This constellation is one of the 12 figures
formed by the Dutch navigators Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and
Frederick de Houtman from stars they charted in the southern
hemisphere on their voyages to the East Indies at the end of
the 16th century. It first made its appearance in 1598 on a
globe by Petrus Plancius. The Indian is depicted holding spears
or arrows as though hunting. It is not known whether he is
supposed to be a native of the East Indies, or possibly
southern Africa or Madagascar (where the Dutch fleet stayed for
several months on their way east); perhaps the figure is
symbolic, representing all the indigenous peoples the explorers
encountered on their various travels, from South America to the
Indies. The constellation’s brightest stars are of third
magnitude, but none are named.
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Indus, an Indian holding a spear and arrows, as shown in the Uranographia of Johann Bode.
© Ian Ridpath. All rights reserved
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