Primitive Time-reckoning / A study in the origins and first development of the art of counting time among the primitive and early culture peoples

by Martin P. Nilsson

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.