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

CHAPTER XIV.
THE CALENDAR-MAKERS.

As long as the determination of time is adjusted by the phases of Nature which immediately become obvious to everyone, anybody can judge of them, and should different people judge differently there is no standard by which the dispute can be settled, because the natural phases run into one another or are at least not sharply defined. The accuracy in determination demanded by time-reckoning proper is therefore lacking. Accuracy becomes possible as a result of the observation of the risings of stars, and this observation begins even at the primitive stage, but it is not a matter that concerns everyone. It requires a refined power of observation and a clear knowledge of the stars, so that the heavens can be known. This is especially the case with the commonest observations, those of the morning rising and evening setting. The observer must be able to judge, by the position of the other stars, when the star in question may be expected to twinkle for a moment in the twilight before it vanishes. The accuracy of the time-determination from the stars depends therefore upon the keenness of the observation. In this the individual differences of men soon come into play, along with a regular science which introduces the learner to the knowledge of the stars and its uses. Thus Stanbridge reports of the natives of Victoria that all tribes have traditions about the stars, but certain families have the reputation of having the most accurate knowledge; one family of the Boorung tribe prides itself upon possessing a wider knowledge of the stars than any other[1160]. An account has been given above[1161] according to which an old chief instructed the young people of the tribe in the knowledge of the stars and the occupations which these announce. Of the Torres Straits tribes Rivers says:—When the rising of a star is expected, it is the duty of the old men to watch; they rise when the birds begin to call and watch until daybreak. As in the case of kek (Achernar, the most important star), so also probably in the case of other important stars and constellations the appearance of certain other stars is a sign that the star expected will soon appear. For kek the stars in question are two named keakentonar; when they appear on the horizon at dawn, it is known that in a few days kek will shew himself, and the observation becomes especially keen. The setting of a star is observed in the same way[1162].

By the phases of the stars both occupations and seasons are regulated, and thus a standard is furnished by which to judge, and a limit is set to the indefiniteness of the phases of Nature. An old missionary relates of the Orinocese that it is incredible how confused their minds become if they neglect to observe the signs which make known the approach of winter; they may then say in winter that one or two months are yet wanting, and in the height of summer they sometimes spread the report among their countrymen that the winter will soon be upon them; the evening setting of the Pleiades announces the coming of winter and therefore affords a means of correcting the time-reckoning[1163].

The moon strikes the attention of everyone and admits of immediate and unpractised observation; at the most there may sometimes be some doubt for a day as to the observation of the new moon, but the next day will set all right. But because the months are fixed in their position in the natural year through association with the seasons, the indefiniteness and fluctuation of the phases of Nature penetrate into the months also, and are there even increased, for the reasons stated above. Cause for doubt and disagreement is given, the problem of the regulation of the calendar arises. Hence in the council meetings of the Pawnee and Dakota it is often hotly disputed which month it really is. So also the Caffres often become confused and do not know what month it is; the rising of the Pleiades decides the question. The Basuto in determining the time of sowing are not guided by the lunar reckoning, but fall back upon the phases of Nature; intelligent chiefs however know how to correct the calendar by the summer solstice[1164].

The differences in intelligence already make themselves felt at an early stage, and are still more plainly shewn when we come to a genuine regulation of the calendar. Some of the Bontoc Igorot state that the year has eight, others a hundred months, but among the old men who represent the wisdom of the people there are some who know and assert that it has thirteen[1165]. The further the calendar develops, the less does it become a common possession. Among the Indians, for example, there are special persons who keep and interpret the year-lists illustrated with picture-writings, e. g. the calendrically gifted Anko, who even drew up a list of months[1166]. It is very significant that even where a complete calendar does exist, it will be found that this is not in use to its fullest extent among the people. The Masai days of the month have already been given[1167]; but the nomenclature of the days is not so popular throughout that any Masai on any day could determine that day with perfect accuracy. Only the following days and groups of days are in regular use:—The 1st day, as the beginning of the counting and of the brightness of the moon (sic!), the 4th as the new moon, the 10th as the final day of the first decade, the 15th as the final day of the moon’s brightness, the 16th as the beginning of the dark half of the month, the 17th as the chief of the unlucky days, 18–20 as es sobiain, the 20th as the final day of the second decade, 21–23 as nigein, the 24th as the beginning of ‘the black darkness’, and from the 24th on to the disappearance of the moon. Of these days the 4th, 10th, 17th, 24th, and 1st are especially common. The people therefore count in a more concrete fashion than those who are learned in the calendar.

It follows that the observation of the calendar is a special occupation which is placed in the hands of specially experienced and gifted men. Among the Caffres we read of special ‘astrologers’[1168]. Among the Kenyah of Borneo the determination of the time for sowing is so important that in every village the task is entrusted to a man whose sole occupation it is to observe the signs. He need not cultivate rice himself, for he will receive his supplies from the other inhabitants of the village. His separate position is in part due to the fact that the determination of the season is effected by observing the height of the sun, for which special instruments are required. The process is a secret, and his advice is always followed[1169]. It is only natural that this individual should keep secret the traditional lore upon which his position depends; and thus the development of the calendar puts a still wider gap between the business of the calendar-maker and the common people.

Behind the calendar stand in particular the priests. For they are the most intelligent and learned men of the tribe, and moreover the calendar is peculiarly their affair, if the development has proceeded so far that value is attached to the calendar for the selection of the proper days for the religious observances. We are not told that the Kenyah who has charge of the calendar is a priest, but among the Kayan (also of Borneo) it is a priest who determines the seed-time from the observation of the ecliptic, and on the upper Mahakam a priestess[1170]. In Bali the Brahmins, in Java the village priests, determine the seasons by observing a crude sun-dial[1171]. Of the Tshi-speaking peoples it is said that the priests keep a reckoning of the time, using different methods for the purpose, and make known the approach of the annual festivals[1172]. Among the Hausa the priests determine the time of the festivals according to the position of the moon[1173]; here also the months are named after the festivals. To a very general extent it is true among peoples like the Indians of Arizona, where the religious ceremonies are the centre of the life of the tribe, that the priests are the calendar-makers. Among the Hopi the priests determine from the observation of the solstices and equinoxes the time for the religious ceremonies and for the agricultural labours[1174]. Among the Zuñi the priest of the sun is alone responsible for the calendar. He takes daily observations of the sunrise at a petrified tree-stump east of the village, which he sprinkles with meal when he offers his matins to the rising sun. When the sun rises over a certain point of the Corn Mountain he informs the elder brother Bow priest, who notifies a certain religious body, the members of this society come together and the great feast of the winter solstice is then celebrated. The summer solstice and its festival are determined in similar fashion[1175].

Among the priests there is formed a special class whose duty it is to make observations and keep the calendar in order. Among the Hawaiians ‘astronomers (kilo-hoku) and priests’ are mentioned[1176]; they handed down their knowledge from father to son; but women, kilowahine, are also found among them[1177]. Elsewhere the nobles appear alongside of the priests; thus in Tahiti it is the nobles that are responsible for the calendar, in New Zealand the priests. In the latter country there is said to have been a regular school, which was visited by priests and chiefs of highest rank. Every year the assembly determined the days on which the corn must be sown and reaped, and thus its members compared their views upon the heavenly bodies. Each course lasted from three to five months[1178].

For Loango it is reported that the king’s star-gazers apparently took observations from a little wood; further that they sometimes knew how to arrange matters to suit their own convenience, for they gave out (probably when the sky was clouded) that the moon was several days old, and thus gained a couple of hours for the rising of Sirius and could postpone the dreaded thirteenth month until the end of the next year[1179]. In these districts, where a strong day-superstition prevails, external influence is doubtless probable, but the account is significant in that it speaks for an artificial retardation of the calendar. Such a manipulation is characteristic of the professed calendar-maker.