What is the difference between the seven sisters and North American legends and the Pleiades legends?

Answer 1

The Pleiades is a small bright globular cluster located about 350-400 light-years away in the constellation Taurus. As one might expect, the variety of Native American cultures has led to a number of different myths and fables regarding the formation of this grouping.

One popular legend, surprisingly close to astronomical fact, is that it represents seven women giving birth. Another was that the stars represent seven orphan boys abandoned by their tribe, and cared for by the sky god, who subsequently punished the tribe for their callousness by withholding the buffalo hunt.

In Japan, the stars are called Subaru, and have a similar spread of meanings; versions of the skylore were often based on where the stars were when it came time to plant or harvest crops. One colorful legend has them as a cluster of brush strokes accidentally left in the sky by some ancient painter or calligrapher, who had been painting meteor streaks instead.

Answer 2

The Seven Sisters is a common name for the Pleiades star cluster in both Indigenous North American legends and other cultural mythologies. In North American legends, the Pleiades are often portrayed as seven girls chased by a bear. In other cultural mythologies, such as Greek mythology, the Pleiades are known as the seven daughters of Atlas and Pleione.