THE MONTHS.
The (moon-)month has originally nothing to do with the year and the
seasons: this must be clearly and definitely recognised. The months
may be reckoned independently of the year; nothing hinders us from
counting up to twenty or a hundred months. But most peoples, before
they have developed a definite system of time-reckoning, can count
no farther than ten at most, and in the time-reckoning the counting
is of course always the latest and most abstract stage. Such an
enumeration of the months may commence at any point of the year and
be continued _ad libitum_; in relation to the year it is not fixed
but shifting. Both series, the years and the months, are enumerated
without reference to one another, as our days of the week in relation
to the year, the days of the week falling on different dates in
different years.
The month however is a shorter period easy to survey, and such
divisions are necessary in order to split up the too long period of
the year. In itself the month has nothing to do with the year, nor
does it exactly fit into the year (12 × 29½, about 355 days). It is
impossible to combine the months with the year without doing violence
to the one or the other. The time-reckoning of the modern civilised
peoples has chosen this latter expedient. The month has become a
conventional sub-division of the year; it is quite independent of
the moon, and keeps as reminders of its origin only its name and a
length approximating to that of the moon’s revolution. This has come
about because the moon, unlike the sun and the seasons depending
thereon, has no immediate influence upon the events and occupations
of our lives. We have therefore come back from the reckoning in
moons to the purely solar year. It was quite otherwise with the
primitive peoples, whose time-reckoning was so concrete. For them
the moon afforded the only fixed measure of the duration of time:
its appearance impressed itself firmly upon the mind. These peoples
therefore, even at an advanced stage of development, have tried to
adjust the year by the moon, which could only be done by adopting
years of varying length, of 12 and 13 months respectively. How
this lunisolar reckoning has arisen, it will be the object of the
following chapters to investigate. I begin by setting forth the
somewhat copious material for series of months.
For the peoples of North Asia I have hitherto been able to make
hardly any statements: the works are for the most part written in
Russian, and are for that reason inaccessible to me. For the names of
months, however, abundant material is accessible.
The names given to the months by the Voguls, with variants
from the districts of Tawda, Konda, and middle and lower Loswa
(tributary of the Irtysh), are, beginning from Sept./Oct.:--1,
little autumn-hunting month, little autumn, autumn month; 2, great
autumn-hunting month, month of the naked trees, snow month; 3,
winter month; 4, month of light (lengthening of the days), winter
month; 5, ski month, the little winter month, wind month; 6, month
of the thawing snow-crust; 7, month of thaw, spawning month or
month of corn-sowing; 8, sap-in-firs month, ploughing month; 9,
sap-in-birches month; 10, middle-of-summer month; 11, month of the
young razor-bills, month of young water-fowl; 12, elk-running month.
According to Ahlqvist the midsummer month is distinguished as greater
or smaller. There must therefore, as is so often the case, be 13
months. Three months, nos. 7, 9, and 11, seem to have no special
names in the Tawda district, but this is not very surprising[719].
Schiefner in particular has collected extremely full and detailed
lists of the names of the months among the various races of Siberia.
These lists I here reproduce.
The Tchuvashes have the following thirteen months:--1, thank-offering
month, beginning in the middle of November; 2, very steep month;
3, month of little steepness; 4, spring month; 5, free month; 6,
sowing month; 7, summer month; 8, the maidens’ month; 9, hay month;
10, sickle month; 11, flax month; 12, threshing-floor month; 13,
grave-post month. The maidens’ month, which is said to owe its name
to the custom of celebrating marriages at that time, is also called
‘fallow-land month’; the ‘free’ month is so called because in it no
work is done in the fields; the ‘grave-post’ month takes its name
from the feast of the dead, which is then celebrated on the graves,
with gifts of every kind.
The Ugric Ostiaks have 13 months:--1, spawning month, about April;
2, pine sap-wood month; 3, birch sap-wood month; 4, salmon-weir
month; 5, month of hay-harvest; 6, ducks-and-geese-go-away month;
7, naked tree month (falling of the leaves); 8, pedestrian month,
since men go home on foot while the ice still remains; 9, month in
which men go on horseback; 10, great, 11, little winter-ridge month;
12, wind month; 13, month of crows. Another list gives the following
months:--1, month in which the Obi dies (?), i. e. freezes; 2, month
in which tribute is imposed; 3, month of the little snow-crust, or
first spring month; 4, month of the great snow-crust; 5, month of
the unstable ice; 6, month when the syrok (a kind of salmon) comes;
7, middle-of-summer month; 8, cloudberry month; 9, month in which
the track (the road) of the Obi freezes, or first autumn month; 10,
month in which the Obi freezes; 11, month of the short days or of the
deceptive feet or of the dog’s feet; 12, month in which the tribute
is levied--only twelve months, therefore, but the list shews many
variants and does not seem to be in its right order, compare e. g.
months 1 and 10, referring to the same natural phenomenon, which in
the nature of things is impossible.
The Yeneseisk Ostiaks:--1, summer month, about May; 2, not
translated; 3, month when the ducks moult; 4, month when the garrot
moults; 5, month in which the _njelma_ is caught with great nets;
6, month in which the willow loses its foliage; 7, winter month; 8,
month in which the earth freezes; 9, reindeer-rutting month; 10,
little month; 11, great month; 12, eagle month; 13, squirrel month,
in which the striped squirrel comes out of its nest. The Yeneseisk
Ostiaks of the Sym are said to count only seven winter months, not
the summer months. They are:--1, month in which the earth freezes;
2, reindeer-rutting month; 3, the little, 4, the great month; 5,
eagle month; 6, squirrel month; 7, spawning month, in which the pike
spawns. Another list gives:--1, fall-of-the-leaf month; 2, month in
which the earth begins to freeze; 3, dog month, in which the dogs
pair; 4, the little, 5, the great month; 6, eagle month; 7, squirrel
month; 8, spawning month; 9, month in which the Ostiaks set traps to
catch sturgeon; 10, summer month, when the grass becomes green; 11,
middle-of-summer month; 12, month in which the grass turns yellow, or
month of the white grass-tips; 13, autumn month.
The Tatars of the Minusinsk district of the Yeneseisk government:--1,
the mild, easy month, or forest-month, since the people go hunting,
about September; 2, little cold; 3, great cold; 4, the mottled month,
bald patches of earth appear among the snow; 5, severe cold; 6, high,
when the sun moves high above the horizon; 7, when the birds fly out
in spring; 8, they (i. e. the days) increase; 9, the red month; 10,
(perhaps) little drought; 11, birch-bark month, when birch-bark is
collected; 12, grass month; 13, harvest month. There are also some
variants which are not translated.
The Karagasses, who live next to the Minusinsk Tatars:--1, 1/5-4/6,
month of the low grass; 2, 4/6-2/7, birch-bark month, in which
birch-bark is collected, this being used for the summer houses; 3,
2/7-30/7, month in which the lily-bulb is red, i. e. blossoms; 4,
30/7-27/8, month in which the lily-bulb is dug up; 5, 27/8-24/9,
hammer month, when the cedar is tapped with the hammer in order to
shake down the ripe cones with the nuts; 6, 24/9-22/10, reindeer-buck
rutting month; 7, 22/10-19/11, sable month, when people begin to trap
sables; 8, 19/11-17/12, month of the long rest, such as is taken
during the short days; 9, 17/12-15/1, month of frost; 10, 15/1-12/2,
great frost-month; 11, 12/2-12/3, snow-shoe month, when over the
deep but rotting snow deer and elks are hunted in snow-shoes; 12,
12/3-9/4, month when the snow becomes sticky; 13, 3/4-7/5, month in
which people hunt with dogs; this is the time when, owing to the
night-frosts, a crust forms on the snow, which is not strong enough
to bear deer and elks. The dates given by the author can at most be
applied only to one definite year.
The Buriats, from the new year:--1, month in which the brooks freeze;
2, when the winter stores are seen to; 3, roe moon; 4, deer moon; 5,
sheep moon; 6, when the ice breaks; 7, spring moon; 8, grass moon;
9, bulb moon; 10, milk moon; 11, milch moon; 12, when after-math
comes; 13, when it ripens; the first month is also called the white
month. The Nishne-Udinsk Buriats:--1, roe month, since in this month
horns grow on the roe; 2, deer month, when the deer is caught; 3,
ram month, when the sheep pair; 4, month of the red ridge of land,
when the snow melts and the mountains become red; 5, fish-spawning
month; 6, leek month; 7, the wild month, so called on account of the
fierce heat; 8, roe month, when the roes pair; 9, deer month, when
the deer pair; 10, squirrel month, since this animal is then caught;
11, the little sable month, sables are caught; 12, nest month, since
the animals, on account of the cold, creep into their dens and nests.
Only twelve months, therefore, as also among the Tunkinsk Buriats,
for whom are translated only:--1, the white month; 2, the red
mountain-ridge; 5, the wild month; 11, roe month; 12, deer month.
The year of the Tunguses is divided into summer and winter. The names
of the months are:--Summer: 1, _ilaga_ (fly, gnat), in this the
leaves and the early blossoms come out; 2, _ilkun_, is the proper
flowering moon; 3, _irin_ (from _irim_, to ripen), the wild fruit
grows ripe; 4, _serula sanni_ (perhaps _sonnaja_, cervical vertebra),
in this month the red deer pair; 5, _hukterbi_, brings the red deer
new hair. Winter: 1, _okti_ (perhaps _okto_, road), when the first
snow falls: immediately after that the minever is good; 2, _mira_
(shoulder-joint), has the shortest days; 3, _giraun_ (suggests
_giramda_, bone), has days of noticeably increasing length; 4, _okton
kira_ (time of the road), when the sables are covered; 5, _tura_
(perhaps _turaki_, jackdaw), when the cormorants come; 6, _schonka_,
when the ice becomes porous; 7, the beginning of the _tukun_, in
which the rivers become clear: the last part of this period belongs
to the summer year. Our informant, Georgi, speaks of thirteen months,
but only gives the above twelve names. Schiefner conjectures that he
has counted _tukun_ twice, or else has run two months together. For
the Tunguses of the Sea of Okhotsk only twelve months are enumerated,
and of these are translated:--1, grass month; 3, fish-and-horse
month; 4, ripening month (?); 5, wrist; 6, elbow; 7, shoulder-joint;
8, atlas; nos. 5 to 11 are named from the joints of the human frame,
5-8 following out a suggestion of an ascending, 9-11 that of a
descending order; the name of the twelfth month perhaps means the
back. This is only one method of reckoning: a hint of it is already
found in the preceding list. For the Tunguses of the lower Amur
twelve months are reported, of which nos. 7-10 are simply numbered
and the other names are not explained.
Another traveller could only discover eleven months among the
Tunguses of the Amur, possibly only because of the defective memory
of his informants. But a year of eleven months is said to exist among
the Samoyedes of Yurak. The months are:--1, month of leaf-fall, about
August; 2, reindeer-rutting month; 3, the dark month; 4, sand month,
when the winds drive the snow along like sand; 5, the calm month, no
storms; 6, the good month, the weather is favourable for trapping
animals; 7, eagle month; 8, geese month or month of calves; 9, month
of inundations; 10, spring month, literally _wuenui-jiry_, _wuenui_
is said of fish when they come up-stream in great shoals; 11, the
great month, since the days (or the month) are very long.
The Ostiak Samoyedes have 12 months:--1, leaf-fall month, about
August; 2, month with the long days, or month when the earth freezes;
3, month of the short days; 4, tax month, month when the tax (i. e.
the deer) is caught, or thumb month, since the women, on account of
the shortness of the days, can make only the thumb of a glove; 5,
mid-winter month; 6, month of crows, the crows come; 7, eagle month;
8, month in which the summer animals arrive; 9, month in which the
fish spawn; 10, month in which there is water in the little brooks;
11, month in which fish are dried; 12, _njelma_-month. Another list
of Samoyede months from the Bolshemelsk tundra runs, beginning at our
New Year:--1, middle month, or the cold breaks an axe, must doubtless
be ‘axe-handle month’, the axe-handle splits with the cold; 2, month
of return, when the sun has turned back to summer, or hornless month;
3, eagle month; 4, fish month, when people begin to fish in the
lakes; 5, month of calves, in which the reindeer-does calve; 6, geese
month, the geese begin to moult during the latter days of this month;
7, fledged month, the geese after moulting are again in a condition
to use their wings; 8, maliz month, when the skins obtained from the
reindeer are turned into malizes (an undergarment), or the reindeer
rub the velvet off their horns; 9, reindeer-rutting month, or
sea-fish month, from the catching of the _omulj_; 10, hunting month;
11, the first dark month, in which in the far north the sun does not
rise; 12, the great month of darkness.
Further, the Yakuts have only twelve months:--1, spawning month; 2,
month of pines, the people collect pine-bark which is afterwards
dried and ground into meal; 3, grass month; 4, hay-fork month, or
the fourth month; 5-10 numbered; 11, the month in which the foals
are shut up in the day-time and are kept from the mares, so that the
latter can be milked; 12, month in which the ice floats away.
So also the Itälmen of Kamchatka:--Summer year, beginning in May:
1, wood-cock month, from the arrival of the wood-cock; 2, cuckoo
month; 3, summer month; 4, moonlight month, since people begin to
fish in the moonlight; 5, leaves and plants begin to wither and fall
away; 6, titmouse month, the porus-titmouse appears. The winter year
begins with:--7, nettle month, the nettles are gathered and hung up
to dry; 8, ‘I am rather cold’; 9, ‘touch me not’: it is considered a
crime to drink in this month from springs and brooks with the mouth
or with hollow sticks: it must be done with great wooden spoons or
with shells; 10, ladder month, the ladder leading to the balagans
becomes very brittle owing to the cold; 11, vent-hole month, since
the snow around the vent-hole thaws and the earth again appears;
12, water-wagtail month, when these birds arrive. Two other lists
for Kamchatka contain only ten months. Near the Kamchatka River the
names are:--1, sin-purifying month; 2, axe-handles break owing to the
frost; 3, beginning of the heat (_sic!_); 4, the day becomes long;
5, month of the snow-crust; 6, redfish month; 7, whitefish month; 8,
_kaiko_-fish month; 9, the great whitefish month; 10, month of the
falling leaves, said to last as long as three of our months. Among
the northern Kamchadales the names are:--1, month of the freezing of
the rivers; 2, hunting month; 3, sin-purifying month; 4, axe-handles
burst; 5, time of the long day; 6, birth-time of the sea-beavers;
7, birth-time of the seals; 8, birth-time of the tame reindeer; 9,
birth-time of the wild reindeer; 10, beginning of the fishing. The
winter year begins in November, the summer year in May.
For the Gilyaks two lists are given, each with twelve months. That
for the Amur estuary has two or three variants for some months. The
following are translated:--1, month in which a kind of salmon spawns
(?), or harpoon month (?); 2, month in which another species of
salmon is caught; 3, little month; 4, great month, or month in which
another kind of salmon is caught; 5, moulting-month; 6, half-year
month (?); 8, year month; 9, eagle month; 10, snow-shovel month. On
the island of Sachalin:--3, fish-and-squirrel month; 4, little month;
5, great month; 10, eagle month; 11, snow-shovel month.
The Aino of the Kurile Islands:--1, long days; 2, the snow melts; 3,
coalmouse month; 4, sea-gull’s eggs month; 5, guillemot’s eggs month;
6, foddering month; 7, salmon-catching month; 8, month when the birds
grow fat, or bird-snaring month; 9, the grass withers, or month when
the grass is withered; 10, month of the short days; 11, winter month;
12, the-snow-fills-up.
The Aleuts begin the year in March:--1, the foremost, or the time
when people gnaw belts; 2, the period when people gnaw belts for the
last time, or the time when one is out there (outside the house); 3,
month of flowers; 4, young-of-animals month; 5, month when the young
animals are fat; 6, the warm month; 7, month in which hair grows,
when the feathers and coats of animals grow thick; 8, hunting-month;
9, the month after hunting-month; 10, sea-lion month, when these
animals are caught; 11, the great month, which is longer than any of
the others; 12, cormorant month, when this bird is caught in nets.
Unfortunately the attention paid to these names has not been extended
to the word which means ‘month’. It would be valuable to know if
the same word means ‘moon’: if so, it would be clearly proved that
a moon-month is in question. Except in the lists for the Minusinsk
Tatars and the Tunguses the names end with the same word, which is
translated ‘month’, and in one case (the Buriats) ‘moon’, but this is
doubtless a peculiarity due to the authority; however, isolated names
are interspersed which have not this concluding word, as appears
also from the above translations. The number of days indicated in
the list pp. 176 f. suits only to moon-months. Upon the whole we are
authorised in concluding that we have to do with genuine moon-months.
This is expressly stated by American travellers, to whom we owe
further information about the peoples of eastern Siberia.
The year of the Koryak, north of Kamchatka, is divided into twelve
lunar months (called ‘moons’). The first month begins at the time
of the winter solstice and corresponds to our December. Some months
have different names in different places, but the names of the
months most commonly used are as follows:--1, cold-winds month or
snow-storms month; 2, (growing-of-)the-reindeer’s-spinal-sinew
month; 3, false-making-udder month or reindeer-udder month[720]; 4,
reindeer-does’-calving month; 5, water-month; 6, first summer-month;
7, second summer-month; 8, reddening (of leaves) month; 9,
pairing-season-of-the-reindeer-bucks month or empty (bare)-twigs
month; 10, autumn’s month; 11, rutting-season-of-mountain-sheep
month; 12, itself-head month or month-of-the-head-itself[721].
The Yukaghir names for their lunar months are given in
translation:--1 (July), the middle-of-the-summer month; 2, the small
mosquito month, because the mosquitoes appear; 3, the fish month,
because fishing is then taking place for the winter stock; 4, the
wild-reindeer buck month, the rutting-time of the wild reindeer; 5,
the autumn month; 6, before-the-ridge month; 7, ridge month, i. e.
the ridge of the spinal column--because in reckoning this month is
denoted by the atlas, the first cervical vertebra--, or the great
butterfly month; 8, the little butterfly month; here are meant the
larvae of two species of gadfly which in summer lay their eggs, one
in the skin of the reindeer, and the other in its nostril: during
the winter the eggs develop into larvae; 9, name not translated; 10,
the ancient men _cille_ month: _cille_ means the icy surface formed
during the night on the snow, after having melted during the day:
this commences in April; 11, leaf-month; 12, the mosquito month,
because the mosquito makes its appearance then[722].
The same system recurs in North America. The Eskimos of the Behring
Straits divide up the time according to the moon: by the ‘moons’
all time is reckoned during the year, and dates are set in advance
for certain festivals and rites. Thirteen moons are reckoned to
the year, although our authority could not always obtain complete
series. The list is arranged according to our months:--1, ‘to turn
about’, named from a game with a top; 2, time when the first seals
are born; 3, time of creeping on game (refers to the seal-hunting
on the ice); 4, time of cutting off, from the appearance of sharp
lines of colour on the ptarmigan’s body; 5, time for going in
kayaks; 6, time for fawn-hunting; 7, the time when geese get new
wing-feathers (moulting); 8, time for brooding geese to moult; 9,
time for velvet-shedding (from horns of reindeer); 10, time for
setting seal-nets; 11, time for bringing in winter stores; 12, time
of the drum, the month when the winter festival begins. Very often
several different names may be used to designate the same moon, if
it should chance to be at a season when different occupations or
notable occurrences in nature are observed: our authority has used
the most common terms. For the lower Yukon delta, near Mission, the
following list is drawn up:--1, season for top-spinning and running
round the _kashim_; 2, time of offal-eating (scarcity of food), or
the cold moon; 3, time of opening the upper passage-ways into the
houses (this falls too early and is referred to an earlier, warmer
time); 4, birds come; 5, geese come; 6, time of eggs; 7, time of
salmon; 8, time for red salmon; 9, time for young geese to fly; 10,
time for shedding velvet from reindeer-horns; 11, mush-ice forms; 12,
time of musk-rats; 13, time of the feast. A third list was obtained
just south of the Yukon delta:--1, named from the game of the top; 2,
the time of much moon, i. e. long nights; 3, the time of taking hares
in nets; 4, the time of opening summer doors; 5, arrival of geese;
6, time of whitefish; 7, time of braining salmon; 8, geese moult; 9,
swans moult; 10, the flying away (migration of the birds); 11, time
of velvet-shedding; the names of the twelfth, and doubtless also of
the thirteenth, month were not obtained[723].
The Central Eskimos divide the year into 13 months, the names of
which vary very much according to the tribes and the latitude of
the place. One month, _siringilang_, ‘without sun’--the name covers
the whole period of the year in which the sun does not rise--is of
indeterminate length (_sic!_), and thereby serves to equalise the
length of the year. The name _qaumartenga_ denotes only the days
which are without sun but have twilight, the rest of this month is
called _sirinektenga_; other names of months are not given[724]. The
Eskimos of Greenland begin to count the moons at the winter solstice.
After the third moon they remove from the winter houses into their
summer tents. In the fourth they know that the little birds are again
to be seen and that the ravens lay eggs, in the fifth the _angmasset_
and the seals are once more to be seen with their young, at the end
of this month the eider-ducks begin to brood and the reindeer-does
to calve. From this time on, only those who live on latitude 59° can
reckon by the moon any longer: the others count by the phenomena of
natural life[725].
The Konyag of the island of Kodiak off the southern coast of Alaska
count from August the following months:--1, the Pleiades begin to
rise; 2, Orion rises; 3, hoar-frost covers the grass; 4, snow appears
on the mountains; 5, the rivers and lakes freeze; 6, the sixth month;
7, dried fish is cut in pieces; 8, the ice breaks; 9, the ravens lay
eggs; 10, the birds (e. g. ducks etc.) which stay about the island in
winter lay eggs; 11, the seals pair; 12, the porpoises pair[726]. For
the Thlinkit two lists are given, the first, from Sitka, beginning
with August:--1, takes its name because all birds then come down from
the mountains; 2, ‘small moon’ or ‘moon-child’, so called because
fish and berries then begin to fail; 3, ‘big moon’, because the first
snow then appears, and bears begin to get fat; 4, month when people
have to shovel snow away from their doors; 5, month when every animal
on land and in the water begins to have hair in the mother’s womb;
6, ‘goose month’, because it is that in which the sun starts back
and people begin to look for geese; 7, ‘black-bear month’, the month
when black and brown bears begin to have cubs and throw them out
into the snow; 8, the month when ‘sea-flowers’ and all other things
under the sea begin to grow; 9, ‘real-flower month’, when flowers,
nettles, etc. begin to shew life; 10, ‘tenth month’, when people
know that everything is going to grow; 11, ‘eleventh month’, the
month of salmon; 12, ‘month when everything is born’; 13, ‘month when
everything born commences to fatten’. The second list, from Wrangel,
begins with January:--1, ‘goose month’, perhaps so called because
the geese were then all at the south; 2, ‘black-bear month’, the
month when the black bear turns over on the other side in his den; 3,
‘silver-salmon month’: the reason of the name is unknown, this is not
their proper month; 4, ‘month before everything hatches’; 5, ‘month
when everything hatches’; 6, meaning unknown; 7, ‘month when the
geese cannot fly’; 8, ‘month when all animals prepare their dens’;
9, ‘moon child’ or ‘young moon’; 10, ‘big moon’; 11, ‘moon when all
creatures go into their dens’; 12, ‘ground-hog-mother’s moon’; the
thirteenth month is missing[727]. The author’s report consists in
part of extremely doubtful explanations of the natives, and the
whole seems hardly to be in order: here, as everywhere, the memory of
the old names of the months has begun to fade away. The type to which
the list belongs, however, is well known.
Among the Shuswap of British Columbia the months have two classes of
names. They are called ‘the first month’ etc., or have recognised
names derived from some characteristic. The names among the
Fraser River division, and their special characteristics, are as
follows:--1, or ‘going-in time’. People commence to enter their
winter houses. The deer rut. 2, or (name not translated). First real
cold. 3, or (d:o). Sun turns. 4, or ‘spring (winds) month’. Frequent
Chinook winds. The snow begins to disappear. 5, or ‘(little) summer
(month)’. Snow disappears completely from the lower grounds. A few
spring roots are dug, and many people leave their winter houses at
the end of the month. 6, or (name not translated). Snow disappears
from the higher ground. The grass grows fast. People dig roots.
7, or ‘midsummer (month)’. People fish trout at the lakes. 8, or
‘getting-ripe month’. Service-berries ripen. 9, or ‘autumn month’.
Salmon arrive. 10, or (name not translated). People fish salmon all
month. 11, or (d:o). People cache their fish and leave the rivers to
hunt. Balance of the year, ‘fall time’. People hunt and trap game in
the mountains[728].
The moons used by the Spences Bridge band of the Thompson Indians
in the same country, and their principal characteristics, are:--1,
the deer rut, and people hunt. 2, ‘going-in time’, so named because
most people went into their winter houses during this month. The
weather begins to get cold, and the people go into their winter
houses. 3, bucks shed their antlers, and does become lean. 4,
‘spring (winds) time’, so named because Chinook winds generally
blow in this month, melting all the snow. The weather improves, and
the spring plants begin to sprout. The people come out of their
winter houses. 5, ‘coming-forth time’, so named because the people
come forth from their winter houses in this month, although many
came out in the fourth month. The grass grows. 6, the people catch
trout with dip-nets, and begin to go to the lakes to trap fish. The
trees put forth leaves, and the waters increase. 7, the people dig
roots. 8, ‘they are a little ripe’. The deer drop their young, and
service-berries begin to ripen. 9, ‘middle time’, so named because
of the summer solstice. The sun returns, and all berries ripen. Some
of the people hunt. 10, ‘first of run’, first or ‘nose’ of ascending
fish. The sockeye or red salmon run. 11, the Next Moon, or ‘(poor)
fish’, ‘they reach the source’. The cohoes or silver salmon come, and
the salmon begin to get poor. They reach the sources of the rivers.
12, the Rest of the Year, or ‘fall time’. The people trap and hunt,
and the bucks begin to run[729].
The Lower Thompsons also called the months by numerals up to ten
or sometimes eleven, the remainder of the year being called the
autumn. Their names are as follows:--1, the rutting-time of deer.
2, ‘going-in’. People go into their winter houses. 3, ‘the last
going-in’. 4, ‘little coming-out’, ‘spring or warm wind’. Alternate
cold and warm winds. Some people camp out in lodges for a time. 5,
‘going-in-again’. Last cold. People go into winter houses again for
a short time. 6, ‘coming-out’. Winter houses left for good. People
catch fish in bag-nets. 7, people go on short hunts. 8, people pick
berries. 9, people commence to fish salmon. 10, people fish and cure
salmon. 11, or ‘to boil food a little’, so named because people
prepared fish-oil. Autumn. People hunt large game and go trapping.
The moons are grouped in five seasons[730]. The names of the Lillooet
Indians are similar, eleven moons and the rest of the year, the
fall[731].
From the Kwakiutl of Vancouver Island series have been obtained for
four different tribes, the first and second tribes having identical
names for the months 2-8 and 10. The author states that the knowledge
of the moons seems to be disappearing, and that it was difficult to
obtain quite satisfactory evidence: consequently he does not claim
that his arrangement is perfectly accurate. As a matter of fact some
confusion seems to have crept into the series. The names of the
months, corresponding to our March onwards, are as follows:--
I II III IV
1. Raspberry- | Tree- | Under (elder | No sap in
sprouting | sprouting| brother). | trees(?)
season, or | season. | |
olachen- | | |
fishing | | |
season. | | |
| |
2. Raspberry season. | Next one under | Raspberry season.
| (elder brother).|
| |
3. Huckleberry season. | Trying-oil moon. | Huckleberry season.
| |
4. Sallalberry season. | Sockeye moon (?) | Sallalberry season.
| |
5. Season of ? | Between good | South-east
| and bad weather.| wind moon.
| |
6. Past (i. e. empty) | Raspberry season.| Sockeye moon.
boxes (?) | |
| |
7. Wide-face. | Eldest brother. | Elder brother.
| |
8. Round one underneath,| Right moon (?) | Under (elder
i. e. Moon after | | brother).
Wide-face. | |
| |
9. Dog-salmon | Season of?| Sweeping houses, | Pile-driving
month. | | i. e. for winter| moon.
| | ceremonial. |
| | |
10. Cleaned, i. e. of | Staying in | Fish-in-river
leaves. | dance house (?) | moon.
| | |
11. Spawning | Season of | Spawning season. | (?)
season. | flood(?) | |
| | |
12. First- | Near to | Elder brother. | Nothing on it (?)
olachen- | olachen- | |
run moon. | fishing | |
| season. | |
Between the tenth and twelfth the author inserts the winter solstice,
and says that the solstice moons are called by a name which probably
means ‘split both ways’: he adds that the readjustment is made in
mid-winter[732].
Of the Siciatl of British Columbia it is said that they divide the
year into twelve parts corresponding approximately to our months:
in these divisions the moon seems to play a very subordinate part.
In fact they are to be described as seasons, since to their names
is prefixed the same word, _tem_, as to the three main seasons, e.
g. _tem tcim_, ‘cold time’, winter, _tem kaikq_, eagle-time, 1,
January, so called because, as it is asserted, the eagle hatches
its eggs at this time. Further:--2, time when the big fish lay
their eggs; 3, budding time; 4, time of the _lem_, an unidentified
bird of passage which remains about a month; 5, time of the diver,
which in this month builds its nest and lays eggs; 6, ‘salmon-berry’
time; 7, ‘red-cap’ time, a kind of raspberry; 8, sallalberry time;
9, time when the fish stop running; 10, time when the leaves fade;
11, time when the fish leave the streams; 12, time when the raven
lays his eggs[733]. However these divisions are doubtless originally
moon-months, as is suggested by the number twelve. Probably the
native time-reckoning has fallen into decay and been forgotten
under European influence. This is everywhere the case, especially
in regard to the moon-month. The Stselis of the same district begin
the year in autumn at October, and name the months as follows:--1,
spring-salmon spawning season; 2, dog-salmon spawning season; 3,
dancing season; 4, season for putting paddles away--from which they
number from 5 to 10. The time between July and October was denoted
by a word which means the coming together or meeting of the two
ends of the year. The latter part of this division was also known
as the time of the dying salmon, since the creeks were at this time
full of dead and dying salmon[734]. This list of months is curious,
but its peculiarities--the ceasing of the counting at ten,--and
even the naming of the first four months--are to be found among the
Romans[735]. However it bears so little resemblance to all the other
lists known to us from this district that it becomes doubtful whether
it is original or a product of decay.
The name Piskwaus or Piscous is given to a small tribe that lives on
the little river which falls into the Columbia about 40 miles below
Fort Okanagon. Their months, obtained from a chief, shew that their
habits are much the same as those of their neighbours, the Salish,
for the names of many of the months have reference to some of their
most important usages. One of the chiefs (viz. of the Piskwaus)
made only twelve names, while the other (of the Salish) reckoned
thirteen. Both had some difficulty in calling to mind all the names.
In several the Piskwau chief is one moon ahead of the other, which
may arise from a mistake or possibly from some slight difference of
seasons at the two places. The list begins at the time of the winter
solstice:--1, not translated; 2, ‘cold’; 3, a certain herb; 4, ‘snow
gone’; 5, a bitter root; 6, ‘going to root-ground’; 7, _camass_-root;
8, ‘hot’; 9, ‘gathering berries’; 10, ‘exhausted salmon’; 11, ‘dry’;
12 (missing in the Piskwau list) ‘house-building’; 13, ‘snow’[736].
The naming of the months from seasons (in the sense of chapter II) is
wide-spread over the whole of North America; only under the curious
civilisation of Arizona and neighbouring districts does the system
present special features.
The Creek Indians began the year immediately after the celebration of
the _busk_ or ripening of the new corn, in August. The moons are:--1,
big ripening; 2, little, and 3, big chestnut; 4, falling leaf; 5, big
winter; 6, little winter, or big winter’s young brother; 7, windy;
8, little, and 9, big spring; 10, mulberry moon; 11, blackberry
moon; 12, little ripening moon[737]. An early French author relates
of certain tribes in Nouvelle France (western Canada) that they
divide the year into twelve moons which are named from animals but
correspond to our months. January and February are the first and the
second moons in which the bear brings forth its young, March is the
moon of the carp, April that of the crane, May that of the maize,
June the moon in which the bustard moults, July the month of the
rutting of bears, August the rutting-time of bulls, September the
rutting-time of deer, October that of elks, November the rutting-time
of the roebuck, December the moon in which the roe sheds its horns.
The tribes who live by the sea call September the moon in which
the trout spawn, October the moon of the whitefish, November that
of the herring; to the other moons they give the same names as the
inhabitants of the interior[738].
Another traveller at the end of the 18th century relates of the Sioux
and Chippewa that they divide the year into twelve moon-months to
which from time to time an extra month, known as the lost month, is
added. March is the first month of the year, and begins as a rule
at the new moon after the spring equinox: it is called the moon of
the worms, since the worms then leave their holes under the bark of
trees or the other places where they have been hiding during the
winter, April is the moon of the plants, May, the moon of flowers,
June, the warm moon, July, the moon of the roe-buck, August, the moon
of the sturgeon, which are then caught in great numbers, September
is the moon of the maize, since it is then reaped, October is the
moon of journeys, since the people leave the villages and depart to
the district in which they intend to hunt in the winter, November,
beaver’s moon, since this animal then goes back into its lodge after
having collected winter stores, December, hunting-moon, January, cold
moon, February, snow moon, because most snow falls in that month[739].
A fairly contemporary account of the tribes of Pennsylvania
runs:--The months have each a separate name, but not the same name
among all tribes, since the names refer chiefly to the climate of the
district, and the benefits and good things enjoyed in it. Thus the
Lenope, who lived by the Atlantic Ocean, called March the month of
shads, since the shad then came up from the sea into the rivers to
spawn; but since in the district to which they afterwards migrated
this fish is not found, they changed the name of the month and called
it the juice-dripping or the sugar-refining month, since at this
time the juice of the sugar-maple begins to flow. April is called
the spring month, May, the month of plants, June, ‘deer half-month’,
or the month in which the deer bring forth their young, or also the
month in which the hair of the deer is reddish, July, the summer
month, August, corn-ear month, since the ears of corn (cobs of maize)
can then be roasted and eaten, September, autumn month, October,
gathering or harvest month, December, hunting month, which is the
time when all deer have shed their horns, January, mouse and squirrel
month, since these animals then come out of their holes, February,
month of frogs, since on warm days the frogs begin to make themselves
heard. The translator adds in a note:--November, hunting month,
December, month in which the stags shed their horns[740]. Some tribes
give to January a name which signifies ‘the return of the sun to
them’, probably because the days once more become longer. The names
are therefore not the same for all tribes, and those of the Moonsey,
a tribe of the Delaware, do not even agree with one another[741].
The following is very instructive both for the influence of the
natural phenomena upon the terminology and for the fluctuating
character of the terminology itself:--The wild rice is an important
article of food for the tribes of the west by the Great Lakes;
three important branches of the Algonquin, and also smaller
tribes, name one or two months from this plant. The Ojibwa call
August or September the moon of the gathering of wild rice, or
the wild rice moon; the Ottawa, Menomini, and Potawatomi have the
wild-rice-gathering moon, which among the last-named corresponds to
the end of September and the beginning of October; the Dakota call
September ‘ripe rice moon’, October is the moon in which the wild
rice is gathered and laid up for the winter; according to Neill,
September is the moon when the rice is laid up to dry, October the
‘drying-rice moon’; according to Long, September is ‘the beginning’,
October ‘the end of wild rice’; according to Atwater September is
‘the moon when the wild rice is ripe’[742].
A list of the Dakota months gives:--January, the hard moon; February,
the raccoon moon; March, the sore-eye moon; April, the moon in which
the geese lay eggs, or when the streams are navigable,--among the
Teton, moon when the ducks come back; May, the planting moon; June,
the moon when the strawberries are red,--Teton, when the seed-pods
of the Indian turnip mature, or when the _wipazoha_ (berries) are
good; July, the moon when the choke-cherries are ripe, or when the
geese shed their feathers,--Teton, the deer-rutting moon; August, the
harvest moon,--Teton, the moon when the plums are red; September, the
moon when rice is laid up to dry,--Teton, moon in which the leaves
become brown; October, the drying-rice moon,--Teton, moon when the
wind shakes off the leaves, or corn-harvest moon; November, the
deer-rutting moon,--Teton, the winter moon; December, the moon when
the deer shed their horns,--Teton, the midwinter moon[743].
Some of the tribes of the Cheyenne name twelve moons in the year,
but many tribes have not more than six; and different bands of the
same tribe, if occupying widely separated sections of the country,
will have different names for the same moon. Knowing well the habits
of the animals, and having roamed over vast areas, they readily
recognise any special moon that may be mentioned, even though their
name for it may be different. One of the nomenclatures used by the
Teton-Sioux and the Cheyenne, beginning with the moon just before
winter, is as follows:--1, moon when the leaves fall off; 2, when
the buffalo cow’s foetus is getting large; 3, when the wolves run
together; 4, when the skin of the foetus of the buffalo commences to
colour; 5, when the hair gets thick on the buffalo foetus, called
also ‘men’s month’, or ‘hard month’; 6, the sore-eye moon, buffalo
cows drop their calves; 7, moon when the ducks come; 8, moon when
the grass commences to get green and some roots are fit to be eaten;
9, moon when the corn is planted; 10, when the buffalo bulls are
fat; 11, when the buffalo cows are in season; 12, when the plums get
red[744].
The Omaha name the moons as follows, from January on:--1, when the
snow drifts into the tents of the Honga; 2, the moon when geese come
home (back); 3, the little frog moon; 4, the moon in which nothing
happens; 5, the moon in which they plant; 6, the buffalo bulls hunt
the cows; 7, when the buffalo bellow; 8, when the elk bellow; 9,
when the deer paw the earth; 10, when the deer rut; 11, when the
deer shed their antlers; 12, when little black bears are born.
The Oto and Iowa tribes use the same names for the months, except
for January, which is called ‘the raccoon month’[745]. The Kiowa
have twelve months, but some writers give 14 or 15, the names of
which are repetitions of the others. As to the first eight all are
unanimous, for the ninth all informants but one are in agreement,
for the following there is disagreement. The list, which begins
in Sept.-Oct., comes from an Indian specially well versed in the
calendar. 1, the ‘ten-colds moon’: the first ten days are cold,
after the full moon winter and the new year begin; 2, ‘wait until
I come’ (_äganti_ without the word _p’a_, ‘moon’); 3, ‘geese-going
moon’, sometimes ‘sweathouse moon’; 4, ‘real-goose moon’; 5,
‘little-bud moon’, the first buds come out: the first half belongs
to winter, the second to spring; 6, ‘bud moon’, sometimes with
‘great’ prefixed; 7, ‘leaf moon’; 8, summer _äganti_: its full moon
forms the boundary between spring and summer; 9, ‘summer-geese-going
moon’, seems to be placed too late; 10, ‘summer-real-goose moon’;
11, ‘little-moon-of-deer-horns-dropping-off’, the deer begin to shed
their horns; 12, similarly named, or sometimes with the addition of
‘great’: with this full moon autumn begins[746]. The year of the
Pawnee varied between 12 and 13 months; the names are not given[747],
nor are those of the Klamath and Modok[748], or of the Occaneechi
of Virginia[749]. The Bannock call the earlier months:--1, running
season for game; 2, big moon; 3, black smoke (it is cold); 4,
bare-spots-along-the-trail (the snow vanishes in places); 5, little
grass, or the grass first comes up; for the months of the warm season
they have no names[750]. For the Mandan there is a list with twelve
months, which I have been unable to obtain: the ‘seven-cold-days’
month, the pairing month, and the ‘sore eye’ month are quoted[751].
The Seminole of Florida count 12 months, only the following names are
translated:--1, little winter; 2, wind moon; 3, big wind moon; 4,
little, and 5, big mulberry moon; 12, big winter. 7 and 8, 9 and 10
are also paired, the latter in each case being described as ‘big’;
6 and 11 have single names[752]. The Chocktaw of Louisiana have
forgotten their names, only a few could be enumerated:--December,
cold moon; February, moon of snow; March, moon of wind; April,
corn(-planting) moon; July, moon of fire. The women asserted that
the year was divided into twelve moons, but our authority thinks it
highly probable that thirteen is the correct number[753]. The Natchez
had 13 months, and celebrated at each new moon a feast which took
its name from the principal fruits gathered or the animals hunted in
the previous month. Their year began in March. 1, moon of the deer;
2, moon of the strawberries, which are then gathered; 3, moon of the
little corn: this was often awaited with impatience, their harvest
of the great corn never sufficing to nourish them from one harvest
to another; 4, moon of the water-melons; 5, moon of the peaches; 6,
moon of the mulberries; 7, moon of the maize, or great corn; 8, moon
of the turkeys, which at that time come out from the thick woods into
the open woods; 9, moon of the bison, which are then hunted; 10, moon
of the bears; 11, moon of the cold meal; 12, moon of the chestnuts,
although these have long since been collected; 13, moon of the nuts
(which is added to complete the year). The nuts are crushed and mixed
with flour to make bread[754].
The tribes of Arizona, among whom religion and ceremonial rites
have attained a pre-eminent place, occupy a special position; their
time-reckoning has developed into a ceremonial year. However the
natural foundation peeps through. Among the Hopi thirteen names
with the addition _mü’iyawu_, ‘moon’, are given, so that genuine
moon-months must be implied. The second part of _ücü_, October, is
said to be called _tü’hoe_; if this is recognised as a month, there
are 14 of them. Several of the priests say that there are 13 months,
others 12, still others 14. It is to be noted that the seasons and
the festivals are determined by observation of the sun in relation
to certain terrestrial marks; of these sun-points there are 13. The
names of the months are not translated: several recur, but not in
the same order, 1 = 8, 2 = 10, 5 to 7 = 11 to 13. But it is stated
also that the months are divided into ‘named’ and ‘nameless’[755].
The Zuñi divide the year into two seasons, each consisting of six
months. The months are:--December, turning or looking back (of the
sun); January, limbs of trees broken by snow; February, no snow in
the road; March, little wind month; April, big wind month; May, no
name. The same names are said to recur in the second half-year![756]
This can only be an entirely conventional arrangement. But according
to other sources the six later months, though called ‘the nameless’,
have ritualistic names (Yellow, Blue, Red, White, Variegated, Black)
derived from the colours of the prayer-sticks offered up at every
full moon to the gods of the north, west, south, east, zenith, and
nadir, who are represented by these colours[757]. The Pima have 12
months. Two different lists from two natives are given. (I):--1,
saguaro harvest moon; 2, rainy; 3, short planting; 4, dry grass;
5, winter begins; 6, yellow; 7, leaves falling; 8, cottonwood
flowers; 9, cottonwood leaves; 10, mesquite leaves; 11, mesquite
flower; 12, black seeds on saguaros. (II):--1, wheat harvest moon;
2, saguaro harvest; 3, rainy; 4, short planting; 5, dry grass; 6,
windy; 7, smell; 8, big winter; 9, gray; 10, green; 11, yellow;
12, strong[758]. The names of colours recur, but seem here to have
reference to the seasons. That the wheat culture has been newly
introduced does not by any means imply that the series of months is
of recent origin, but only points to the familiar instability of
their names.
For South America I find in the literature accessible to me no
names of months recorded, except for the Inca people alone. Their
series of months, which is collected from various sources, runs
(beginning about January):--1, small growing moon; 2, great growing
moon; 3, flower-growing moon; 4, twin-ears moon; 5, harvest moon; 6,
breaking-soil moon; 7, irrigation moon; 8, sowing moon; 9, moon of
the Moon-feast; 10, moon of the Feast of the province of Uma; 11,
moon of the Feast of the province of Ayamarca; 12, moon of the Great
Feast of the Sun. The ceremonies in connexion with this last festival
were made to approximate to the moon’s phases, the various stages
commencing with the ninth day, full moon, and the 21st day[759].
Nowadays the ability to bring the lunar year into agreement with the
solar is usually denied to this people, although older writers have
claimed this knowledge for them[760]. This is naturally correct, in
so far as a leapyear cycle is meant; but it seems to me unlikely that
the Inca people was unable to bring the moon-months into their proper
position in the year by an occasional intercalation of a thirteenth
month, when this became necessary. The not nearly so highly civilised
Indians of North America could do this, and the Incas observed
the solstices. The first eight names alone shew that. Perhaps the
other months, as among certain tribes of N. American Indians, were
originally nameless (it was no doubt the time when there was no work
in the fields); that the names are of late origin is shewn by the
reference to various provinces of the kingdom. The tribes of Bolivia
also have moon-months[761], and among the Orinoco Indians months are
mentioned[762]. The Karaya of Central Brazil know that the year has
13 full moons[763].
In Africa the lists of months are not so numerous as in the parts of
the world hitherto mentioned. There are however plenty of them, and
that not among the peoples most deeply influenced by civilisation:
among such peoples the Islamite months have gained admission. In
Morocco, southern Algeria, and even in the Sudan the Julian months
are also found. The examples of a reckoning in months which relates
to the seasons come from South and Central Africa, and therefore from
the districts which have been more free from foreign influence.
The Hottentot series of months has fallen into decay. I reproduce
the list of Schulze, who mentions another in Kroenlein, _Wortschatz
der Khoi-Khoin_ (Berlin, 1899), which has only nine names. His
February corresponds to Schulze’s January; only in the position of
the name for July, which Schulze claims for October, do the two
lists differ considerably. The list, the positions of the months,
and other statements come from an old Hottentot woman. The author
however could not be quite sure that the ideas of the whites had not
already influenced the number of months and their succession. The
month begins when the crescent of the moon appears in the western
sky. 1 (corresponds to about January), moon which follows upon the
_salsola_-bush, which is an important pasture-bush and has its
principal flowering-season in spring; 2, not translated; 3, when it
begins to be cold; 4, by older Hottentots explained as the month
of increasing cold: when one sits so near the fire that the legs
blister; 5, the black month, time of drought, the black branches
of the stripped bushes give the landscape this character; 6, not
translated; 7, month of the Pleiades, which become visible in the
latter half of June, and are of importance for the natives journeying
in quest of _tsama_; 8, not translated; 9, the month when the leaves
are curled up by the cold; 10 and 11, not translated; 12, named from
the fact that when, after the first productive rains upon the old and
withered grass, the fresh young green shoots up, the meadows appear
to be dappled[764].
For the Basuto a native gives the following list:--1, _phato_ =
August, begins the year; 2, _loetse_, from _loetsa_, ‘to anoint
wounds with fat, syringe the ear’, since the winter is broken and a
little warmth comes; 3, _mphalane_, _mphalane ’a leshoma_, _leshoma_
a kind of bulb which at that time begins to sprout, perhaps from
_liphalana_, to glitter, the sun glitters, does not warm, or because
of the girl-circumcision, which is announced by means of the blowing
of _liphalana_-flutes by the old women who perform the operation; 4,
_pulungoana_, diminutive of _pulumo_, gnu, which at this time brings
forth its young; 5, _tsitoe_, grasshopper, which is especially to
be heard at this time; 6, _pherekong_, perhaps ‘interjoin sticks’;
7, _tlhakola_ = _hlakola_, to wipe off, _tlhakola molula_, to wipe
off the _molula_: _molula_ is the stage at which the _mabele_ grain
is still completely enveloped in the husk: now the grains shoot
forth and the _molula_ disappear, _molula_ also means a kind of
grass which is used in basket-work; 8, _tlhakubele_, from _thlaku_,
grains: therefore:--the _mabele_ plant has grains; 9, _’mesa_, _’mesa
tseleng_, kindling fire by the roadside, as is done by those who
drive away the birds from the fields, either to warm themselves or to
roast ears of corn; 10, _motseanong_, i. e. ‘bird-laugher’, since the
grains are by now so firmly fixed in the ears that the birds cannot
get them; 11, _phupjoane_, from _phupu_, ‘beginning to swell’, with
reference to a kind of bulb; 12, _phuphu_, ‘bulging out’, i. e. bulbs
and the stems of some hardy plants[765].
Of the Caffres we are told:--They count in the year only twelve
months, and for these they have names: the result is frequent
confusion and difference of opinion as to which month it really is.
There is, for example, the month of the cuckoo, when this bird is
first heard, the month of the erythusia, when this plant blossoms,
the month of much dust, mid-winter. The names of the moons are more
or less descriptive of the season, e. g. _newaba_, green, describes
the first appearance of the vegetation; _furnfu_, September, cattle
licking green grass; _zibandhlela_, October, footpaths being covered
with grass; _hlolange_, January, time to look for first-fruits;
_hlangula_, May, time of falling leaves[766]. Unfortunately the
complete list is not given.
By the Baronga the months or moons are now almost completely
forgotten, at least among the southern clans. The following
statements come from the northern clans, where the names have been
better preserved:--_nhlangula_, the month in which the flowers are
swept from the trees, probably October, in which various trees
blossom; _nwendjamhala_, the month in which the antelope _mhala_
brings forth its young (November?); _mawuwana_, when the _tihuhlu_
are plucked, because the people shout ‘_wuwana, wuwana_’ in their
joy at having plenty of almonds to suck (December); _hukuri_ is said
to be the month when the fruits of the _nkwakwa_ are ripe (December
also?); _ndjati_ or _ndjata_, i. e. ‘I am coming’. It is the time
of _nwebo_, when everyone in his fields is eating the new cobs of
mealies, and if you call, a person will answer:--“I come directly!
Have patience! I am busy”. This may be January or February. _Sunguti_
is also one of the summer months; _sibamesoko_, the moon which closes
the paths, also called _dwebindlela_ or _sibandlela_ (February),
is the time when the grass grows so high that it hides the paths;
_nyenyana_, nywenywankulu are the months of the birds (_nyenyana_),
when one spends the time in chasing them from the fields (March and
April); _mudashini_, i. e. ‘What am I to eat?’ is so named because
in the harvest month there are so many different kinds of food that
you do not know which to choose (May or June); _khotubushika_, i. e.
‘when winter comes’, is probably June or July[767].
For the Herero the following list is given:--1 (January), month of
rain; 2, lambing month; 3, first pools of water; 4, last pools of
water; 5, lily month; 6, month of good luck; 7, rising of the water
in the river beds; 8, month of fog; 9, Pleiades month: the Pleiades
become visible and then _okuni_, spring, begins; 10, first month, and
therefore the first month in the Herero reckoning (_sic!_ probably of
the spring, cp. the following); 11, last moon namely the last month,
of spring; 12, dry, hard moon[768]. Another list has:--1 (January),
Vley water; 2, birth-time of springboks; 3, last Vley water; 4, last
rain-showers; 5, cold days; 6, dry period; 7, dry trees; lambing
season; 9, a lily begins to bud; 10, the milk-bushes become green;
11, the rain begins; 12, wet period[769].
In Loango the names of the months differ considerably according to
the situation of the district and the influence of this upon the
habits of life:--Month of expectation, month of the little rains, of
drought, of the curse, of the great rains, of the water, of men, of
women, of the harvest, of the vanishing water, of fish, of the rice,
of trade, of mist, of salt, of sleep, of the huts, of the burning (of
grass and brushwood), of mirth, of labour, of aid, between-month,
cold month, wood month, bud month, besom-and-dirt month (great
cleaning), and any other terms in popular use[770].
Some of the tribesmen of Upper Wellé give to the months names in
keeping with what is done in them. Thus one month is named as that in
which they sow _maroo_, the chief ingredient used in brewing native
beer; another as the season when _maroo_ must be cut. Following this
comes the ‘bad-water’ month, when the risk of fever is greatest;
then the elephant month, when they catch elephants by burning grass,
and the white-ant month, during which white ants are collected, and
considered a great delicacy; and a second _maroo_ month, when a
second crop is sown. The month next to this has no distinctive name,
and is succeeded by the second _maroo_-harvest month, the hungry or
water-month, when provisions are scarce; the second ant-gathering
month; a late sowing month, and finally another with no particular
title. Altogether 13, therefore[771]. For the Shilluk twelve months
are enumerated without translation: ‘moon’ and ‘month’ are expressed
by the same word[772]. The Akamba of British East Africa assert
that they reckon eleven months to the year, _anzwa_:--1, _mwa_,
planting month; 2, _wima_, time of the autumn rains; 3, _wiu_,
month of sprouting; 4, _mveu_, 5, _onkonono_, both untranslated;
6, _thandatu_, commence reaping; 7, _moanza_, not translated; 8,
_nyanya_, ‘friend’ (sic!); 9, _kenda_, ‘nine’; 10, _ekumi_, ‘ten’
(in 1907 this month began on August 10); 11, _mubiu_, season of
grass-burning. They say that the month has 31 days and that they see
the new moon on the 32nd; they assert that they do not include the
first day on which the moon is seen[773]. The system has evidently
already fallen into decay, so that too great importance must not be
attached to its peculiarities. The Wa-Sania of British East Africa
divide their twelve months into three periods of four: the names
are not given[774]. The Wagogo months are:--1, _mosi_, ‘the first’,
about December; 2, _mhiri_, ‘general’ (i. e. rains everywhere);
3, _mhalungulu_, ‘cessation’ (sc. first rains over); 4, _munye_,
‘possessing’, i. e. enjoying first-fruits; 5, _mwezi we litika_,
month of plenty; 6, _mwezi we lisololela_, month of beginning
reaping; 7, _mwezi we nhwanga_, threshing-month; 8, _mwezi we taga
matoto_, month when the harvest is ended; 9, _mwezi we tutula_, month
of forest-clearing; 10, _mwezi we ndawa mbereje_, month of digging
up the stubbles; 11, _murisimuka_, budding; 12, _muchilanhungo_,
‘partial’ (sc. partial rains, not general)[775]. The Nandi begin
with the last month of drought, about February:--1, _kiptamo_, ‘hot
in the fields’; 2, _iwat-kut_, rain in showers; 3, _wake_, meaning
unknown; 4, _ngei_, the heart pushed on one side by hunger; 5,
_rob-tui_, black rain or black clouds; 6, _puret_, mist; 7, _epeso_,
meaning unknown; 8, _kipsunde_, offering to God in the corn-fields;
9, _kipsunde oieng_, second offering to God; 10, _mulkul_, strong
wind; 11, _mulkulik oieng_, second strong wind; 12, _ngotioto_, the
_Brunsvigia Kirkii_ or pin-cushion plant[776].
The Masai divide their twelve months into four seasons, (I), _ol
dumeril_, time of the scanty rain-fall:--1, _ol gissan_, in which the
sheep and goats bring forth their young; 2, _ol adallo_, the heat
of the sun; 3, _ol golua_ (_loo-’n-gushu_). (II), _en gokwa_, the
Pleiades (_l’apaïtin te-’l-lengon_, the months of superfluity):--4,
_le erat_ (_kuj-orok_), formed from _er rata_, ‘green valley’;
the hitherto scanty rain has been sufficient to cover with fresh
green the valleys and low-lying spots of the otherwise still yellow
withered steppes; 5, _os somisso_ (_oäni-oingok_), ‘the dark’,
‘gloomy’: the sky is overcast, there is much rain, the days are
dark and gloomy; 6, _ol nernerua_ (_loo-’n-gokwa_), formed from
_nerneri_, ‘fat’. (III), _ol airodjerod_, the lesser after-rains:--7,
_le logunja airodjerod_ (_kara-obo_), also called _oieni oinok_,
‘the tied-up bulls’: owing to the abundant fodder of the last months
the bulls have become wild, and would be continually fighting each
other in the meadows, for which reason they are separated; 8, _bolos
airodjerod_ (_kiperu_), or also (but more rarely) _ol dat_; 9,
_kudjorok_ (_l’iarat_), ‘cold’, cold weather distinguishes this
month. (IV), _ol aimeii_, time of hunger, of drought:--10, _kiber_
(_pushuke_), uproar, quarrel. The pasture is thin, the milk scanty,
and people try to steal from other persons’ cows: at last the milk
is not sufficient to satisfy the necessary demands of hunger, and
most of the warriors go off into the forest with some of the oxen to
eat flesh. This lasts not only throughout this month but also during
the next. 11, _ol dongosh_, ‘stretched’, since in this month too the
milk is very scarce. The name seems to be derived from the word _en
gushush_, ‘lack of food’. Only at the beginning of the 12th month,
the _boshogge_ (_ol-oiborare_), do the people come back to the kraal.
I have followed Merker, p. 156. Hollis, pp. 333 ff., gives in some
cases other names, which unfortunately are not translated; they are
here given in brackets. Nos. 4 and 9 have exchanged names. It is
worthy of note that the month of the evening setting of the Pleiades
(_gokwa_) is named from this constellation. A further variation is
that according to Hollis the first month is _kara-obo_. The year
therefore begins with the season of the after-rains.
The Wadschagga of Kilimanjaro have likewise twelve months; ten are
denoted by numerals; the counting begins at the fifth, and the
months are divided into seasons. Nos. 5-8 fall in the season of
the great rains, 9 and 10 in the dancing season. In the ninth the
people say: ‘It is bright’; the rainy season passes away, and for
this reason this month is regarded as the beginning of the year,
sacrifices are offered up at the gates of the country, the chief
‘raises the field-stick’, i. e. gives permission for the beginning
of the ploughing, after having previously ‘let the year open’ by
offering a special sacrifice to the spirits for good fruit and
harvest. The name of the following month, _iyana_, now means ‘a
hundred’, but formerly it probably had the sense of ‘ten’. This, the
10th, month is followed by the first; the 1st and the 2nd months
fall in the first warm season, the 3rd in the little rainy season.
The three months of the great heat are not denoted by numerals. They
are interpolated between the 3rd and the 5th months. The first of
these is called _nsaa_: a month known as the fourth is then said to
be missing, but our authority conjectures that _nsaa_ is perhaps
a mutilated form of an old word for four; the month that follows
_nsaa_ is called _muru_, which is left unexplained, and the next
is _nsangwe_ or _nsango_. Then the 5th month comes again. The name
_nsangwe_ is almost everywhere explained by the people as arising
from _nsana-ngwi_, ‘to collect wood for burning’. The supplies
of wood for the rainy season are collected. The position of this
month immediately before the rainy season misleads them into thus
explaining the similar sound. These last two months are clearly to be
recognised as interpolations in the original scheme of ten months.
But there still exists a name for a thirteenth month, which is of
course necessary for the correcting of the lunar year, and which,
as the old folks say, was formerly actually counted. But now they
say:--“It is a sham month, since it has no companions, no comrades,
and therefore it is superfluous. The year has only twelve months.”
It is called _nkinyambwo_. The people say:--“The _nkinyambwo_ is no
longer necessary, since the rainy season has now only three months,
not four as in olden times.” The practice of beginning an enumeration
of the months with the 5th month _kusanu_ arouses the suspicion that
this may be the actual beginning of the year. To this the other names
of this month also point: ‘on the boundary of the year’, or _maraya a
kisie_, which can now only be translated as ‘the ender of the rain’.
But as a matter of fact this month ushers in the rainy season. It
has therefore been pushed from its former position in the course of
the year after the rainy season to a position before the beginning
of the period of greatest rains, and the practice of beginning the
enumeration with _kusanu_ is now the sole reminder of a time when
_kusanu_ really did introduce the new year at the beginning of the
chief ploughing-season. But the first month _nsi_ must once have been
one of the starting-points of the counting[777]. That the two months
above-mentioned are interpolations does not seem to be correct:
for the _nkinyambwo_ shews that the Wadschagga, like so many other
peoples, have had thirteen months, one of which was omitted when
necessary. The process seems clear from the statements given. When
the thirteenth month (probably under Islamite influence) passed out
of use, in the now strictly lunar year the months got out of place
in reference to the seasons. If the fifth month _kusanu_ keeps the
place in reference to the seasons to which its other names point,
it falls in the ninth month of the author’s list, _kukendu_, which,
according to natural conditions, is the beginning of the year. That
only ten months are numbered and the others named affords independent
evidence, and is in keeping with the system of counting in tens. That
the two months in question are inserted between the third (or fourth)
and the first points to a conventionalising of the system such as
is anything but primitive. Here, as always, numbered months shew
themselves to be a late phenomenon.
Curious names of months, of a kind which we have hardly met with
hitherto, are found in the comparatively highly civilised Hausa
states (Kano, Sokoto), where the Arabic and Julian names for the
months are also known. 1 (January), _wata-n-tshika-n-shekara_, or
_tshiki_, ‘month of the filling of the belly’, since much food
is eaten, especially at full moon, or _wata-n-wauwo_, month of
the _wauwo_-game (with torches); 2, _wata-n-gani_, month of the
_gani_-game; 3, _wata-n-takutika_, month of the _takutika_-game, or
_wata-n-takalufu_; 4, _ware-ware-n-farin_; 5, _ware-ware-n-biu_;
6, _ware-ware-n-aku_. _Ware-ware_ is the name of a small bird
which builds its nest in a hole in the ground; it is therefore
doubtful to which element it belongs. And so it is with these three
months, April, May, June, in which no games take place, so that
it was not known where to place them; for this reason they are
called the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd _ware-ware_. The word also denotes a
person who talks now one way, now another, a doubtful person. 7,
_wata-n-azumi-n-tsofafi_, month of the fast of the old people; 8,
_wata-n-sha rua-n-tsofafi_, month of the old people’s water-drinking;
9, _wata-n-azumi_, month of fasting; 10, _wata-n-karama-n-salla_,
month of the little _salla_ festival; 11, _wata-n-bawa-n-salloli_,
month of the slaves, in this month all (but especially the slaves)
have much work for the festival of the following month; 12,
_wata-n-baba-n-salla_, month of the great _salla_ festival, or
_wata-n-laiya_, month of the slaughtering of the lamb. The festivals,
especially the _salla_ festivals, do not always take place in the
months named after them: the time is determined by the priests
in accordance with the position of the moon (_wata_ = ‘moon,’
‘month’)[778]. This is an artificial system which was probably
created with a leaning towards the Arabic months. In Edo too the
familiar names of months are borrowed from the ceremonies that take
place at different times[779].
Madagascar has a comparatively highly developed civilisation in
which various influences cross. The Merina have the Arabic months.
The history of the native calendar is said to be very complicated:
Grandidier in a detailed discussion seeks to prove that the
Malgassian year, which is commonly held to be a lunar year, is a
solar or lunisolar one, and on the strength of certain resemblances
in the names of the months derives the calendar from S. India. I give
the principal data. Grandidier says that one reason for believing
that the Malgassian calendar is a solar one is the fact that it is in
reality agricultural. In 1638 Cauche says that the Malgassi divide
their year into 4 seasons and 12 lunar months, with some intercalary
days. The year is for them the time which elapses between two phases
of the vegetation; for greater convenience they divide it into twelve
lunar months, without caring much about the number of days composing
these months, as is rightly said of the Antandroy by Vacher[780],
who gives the following list, which is almost identical with that
compiled by Grandidier himself in the south-east, at Iavibola, in
1866. The months have names and epithets: the latter are explained.
1, millet is cut; 2, winter begins; 3, the beans flower; 4, the
tamarinds of the north are ripe; 5, the leaves fall; 6, tamarinds
and beans are ripe; 7, the _Cythere_-tree flowers; 8, the bulls
seek the shade of the _sakoa_; 9, the guinea-fowls sleep; 10, the
rain rots the ropes (with which the calves are fastened); 11, the
gourds flower; 12, the grains of the _fano_ are ripe. Rowlands[781]
had already remarked that the Betsileo months depend more upon the
time of the sowing and reaping of the rice and upon the flowering
of certain plants than upon the phases of the moon, and that the
agreement with the months of the Merina (i. e. the Arabic months) is
only approximate. The same applies to the calendar of the Sakalava,
the Bara, the Tanala, and the Sihanaka, which is identical with
that of the Betsileo. What is here said about the calendars of the
peoples of the south and the centre of the island is also true of the
calendars of the northern and eastern peoples[782]. To me it seems as
though we have here a series of months of the ordinary type, in which
the months are named and at the same time fixed with reference to the
seasons, although I do not presume to decide upon the complicated
question of the Malgassian calendar. There remains one possibility,
viz. that the ‘months’ are seasons with no relation to the moon, but
this possibility does not seem to have been seriously considered by
those who can make use of the sources, which are only to be got at
with extreme difficulty.
Among the primitive peoples of the East Asiatic peninsula the seasons
of the agricultural year are very much employed; in comparison with
them the moon-month plays no important part. Moreover Indian and
Islamite influences have penetrated deeply: the calendar in use
arises from these. The facts are well illustrated by a notice from
the Malay Peninsula. There are three ways of reckoning the months,
(1) the Arabian, 29 and 30 days alternately, (2) the Persian, 30
days, and (3) that of Rum, 31 days; the first is the common method.
Some few, with greater accuracy, calculate their year at 354 days
8 hours, intercalating every 3 years 24 hours, or one day, to make
up the deficiency, and 33 days for the difference between the solar
and the lunar years. But the majority of the lower classes estimate
their year by the fruit seasons and by their crops of rice only.
Many, however, obstinately adhere to the lunar month and plant their
paddy at the annual return of the lunar month[783]. The Guru of
Sumatra know a division of the year into twelve months of 30 days
each; the months, with the exception of the last two, are denoted by
numbers[784]. They are therefore calendar months, not moon-months,
and are a foreign acquisition. Among the Kayan the month, or, as
they say, the moon, plays a greater part than the year: of the latter
hardly anyone knows properly how many moons it contains. Commonly
they reckon 1 to 2 moons for the sowing, five for the time which the
rice needs to ripen, 2 to 3 for the harvest, and three up to the
next sowing. The different months have no special names among the
Bahau[785]. The time-reckoning of Sumatra, Java, and Bali shews a
prevailing foreign (Indian or Islamite) influence. It is to be noted
that among many peoples the first ten months are numbered, while the
last two have names. In Bali these two names are Sanskrit words[786].
For Timor two lists of moon-months are given, the one from Bibiçuçu,
the other from Samoro. The names are in some cases the same, they are
not translated and perhaps cannot be explained, but they indicate
the occupations of the months. 1, _funu_, _leet ali_, about October,
_vater_, maize, is planted and mountain rice sown; 2, _fahi_, the
fields are weeded; 3, _naru_, ‘the great month’, the maize flowers,
heavy rain; 4, _fotan_, _tora_, the former word probably a corruption
of the Malay _potong_, the cutting or harvest month: the maize is
housed and a harvest sacrifice offered; 5, _madauk_, harvest of the
mountain-rice; 6, _wani_, honey and wax are collected; 7, _uhi_,
_uhi böot_, probably a corruption of _ubi_, sweet potato, these are
now dug up and collected; 8, _madai böot_, _uhi kiik_, fogs and
heavy rain; 9, _madai kiik_, _lakubutik_, little rain: during both
these months little work can be done; 10, _lakubutik böot_, _madai_,
still showers; 11, _lakubutik kiik_, _funu_, very hot, only in this
month is gold sought for; 12, _leet_, _leet manuluk_, hot: the grass
is burnt off and the ground prepared for maize-planting[787]. It
is interesting to note how the names have departed from a common
foundation: two names (_funu_, _madai_) denote different months. Note
also the pairs of months in both lists.
The Kiwai Papuans, who are well acquainted with the stars, have
a very interesting list of months, compiled from names of stars
and, as it seems, of natural objects. Accurate information about
this list has very kindly been personally communicated to me by
Landtman[788]. The year is divided into two parts in accordance with
the monsoons[789]. The time of the S. E. monsoon (_uro_) embraces
the months:--1, _keke_ (Achernar, our April); 2, _utiamo_ (the
Pleiades); 3, _sengerai_ (Orion); 4, _koidjugubo_ (Capella, Sirius,
and Canopus together); 5, _wapi_; 6, _hopukoruho_; 7, _abu_; and
8, _tagai_ (Crux). In the transitional period comes 9, _karongo_
(Antares). The time of the N. W. monsoon (_hurama_) includes:--10,
_naramu-dubu_ (Vega); 11, _nirira-dubu_ (Altair); 12, _goibaru_;
13, _korubutu_. Each month, in the language of the natives called
‘moon’, is connected with a definite constellation, as is shewn
above, and it is to be presumed that this constellation is properly
the one that is to sink down to the western horizon during the
month in question. Perfect accuracy does not however prevail in
this nomenclature, but several adaptations have been made. (This
is natural and necessary, on account of the dislocation of the
lunar months with regard to the solar year). Even in the matter
of the succession of the months different statements were made,
this no doubt being due to the fact that all the natives were not
equally masters of the calendar. The statements fluctuate as to
whether _karongo_ is the last month of the _uro_ or the first of the
_hurama_. (The fluctuation is natural, since this month falls in the
time of transition between the two). In any case this month, like
_keke_, the first of the _uro_, comes to have a special meaning.
It seems to be somewhat uncertain whether _koidjugubo_ exists as
the name of a special month or whether the word only denotes a
constellation related to the months _wapi_, _hopukoruho_, and _abu_.
The time of the _koidjugubo_ is that in which the S. E. monsoon blows
hardest. The corresponding middle month in _hurama_ is _goibaru_.
_Baidamu_ (‘the Shark’), the Great Bear, is also related to a certain
period during the S. E. monsoon, particularly to _hopukoruho_, in
which according to certain statements the head sets, and to _abu_,
in which the back fin and the tail set. The setting of each of the
various parts of the body of the Shark in the west is accompanied
by storms and rain, which arise in the period of the S. E. monsoon.
When the Shark is no longer to be seen at evening, and after both
its eyes have emerged in the east at morning, the period of the
_tagai-karongo_ begins, in which the sea-turtles are caught, and the
time of the N. W. monsoon is at hand. The turtles are caught more
particularly during the time of their copulation, and this begins in
_abu_, occasionally in _tagai_, reaches its height in _karongo_, and
finishes in _naramu-dubu_. The planting of tubers also takes place
in definite months. Unfortunately the meaning of the names that do
not refer to constellations is not in all cases clear. _Wapi_ in
one Torres Straits dialect is said to mean ‘fish’, and the name is
said to refer to the fact that this time is especially favourable
for fishing, since the fish are then particularly stupid and easy to
catch with the fish-spear. _Hopukoruho_ is the name of an earth-wasp:
colonies of these insects dig holes in the ground. (Do they appear
in particularly great numbers in this month?). _Hopu_ means ‘earth’,
and _koruho_ ‘to eat’. This month is held to be especially dangerous:
men are exposed to sickness and death and are bitten by serpents, the
canoes suffer shipwreck. It is also expressly stated that the name
of the month refers to death and burial. The sense of _abu_ is quite
uncertain. _Abu_ means ‘ford’ in a creek: the name may perhaps refer
to the beginning of the transition to the period of the following
monsoon. (Or does it refer to the fact that the fords at the end
of the dry season are particularly easy to pass?). The sense of
_goibaru_ is also quite uncertain, even, as it appears, among the
natives. (No statement as to the meaning of _karubuti_ is given).
_Karongo_, according to the meaning of the word, is said to refer
to the transition from _hurama_ to _uro_. _Koidjugubo_ means ‘great
constellation’.
For the Melanesians well developed series of months are given:
the very instructive statement of Codrington will be found in
the next chapter.[790] For the Carolines two lists of names are
given, from Lamotrek and from Yap[791]; but they are of no use
to us, since they only give twelve names without any explanation.
But the list for the Mortlock Islands, a group included in the
Carolines, is of great interest, since every month is named after
a constellation and therefore is also regulated by it. The names
are:--1, _yis_, Leo; 2, _soropuel_, Corvus; 3, _aramoi_, Arcturus;
4, _tumur_, Scorpio; 5, _mei-sik_, ν, ξ, ο Herculis; 6, _meilap_,
Aquila; 7, _sota_, Equuleus; 8, _la_, Pegasus; 9, _ku_, Aries;
10, _mariher_, the Pleiades; 11, _un-allual_, _elluel_, Aldebaran
and Orion; 12, _mau_, Sirius[792]. The same system, with names
in some cases the same, is given for the southernmost group of
the Carolines, the St. David’s Islands[793]. The months of the
Fijians, beginning at February, are:--1, _sese-ni-ngasau lailai_;
2, _s.-n.-n.-levu_; 3, _vulai-mbotambota_; 4, _v.-kelikeli_; 5,
_v.-were-were_; 6, _kawakatangare_; 7, _kawawaka-lailai_; 8,
_k.-levu_; 9, _mbalolo-lailai_; 10, _m.-levu_; 11, _nunga-lailai_;
12, _n.-levu_[794]. The names are not explained, but from the
glossary[795] we learn that _vula_ means ‘moon’ and ‘month’,
_se-ni-ngasau_ ‘flower of the reed’, _mbota_ ‘to share out,
distribute’, _keli_ ‘to dig’, _were_ ‘to till the ground’, _kawa_
‘offspring, posterity’, _waka_ ‘root’, _nunga_ is the name of a fish,
_mbalolo_ is the familiar palolo, which is a favourite delicacy all
over Polynesia, _levu_ = ‘big’, _lailai_ = ‘little’. In so far as
the meaning of the names is to be perceived, therefore, they relate
to the business of agriculture and fishing. Here also we meet the
already familiar phenomenon in which several months have the same
name, and are distinguished by the addition of ‘big’ and ‘little’.
For the Polynesians many series of months are reported: some of these
have 13, others 12 months. The Maoris of New Zealand count 13, and
are distinguished from all others in only numbering, not naming, the
first ten. According to H. Williams the months are counted from the
beginning of the _kumara_-planting, and are only denoted by numbers;
in the tenth month the harvest takes place, and also the feast of the
dead, _ha-hunga_, which for this reason also serves as a designation
of the year, but after that no further months are counted, up to
the first[796]. This last statement must be regarded with suspicion,
since other sources give not indeed numbers but names for the last
three months and the points of reference. As an example of the
nomenclature I give _marama-to-ke-ngahuru_, ‘the tenth month’. The
eleventh has the same name with the addition of _hauhake kumare_,
to dig up, harvest _kumara_; the twelfth and thirteenth are called
respectively _ko-te-paengwawa_ and _ko-te-tahi-o-pipiri_, which
names are unfortunately not translated. _Pipiri_ recurs as the name
of a month in the Society Islands and Tahiti; there it is said that
the name refers to a certain thriftiness or stinginess, perhaps in
the supply of fruit[797]. But the numbering of the names of the New
Zealand months is certainly a later phenomenon, since the cognate
tribes everywhere have proper names, nor do the months on this
account lose their connexion with the phenomena of Nature. Although
they were not named from the latter, they were regulated by them.
Each moon is distinguished by the rising of stars, the flowering of
certain plants, the arrival of migratory birds, etc. I give a list
of these points of reference, beginning at June: unfortunately the
names of stars are not identified by our authority. 1, _puanga_, the
great winter star, rises early in the morning, and also denotes the
beginning of winter: _matariki_, _tapuapua_, _wakaahu te ra o tainu_
are also in the ascendant; 2, _wakaau_, _waakaahu nuku_, _w. rangi_,
_w. papa_, _w. kerekere_, _kopu_, _tautoru_; 3, _taka-pou-poto_,
_mangere_, _kaiwaka_, spring begins, the _karaka_ and _hou_ flower;
4, _taka-pou-tawahi_, it begins to be warm, cultivation commences,
the _kowai_, _kotuku tuku_, and _rangiora_ trees flower, a rainy
month; 5, _kumara_ is planted, the _tawera_ is ripe, the cuckoo,
_koekoea_, arrives, the windy month, corresponding with our March,
hence the name _te rakihi_, the noisy or windy period; 6, _te
wakumu_, the _rewarewa_ flowers; 7, _nga tapuae_, the _rata_ flowers;
8, _uruao rangawhenua_, _rehu_ is the great summer star, the star
_rangewhenua_, an ancestor, is said to rule the days, and _uruao_
the nights of this month, the _karaka_ flowers; 9, _rehua_, _ko
ruruau_, the dry and scarce month; 10, _rehua_, _matiti_ (indicates
the autumn), _ngahuru_, the harvest month for the _kumara_; 11, _te
kahui-rua-mahu_, the days grow cold, the cuckoo leaves; 12, _kai
waka_, _patu-tahi matariki_, the winter-star _koero_ is the chief
star of this month; 13, _tahi ngungu_, the grumbling month, little
food, bad weather, smoky houses, watery eyes, constant quarrels[798].
There are some descriptions of the months which also seem to be
their names. Taylor’s statement that the twelfth month often passes
unnoticed deserves attention.
Of Tonga it is noted that the names of the months are scarcely known
to any except those who work on the plantations: the order of their
succession is not quite clear. The months are often grouped in pairs,
_mooa_ meaning the first, _mooi_ the second. 1, _liha-mooa_, 2,
_l.-mooi_, _liha_ means ‘nit’, but is not connected by the author
with the name of the month; 3, _vy-mooa_, 4, _vy-mooi_, _vy_ =
‘watery’, ‘rainy’; 5, _hilinga gele-gele_: _hilinga_ is said to
be a corruption of _hilianga_, ‘end, termination’, _gele-gele_ =
‘dig’, because in this month they cease digging the ground for
planting yams; 6, _tanoo manga_, _tanoo_ = ‘to overwhelm, to bury’,
_manga_ = anything open, diverging, fork-shaped; 7, _oolooenga_; 8,
_hilinga mea_, ‘the end of things’, the month in which the principal
agricultural work of the season is finished; 9, _fucca afoo moooi_,
_moooi_ = ‘to live, recover’; 10, _fucca afoo mote_, _mote_ = ‘to
die, wither’; 11, _oolooagi mote_, _oolooagi_ = ‘the first’; 12,
_fooa fenike anga_; 13, _mahina tow_, _mahina_ = ‘moon’, _tow_ =
the end of anything[799]. On the Society Islands the people were
not unanimous as to the beginning of the year, nor as to the names
of the months, each island having a computation peculiar to itself.
The series of months adopted by King Pomare and the reigning family
was:--1, _avarehu_, the new moon that appears about the summer
(viz. our winter) solstice at Tahiti; 2, _faaahu_, the season of
plenty; 3, _pipiri_; 4, _taaoa_, the season of scarcity begins;
5, _aununu_; 6, _apaapa_; 7, _paroro mua_; 8, _paroro muri_; 9,
_muriaha_; 10, _hiaia_; 11, _tema_, the season of scarcity ends; 12,
_te-eri_, the young bread-fruit begins to flower; 13, _te-tai_, the
bread-fruit is nearly ripe. Another computation commenced the year
at the month _apaapa_, about the middle of May, and gave different
names to several of the months[800]. Another older list gives the
following series from Tahiti:--1, _o-porori-o-mua_, March, the first
hunger or scarcity; 2, _o-porori-o-muri_, ‘the last scarcity’,
which agrees to some extent with the facts, since the bread-fruit
is scarcest just when it is ripening, as at that time it is used
for _mahei_, sour dough; 3, _mureha_; 4, _uhi-eya_, has certainly a
reference to catching fish with a hook; 5, _hurri-ama_; 6, _tauwa_;
7, _hurri-erre-erre_; 8, _o-te-ari_, probably so called from the
young cocoa-nuts, which just then are very numerous; 9, _o-te-tai_,
contains an allusion to the sea; 10, _wa-rehu_; 11, _wä-ahau_, refers
to the cloth made from the mulberry bark; 12, _pipirri_, refers to a
certain thriftiness or stinginess, perhaps in the supply of fruit;
13, _e-u-nunu_[801]. For the Marquesas Islands (Futuhiwa) I know only
a bare enumeration of 13 names of months[802].
For Samoa there is more information. I give von Bülow’s list:--1
(Oct.-Nov.), _palolo_ or _taumafa mua_, ‘there is for the first
time abundance for all’: bananas, bread-fruit, and taro are ripe,
the month provides much fish; 2, _toe taumafa_, ‘there is once more
abundance’, the harvest is still not ended; 3, _utuvamua_, ‘it is
uninterrupted’, new crops of other fruit have not yet appeared; 4,
_toe utuva_, ‘still uninterrupted’; 5, _faaafu_, ‘the leaves of the
yam plant get dry’, i. e. the root is ripe; 6, _lo_, ‘the staff for
the harvest of the bread-fruit’, sc. ‘is brought into play’; 7,
_aununu_, ‘the making of the arrowroot into starch’, the root is
now ripe; 8, _oloumanu_, ‘the cage of the birds’ (is prepared), in
which to tame the wild pigeons caught in nets, after some of their
wing-feathers have been removed; 9, _palolo-mua_, the first _palolo_
fishing: the appearance of the palolo formerly took place in various
months, since there are still islands in which palolo is found in
the last quarter of every month; 10, _toe palolo_ or _palolomoli_,
‘repeated last palolo fishing’, from the fishing at the end of the
year in October or the end of September, according to the island;
11, _mulifa_, ‘the banana-pole’ (is hewn down), i. e. the bananas
are ripe; 12, _lotuaga_, ‘the _lo_ is laid to rest’, i. e. the
bread-fruit harvest is over[803]. All the lists agree in giving only
twelve months: the seasons are two in number. For the Bowditch Island
a list of twelve names is given without explanation; the names are in
a great measure the same as the Samoan. The author adds:--It seems as
though _vainoa_, month no. 9, is the leapmonth, but there was no name
for the eleventh month, corresponding to our March[804].
For the Sandwich Islands abundant material exists, more particularly
in the work of the native writer, Malo. I give the list commonly
found in other authors also[805], together with the explanations
which Malo has obtained from old Hawaiians well versed in the
calendar, in the first place those of O. K. Kapule of Kaluaha,
Molokai, and secondly, in the case of some months, those of Kaunamoa,
of whose dwelling-place we are told nothing more than that he was a
Hawaiian. 1, _ikuwa_ (January), so named from the frequent occurrence
of thunder-storms, _wa-wa_, ‘to reverberate, to stun the ear’: the
noisy month, clamor of ocean, thunder, storm; 2, _hina-ia-eleele_,
from the frequent over-casting and darkening (_eleele_) of the
heavens; 3, _welo_, because the rays of the sun then begin to shoot
forth (_welo_) more vigorously: the leaves are torn to shreds by the
_enuhe_, a kind of worm; 4, _makalii_ (the Pleiades); 5, _ka-elo_, so
named because the sweet potatoes burst out of the hill, or overflowed
the basket; 6, _kau-lua_, from the coupling together of two canoes
(_kau-lua_): the two stars called _kau-lua_ then rose in the east;
7, _nana_, from the fact that a canoe then floated (_nana_, _lana_)
quietly on the calm sea: the young birds then stir and rustle about
(_nana-na_) in their nests and coverts; 8, _ikiiki_, the hot month
(_ikiki_ or _ikiiki_, ‘hot and stuffy’): ‘hot and sticky’, from
being shut up indoors, by weather; 9, _kaa-ona_, because then the
sand-banks begin to shift in the ocean, _ona_ is said to be another
word for _one_, ‘sand’: (dry) sugar-canes, flower-stalks, etc., which
have been put away in the top of the house, have now become very
dry; 10, _hili-na-ehu_, from the mists that floated up from the sea;
11, _hili-na-ma_, because it was necessary to keep the canoes well
lashed (_hili_); 12, _welehu_, so named from the abundance of ashes
(_lehu_) that were to be found in the fire-places at this time. Malo
gives six other lists, two for Hawaii, one each for Molakai, Oahu,
Kauai, and Maui. The differences in the order of the months already
mentioned are sometimes great, and some new names occur. The former
circumstance is doubtless to be explained by the fact that under
European influence the native months early passed out of use and were
forgotten, and the right order has not been certainly retained in the
memory. Some of these explanations are obvious improvisations, in
some cases one of the two explanations manifestly shews itself to be
the correct one. This proves that the names of the months are so old
that the original meaning has been lost. The forgetting of the native
months is also responsible for the insufficiency of the information
for other islands. Malayan philology might perhaps be able to go
farther, if it took up the matter. But where the meaning is clear,
it everywhere has reference to the seasons, their occupations and
climatic conditions, and to the stars; the Polynesian names of months
are in no way different from those of all other primitive or barbaric
peoples.
The conclusion to be drawn from our investigation of the names
and series of the months is therefore the following. In order
that the month may be distinguished from others it is named after
an occupation or natural phase which takes place while the month
lasts, being described commonly by means of the addition ‘moon of
the --’, but not seldom simply by the name of the natural phase or
the occupation respectively. Any natural phase or occupation can
originally give its name to a month, and hence arises an indefinite
number of such terms. When any period of the year is without
important natural phases and occupations, the months in this period
are not named. At first, therefore, the names of the months are of
an occasional, incidental character: the orientation of them follows
from the general acquaintance with the phases and occupations of the
natural year. As the result of a gradual selection in the daily usage
of the names a less unstable, and in the end quite fixed, series
of months is formed, which on account of the length of the natural
year must comprise 12 to 13 months. The result is a difficulty which
formerly was not felt, owing to the fluctuating character of the
names of months, for the natural phases and the moons are pushed
out of their mutual relationship, and this naturally leads to the
question how many months the year includes, i. e. to the necessity
of the intercalation. For the moon-month, which begins with the new
moon, is a natural unity, which cannot be broken up.