The ancient Egyptians and Arabs, those very practical people, used the constellations of the night sky as navigational tools and calendar markers.  The Greeks, fanciful that they were, peopled the skies with heroes and monsters.  But the African tribes, who probably have the biggest skies of all, used stars as clocks to remind themselves about seasons. 

The Southern Cross, of course, is the Constellation of Africa.  Most tribes looked at the bright stars and the pointers and saw giraffes, ‘riding above the trees’. When the giraffes skimmed above the trees on the evening horizon in October, this was a reminder to people to finish planting the summer crops. New-born babies were presented for approval to the Southern Cross when it appeared in the sky, and a mark of favour from the stars would mean good fortune and prosperity for that child for the rest of its life. But the real jackpot for most African people was a little-known star called Canopus. The Sotho called it Naka (the horn) or E a dishwa (it is carefully watched). Sotho men would camp in the mountains, where they made fires and watched the early morning skies in the south. It was believed that the first person to see the star would enjoy great prosperity that year, with a rich harvest, the most beautiful wife, and good luck for the rest of his life.  The chief would usually start the ball rolling by giving the lucky man a heifer. The following day after the first sighting the tribe’s wise men would examine the divining bones to predict the tribe’s fortunes for the coming year.  Among the Venda, the first person to see this star (which they called Nanga) in the morning sky would climb a hill and toot on a sable antelope horn to advertise his good luck.  The Mapeli would greet the star with ululation loud enough for the sound to reach neighbouring villages so that everyone would know that their star had arrived. Another fabled star is Ntshune.  Although it is no longer known which star is referred to, it was visible on winter mornings and was called the ‘Kiss Me’ star.  When it appeared in the sky it was time for young lovers to part before their parents woke up and discovered they were not at home. So for most African people, the stars were good and kind and propitious, with the shining (pun intended) exception of Venus.  The Nguni people called Venus ‘icelankobe’ – ‘asking for mielies’.  The Sotho called it ‘se-falabogogo’ – ‘crust scrapings’.  But the idea was the same:  anyone who arrived for supper by the light of this star was going to be out of luck. With such vast skies it is difficult not to believe that the heavens are a solid roof, and some people believed that once the sun had gone for the day it retraced its steps over the top of the sky back to the east, and that the stars are small holes that let the light through.
But many African tribes, who looked upon stars as such favoured harbingers, did not trust the moon.  The northern peoples believed that a crescent moon in the evening sky with horns pointing up was a basin of all kinds of disease.  When the horns tipped down, the basin was pouring its illness all over the world. Shaka’s harem guards were called the moon gazers or Qwayi-Nyangar, as they were instructed to watch over the royal women as constantly as the moon. It was not a task they relished!  A night when the moon did not appear was called a ‘black’ or ‘dark’ day.  This was a solemn day of rest.  No work, business or celebrations could take place. The markings on the moon were seen as a man or woman carrying a bundle of sticks.  This person was usually an outcast of some sort.  Stories differ slightly, but most of them referred to the burden of sticks as a punishment for bad temper.  The Xhosa had a really unique idea:  that the world ended at the seashore, and that the sea concealed a vast pit filled with new moons ready for use, and that each new moon was, actually, a completely new moon. When one looks at the star-lore of the African continent, what is most astonishing is not how different it is from Western mythology, but how much of it is the same.  Next time you find yourself out on a warm evening under an African sky, take a look up into the heavens and tell yourself the stories of the stars.  You’ll meet much kindlier folk than in other mythologies – as well as the old woman in the moon!  Information obtained from the South African Observatory.