White Crystal Butterflies | Wattys 2021 Shortlist | ✔

Bonus: How did Mahaha get its name?

If you've ever thought the name of this book's icy moon sounds a lot like an evil laugh, you're not wrong. To tell the story of how Mahaha got its name, however, I need to take you back for a moment into the history of astronomical naming conventions in our own world, and the various movements there that I drew on when naming the moons, planets, and other celestial objects and entities in this book and its sequel-to-be.

Traditionally, most names used by astronomers for their discoveries have come from Arabic, Greek, or Latin origins. This is why most objects in our own solar system have the names of Greek or Roman gods and goddesses: Mars, Venus, Neptune, etc. The Islamic golden age, likewise, made massive strides in astronomy, lending Arabic names to many stars, comets, and other objects in our skies. In more modern times, names for newly described celestial bodies get approved by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) and its various working groups.

The IAU, as its name suggests, brings together astronomers from around the world. The conversation about who gets to see their culture reflected in the skies is similarly global. The history of astronomical research includes tensions and cultural violations like the one centered around the proposed Thirty Meter Telescope in Hawai'i. The TMT was originally proposed to be built at the peak of Mauna Kea, the highest mountain in the island chain and a highly sacred site for Native Hawaiians. If you're an astronomy lover and aren't familiar with this situation, I encourage you to go look up this controversy and learn what you can about it!

The history of more inclusive naming (at least to my awareness) goes back into the early 2000s. In 2004, a dwarf planet in the outer reaches of our solar system was named Sedna (ᓴᓐᓇ) after the Inuit goddess of the sea. While the reasons for this naming were... dubious, it was accepted and made official by the IAU. Two more dwarf planets found in 2005 and confirmed in 2008 also received names with Indigenous origins. Makemake was named after a creator god in the Rapa Nui mythology of Easter Island. Haumea was named after the Hawaiian goddess of fertility, and its two moons after two of her daughters, Hi'iaka and Namaka.

Another episode of the astronomy-naming story began in 2017, when Hawaiian businessman John De Fries suggested that the cultural group that advises Mauna Kea's management propose Hawaiian-language names for local astronomical discoveries. The Hawaiian language has gone nearly extinct, but revitalization efforts are underway. A small group was founded to advise such naming, and was just gathering momentum when a strange celestial object hurtled into our view from earth, unlike anything we'd ever seen before.

The long, thin rock was the first interstellar object ever detected passing through our Solar System, a "visitor from deep space," its visit as enigmatic as it was fleeting. A quick call to a Hawaiian-language expert spearheading the language's revitalization resulted in the name 'Oumuamua, which means "a messenger from afar arriving first", a reference to its scout-like nature. From this point onward, the Hawaiian naming initiative led to the founding of A Hua He Inoa, a program that works with fluent, Native Hawaiian speakers (especially students) to develop custom names for new celestial objects found through Hawaiian observatories. It has named more than half a dozen to date.

It is not the only initiative on this front. In 2016, just one year prior to the naming of 'Oumuamua, the IAU established a Working Group on Star Names (WGSN) under its Education, Outreach and Heritage division. Within a year, the working group had formally approved 86 new names for stars drawn from those used by other cultures, including Australian Aboriginal, Chinese, Coptic, Hindu, Mayan, Polynesian, and South African.

Fast-forward to 2020. It was in the midst of all this context that I started my first proper Sci-Fi book, and I knew I would much rather give a nod to this ongoing, global movement than open up a random name generator when assigning names to the many planets and moons of White Crystal Butterflies. This kicked off a personal research spree with Mahaha as its first and ultimately core moon of interest. The name Mahaha comes from Inuit mythology. This website on Inuit myths and legends (link in the comments) explains it better than me:

"Mahaha is a maniacal demon that terrorized parts of the arctic. This creature is described as a thin sinewy being, ice blue in colour and cold to the touch. Mahaha's eyes are white, and they peer through the long, stringy hair that hangs in its face. This demon is always smiling and giggling. It is strong—very strong—and it is always barefoot. Mahaha is usually seen with almost no clothing on, yet it never seems to be bothered by the cold. This cold demon takes pleasure in tickling its victims to death with sharp, vicious nails attached to its long, bony fingers. Many elders have remarked on the expression of the dead victims Mahaha leaves behind. It seems all of the victim have a similar expression on their dead faces—a twisted, frozen smile.

"Although this demon is twisted and evil, Mahaha is easily fooled. Most of the stories told about it end with it being fooled. Usually Mahaha is tricked into leaning over a water hole to take a drink and is pushed into the open water and swept away by the currents. So if Mahaha ever corners you alone, ask it to have one last drink with you by the water hole before it tickles you to death."

I imagine it's no coincidence that the demon's name sounds like evil laughter. And you can see now why I picked it—especially if you've already finished this book! I believe there's more to a name than just pretty sounds, and I like to take time and research to assign them accordingly. While the solar system names of the UIS were mostly random-generated, the other planet and moon names all have specific origins... but I'll let you research those on your own   😉