Kumeyaay Cosmology

About the Exhibit

The Museum of Us recognizes that it sits on the unceded ancestral homeland of the Kumeyaay Nation. The Museum extends its respect and gratitude to the Kumeyaay peoples who have lived here for millennia. They continue to care for and maintain connection to this ancestral homeland.

The Kumeyaay Nation maintains their political sovereignty, governance, and cultural traditions. The Kumeyaay Nation is a culturally vibrant Indigenous community full of dedicated artists, educators, professionals, innovators, leaders, athletes, culture bearers, parents, and caregivers.

Tradition, culture, and family are at the heart of Kumeyaay peoples’ way of life. It is through this pathway, that the Kumeyaay community celebrates their resilience, honors their ancestors, and strengthens the path for future generations.

The Kumeyaay Cosmology exhibit is the first-ever museum exhibit about Kumeyaay astronomy. First opened at the Museum of Us in 2015, this exhibit was developed by curator and Kumeyaay scholar, Michael Connolly Miskwish, and Mat'taam Naka Shin, the San Diego-Panama Exposition Centennial Intertribal Committee.

What do you see when you gaze up at the night sky? Do you look for familiar shapes in the stars like Orion’s Belt or the Big Dipper? What do the Kumeyaay Peoples see when they look at the stars?

For generations, the Kumeyaay Peoples have studied the night sky, developing a deeply-rooted cosmological belief system that centers on the Kumeyaay Mat’taam (calendar year), My Uuyow (sky knowledge), and constellation map.

This exhibit explores the traditions and meanings of these cosmological beliefs, like how the Kumeyaay Peoples have different names and forms for constellations than those given to them by Europeans.

When the Kumeyaay Peoples spot Orion’s Belt or the Big Dipper, they actually see the constellations ‘Emuu (Mountain Sheep) and Selq Hatun (Arm).

They also see Kwellyap Ketull (North Star) at the center of the night sky, keeping watch over all human activities, surrounded by Hutcha (6 Laughing Girls) and Shaii (Buzzard), Hechkulk (Wolf) and Nemuuly (Bear), and Awii (Rattlesnake), the conveyor of punishment for improper deeds.

See if you can spot these constellations and many others on the exhibit’s giant constellation map – or better yet, the next time you’re looking up at the night sky!

Exhibit Images