only on the eastern horizon right before sunrise. Many ancient peoples used this heliacal rising of Pleiades to mark important events on the calendar.
Contemporary Aboriginal artist Gabriella Possum Nungurrayi has frequently painted her depiction of the Seven Sisters myth. She states that her father gave her the story, which she inherited from her mother and grandmother. Many indigenous peoples of Australia pass on their mythological stories, also known as “dreaming” stories, to their children. Aboriginal art, both ancient and contemporary, frequently addresses the Aboriginal concepts of “dreaming” and “Dreamtime.” Dreamtime refers to the period of time when the world was created, while “dreaming” is the subsequent perpetual creating.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Leeming, David Adams. “The Pleiades.” Mythology: The Voyage of the Hero. 3rd ed. New York: Oxford UP, 1998. 85–88. Print.
Mudrooroo. Aboriginal Mythology: An A–Z Spanning the History of the Australian Aboriginal People From the Earliest Legends to the Present Day. London: Thorsons, 1994. Print.
Natale, Antonella Riem. “The Pleiades and the Dreamtime: An Aboriginal Women’s Story and Other Ancient World Traditions.” Coolabah 9 (2012): 113–27. Print.
Reed, Alexander Wyclif. Myths and Legends of Australia. Wellington: Reed, 1965. Print.
Smith, W. Ramsay. Myths and Legends of the Australian Aborigines. Mineola: Dover, 2003. Print.
Thomas, W. J. “The Story of the Seven Sisters and the Faithful Lovers.” Some Myths and Legends of the Australian Aborigines. 1923. Sacred Texts. John Bruno Hare, 2010. Web. 20 May 2013.