Bellatrix - Etymology and Cultural Significance

Etymology and Cultural Significance

The name Bellatrix is Latin for "female warrior", and first appeared in the works of Abu Ma'shar al-Balkhi and John of Seville. The name originally referred to Capella, but was transferred to Gamma Orionis by the Vienna school of astronomers in the 15th century, and appeared in contemporary reprints of the Alfonsine tables. It was also called the Amazon Star, which Richard Hinckley Allen proposed came from a loose translation of the Arabic name Al Najīd, the Conqueror. A c.1275 Arabic celestial globe records the name as المرزم "the lion". Bellatrix is one of the four navigational stars in Orion that are used for celestial navigation. The Chinese name for the star is 参宿五 ("The Fifth of the Three Stars").

In the 17th century catalogue of stars in the Calendarium of Al Achsasi al Mouakket, this star was designated Menkib al Jauza al Aisr, which was translated into Latin as Humerus Sinister Gigantis.

The Wardaman people of northern Australia know Bellatrix as Banjan, the sparkling pigment used in ceremonies conducted by Rigel the Red Kangaroo Leader in a songline when Orion is high in the sky. The other stars of Orion are his ceremonial tools and entourage. Betelgeuse is Ya-jungin "Owl Eyes Flicking", watching the ceremonies.

To the Inuit, the appearance of Betelgeuse and Bellatrix high in the southern sky after sunset marked the beginning of spring and lengthening days in late February and early March. The two stars were known as Akuttujuuk "those (two) placed far apart", referring to the distance between them, mainly to people from North Baffin Island and Melville Peninsula.