Crux stars as a fish. In Mapudungun, the language of Patagonian Mapuches, the name of the Southern Cross is "Melipal", which means "four stars". In Quechua, the language of the Inca civilization, Crux is known as "Chakana", which means literally "stair" ("chaka", bridge, link; "hanan", high, above), but carries a deep symbolism within Quechua mysticism. Acrux and Mimosa make up one foot of the Great Rhea, a constellation encompassing Centaurus and Circinus along with the two bright stars. The Great Rhea was a constellation of the Bororo of Brazil. The Mocoví people of Argentina also saw a rhea including the stars
Crux East Africa Company of 1885–1920, which included a constellation of five white five-pointed Crux "stars" on a red ground, later served as the model for symbolism associated with generic German colonial-oriented organisations: the Reichskolonialbund of 1936–1943 and the (1956/1983 to the present). Southern Cross station is a major rail terminal in Melbourne, Australia. In Australian Aboriginal astronomy, Crux and the Coalsack mark the head of the 'Emu in the Sky' (which is seen in the dark spaces rather than in the patterns of stars) in several Aboriginal cultures, while Crux itself is said to be a possum sitting in a