Amoga

Amoga (Orion's Belt) oil painting by Jon Apisa.

The original artwork was inspired by how Sāmoan identified the thre stars (Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka) of what is commonly known as Orion's Belt.

Amoga in Sāmoa is the wooden pole used to balance items such as traditional woven baskets filled with produce.

With consideration to its visibility and identification throughout Polynesia, the three stars commonly called Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka was high value for Polynesian Astronomy and Polynesian Navigation.

Orion's Belt was known as:

• Amoga in Sāmoa
• Maiakū in Hawaiʻi
• Taʻurua o Mere ma tū tahi in Tahiti
• Tautoru in Maori language (Aotearoa)
• Ara tolu in Anuta
• ʻAlotolu in Tonga

This is a diagram of Amoga, (Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka) of what is commonly known as Orion's Belt.

36" x 12" (91.44 cm x 30.48 cm)

03/25/2024

Samoan

Polynesian