History of the star: A star in the mouth of the Dragon Draco or on the Dragon's head. Some have translated Kuma to mean "At Last". It was one of Al'Awa'id, "the Mother Camels" which was known as the Quinque Dromedarii.

In the early Arabic theme for this constellation the stars beta (Alwaid), gamma (Etamin), nu (this star Kuma) and xi (Grumium) in the Head of the Dragon represent four mother camels protecting a baby camel from the attack of two hyenas (eta and zeta (Nodus 1). The nomads camp located nearby (the three unnamed stars in the neck of the Dragon: upsilon, tau, and sigma).

Another figure that included nu was Al Salib al Waki', "the Falling Cross", beta (Alwaid) and xi (Grumium) forming the perpendicular, gamma (Etamin), mu (Arrakis), and nu (this star Kuma) the transverse.

[Star Names, Their Lore and Meaning, Richard Hinchley Allen, 1889].

The astrological influences of the constellation: "According to Ptolemy the bright stars are like Saturn and Mars. Draco gives an artistic and emotional but somber nature, a penetrating and analytical mind, much travel and many friends, but danger of robbery and accidental poisoning. It gives craft, ingenuity, and valor. The Ancients said that when a comet was here, poison was scattered over the world. By the Kabalists it is associated with the Hebrew letter Mem and the 13^th Tarot Trump, Death". (Fixed Stars and Constellations in Astrology , Vivian E. Robson, 1923)