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dation of our subject, the following curious piece of nomenclature. Two stars in the tail of the Scorpion, standing close to and opposite each other, which when seen with the naked eye give the impression of alternately extinguishing each other's brilliancy, are called by the Achehnese, infatuated as they are with a passion for fights between animals, by the characteristic name of puyōh meulōt, the Fighting Quails. The star which forms the tip of the Scorpion’s tail is called bòh glém or the glém fruit[1], because of the conformation (called by the Achehnese boh glém from its appearance) found on the tail of a real scorpion.
The keunòngs.The Achehnese seasons, then, are regulated by the conjunctions of Kala (Scorpion) with the moon.
These conjunctions they call keunòng (Mal. kěna) i.e. "hit", "come into contact with". They have found a certain guiding principle in the number of days that always separates the new moon from the succeeding keunòng or in other words (since the Mohammedan months begin with the new moon),in the sequence of the dates on which these keunòngs take place.
Let us begin by giving certain data with regard to these keundògs and the intervals that separate them from the night of the new moon, borrowed not from Achehnese sources, but from particulars kindly supplied by Dr. S. Figee at Batavia[2]. Dr. Figee's calculations are based on the supposition that Antares, the brightest star of the Scorpion, is that specially selected for observation, so that the coincidence of that star with the moon would be regarded as keunòng. As a matter of fact the Achehnese do not confine themselves to a single star, but speak of keunòng whenever the moon appears anywhere within the Scorpion. Indeed they sometimes employ the expression, when it contributes to the uniformity of their series of numbers, even though the Moon and Scorpion may have already diverged to some little distance from one another. But all such differences are, as we shall see, of trifling importance, and do not affect the computation of the seasons by more than a day or two on one side or the other.
Computation of the keunòngs.Between every two successive keunòngs[3] there is an interval of
- ↑ The glém-plant is the Coix lacryma called jali watu in Javanese. The seeds are strung together to form necklaces.
- ↑ I am greatly indebted to both Dr. J. P. van der Stok and Dr. S. Figee for the help they have frequently been so good as to give me in elucidating my data as regards the Achehnese astronomical system.
- ↑ We must be understood here as using the word to mean the point of time when the right ascension of Antares, a star in the scorpion, is the same as that of the moon.
