Book Reviews 335 middle of its mid-nineteenth century ‘Great Eruption’. This is a wonderful story about an inquisitive Englishman named Stanbridge who took up a pastoral licence near Lake Tyrrell, began learning about local Aboriginal culture, and in 1857 published a research paper in the Transactions of the Philosophical Institute of Victoria (Stanbridge, 1857). In this short paper he explained that Collowgullouric War (a female crow) was the wife of War, a crow identified with Canopus, who in turn was the brother of an eagle named Warepil (Sirius). But for Duane Hamacher and David Frew to identify Collow- gullouric War as Eta Carinae was nothing short of brilliant, and I leave it to you to read the full account—which was published in this journal (see Hamacher and Frew, 2010). I rank this as one of best papers ever published in JAHH. Another Aboriginal Australian concept I find exciting is “Songlines”, which are discussed in the chapter about “The Navigational Stars”. This … novel technique uses the stars as waypoints on a journey across the land. Long-distance travel routes are map- ped out in the stars, which are then committed to memory. (page 211). In these mental star maps, bright stars were correlated with equally distinctive terrestrial markers (certain mountains, river crossings, waterholes, etc.), facilitating journeys that could extend for many hundreds of kilometres (see Norris and Harney, 2014). These songlines were not scaled 1:1 cartographic maps, but they served as effective memory and teaching aids. Hamacher et al. point out that through- out modern Australia many settlements are located at traditional Aboriginal waypoints, and some of the highways across the countryside follow the original songlines. They also provide a timely reminder: It is essential to recognise the proper ori- gins of what seem to many as modern de- velopments. Chances are where you live and how you get from city to city is based on Indigenous travel routes. And you can see them each night mapped out in the stars. Sadly, for those living in Australian towns and cities saturated by light pollution these song- lines are no longer visible in the night sky. Finally, my congratulations go to Duane Hamacher and his Indigenous collaborators for producing a remarkable, thought-provoking and thoroughly enjoyable book. It is also very rea- sonably priced, and all royalties go to charities for Indigenous scholarships, community pro- jects and education programs. So, buy a copy, and be enlightened! Now I look forward to Duane’s next book … References Fuller, R.S., Anderson, M.G., Norris, R.P., and Trudgett, M., 2014. The emus sky knowledge of the Kamilaroi and Euahlayi peoples. Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage, 17(2), 171– 179. Hamacher, D.W., and Frew, D.J., 2010. An Aboriginal Australian record of the Great Eruption of Eta Carinae. Journal of Astronomical History and Heri- tage, 13(3), 220–234. Norris, R.P. and Harney, Y.B., 2014. Songlines and navigation in Wardman and other Australian Aboriginal cultures. Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage, 17(2), 141–148. Stanbridge, W., 1857. On the astronomy and myth- ology of the Aborigines of Victoria. Transactions of the Philosophical Institute of Victoria, 2, 137–140. Professor Wayne Orchiston Centre for Astrophysics, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, Australia. E-mail: wayne.orchiston@gmail.com Balatik. An English Translation. Ethnoast- ronomy: The Sky in Filipino Civilization, by Dante L. Ambrosio; English translation by Jesus Rodrigo F. Torres and Ruby-Ann Dela Cruz. (Manila, Rizal Technological Univer- sity, 2021). Pp. viii + 220. ISBN 978-971-542- 646-6 (paperback), 217 × 277 mm. To obtain a copy contact Professor Torres on (jrftorres2002@yahoo.com). Dante Ambrosio (1951 – 2011) from the History Department at the University of the Philippines (Diliman) in Manila tells us that “I became attracted to the sky when I was very young.” (page 1). That interest blossomed during his secondary school years, and culminating in the publication of Balatik, the first book ever written about Philippine ethnoastronomy ( Ambrosio, 2010). This was a priceless resource that brought together astronomical information from a var- iety of sources, including anthropologists, ex- plorers and missionaries, and it showcased the amazing astronomical opulence of the numer- ous cultures that inhabited the Philippine arch- ipelago. And since some of these people had enjoyed long-term contacts with ethnic groups from Kalimantan, Sulawesi and many other islands in Southeast Asia Balatik also assumed regional importance. There was only one prob- lem: it was written in Tagalog, which meant it was off-limits for those of us who researched Southeast Asian ethnoastronomy but only un- derstood Bahasa Indonesia, Bahasa Malayu, English or French. In a bid to resolve this issue, in May 2017 I