Xhosa calendar

Xhosa calendar

By the traditional Xhosa calendar, the year began in June and ended in May, when Canopus, a large star visible in the Southern Hemisphere, signalled the time for harvesting.

In the Xhosa language, there are two ways of naming months: modern and traditional. In urban areas the modern names of the months are used. However, in rural areas, in poetry, and particularly in the Eastern Cape the old names are still used.

Month names

Modern

The modern names for the months are borrowed from the English equivalents:

* January - uJanuwari
* February - uFebhuwari
* March - uMatshi
* April - uApreli
* May - uMeyi
* June - uJuni
* July - uJulayi
* August - uAgasti
* September - uSeptemba
* October - uOktobha
* November - uNovemba
* December - uDisemba

Traditional

The traditional names for months come from names of plants or flowers that grow or seasonal changes that happen at a given time of year. They are:

* January – EyoMqungu (month of the Tambuki Grass)
* February – EyoMdumba (month of the swelling grain)
* March – EyoKwindla (month of the first fruits)
* April – UTshazimpuzi (month of the withering pumpkins)
* May – UCanzibe (month of Canopus)
* June - Isilimela (month of the Pleiades)
* July – EyeKhala / EyeNtlaba (month of the aloes)
* August – EyeThupha (month of the buds)
* September – EyoMsintsi (month of the coast coral tree)
* October – EyeDwarha (month of the lilypad)
* November – EyeNkanga (month of the small yellow daisies)
* December EyoMnga (month of the mimosa thorn tree)

Days of the week

* Monday - uMvulo
* Tuesday - uLwesibini
* Wednesday - uLwesithathu
* Thursday - uLwesine
* Friday - uLwesihlanu
* Saturday - uMgqibelo
* Sunday - iCawe

easons

* Autumn - eKwindla
* Winter - uBusika
* Spring - iNtlakohlaza/iNtwasahlobo
* Summer - iHlobo

ee also

*Xhosa language
*Xhosa people
*Xhosa clan names

ources

Kirsch et al., "Clicking with Xhosa", David Phillip Publishers, Cape Town, 2001, p.44


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Xhosa language — Infobox Language name =Xhosa nativename =isiXhosa familycolor=Niger Congo states=flagicon|South Africa South Africa flagicon|Lesotho Lesotho region=Eastern Cape Province, Western Cape Province speakers=7.9 million fam2=Atlantic Congo fam3=Volta… …   Wikipedia

  • Calendar — For other uses, see Calendar (disambiguation). For the Gregorian calendar for this year, see Common year starting on Saturday. A page from the Hindu calendar 1871–1872. A calendar is a system of organizing days for social, religious, commercial,… …   Wikipedia

  • Gregorian calendar — For the calendar of religious holidays and periods, see Liturgical year. For this year s Gregorian calendar, see Common year starting on Saturday. 2011 in other calendars Gregorian calendar 2011 MMXI …   Wikipedia

  • Chinese calendar — The Chinese calendar is a lunisolar calendar, incorporating elements of a lunar calendar with those of a solar calendar. It is not exclusive to China, but followed by many other Asian cultures as well.[1] In most of East Asia today, the Gregorian …   Wikipedia

  • French Republican Calendar — History of France series French Revolution Causes Estates General National Assembly Storming of the Bastille National …   Wikipedia

  • Hebrew calendar — The Hebrew calendar (הלוח העברי ha luach ha ivri), or Jewish calendar, is a lunisolar calendar used today predominantly for Jewish religious observances. It determines the dates for Jewish holidays and the appropriate public reading of Torah… …   Wikipedia

  • Islamic calendar — Arabic calendar redirects here. For the Gregorian calendar in Arabic, see Arabic names of calendar months. This …   Wikipedia

  • Julian calendar — The Julian calendar began in 45 BC (709 AUC) as a reform of the Roman calendar by Julius Caesar. It was chosen after consultation with the astronomer Sosigenes of Alexandria and was probably designed to approximate the tropical year (known at… …   Wikipedia

  • Revised Julian calendar — The Revised Julian calendar, also known as the Rectified Julian calendar, or, less formally, New calendar, is a calendar, originated in 1923, which effectively discontinued the 340 years of divergence between the naming of dates sanctioned by… …   Wikipedia

  • Roman calendar — The Roman calendar changed its form several times in the time between the founding of Rome and the fall of the Roman Empire. This article generally discusses the early Roman or pre Julian calendars. The calendar used after 46 BC is discussed …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”