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:—

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.