November, Phulunguāna (the seed is coming).
December, Tsitue (the name of the small beetle which during that month disturbs the whole of South Africa with its clamour).
These are as nearly correct as I can get them, but the people seem strangely vague about such things as dates, times, and seasons.
Very few of them can tell you their age, or even the ages of their children. They count from certain national events which have made deep impressions upon their minds, such as the "Gun War," the great plague of locusts, the death of a certain chief, &c., &c.
Their mode of counting is quaint. They use the fingers of each hand, beginning with the little finger of the left hand, which is held in an upright position, the back of the hand facing the person counting, the palm turned outwards. Thus, when they wish to signify one, they raise one finger; for two, they raise two fingers, and so on, keeping the other fingers down on the palm.
Translated literally their numerals are:—
1 'Ngue.
2 Peli (pronounced pedi), two.
3 Tharo, three.
4 'Né (pronounced iu-né), four.
5 Thlano, five.
6 Tselela (crossing, meaning the act of crossing from one hand to the other).
7 Supile (pointing, because the first finger of the right hand, which is generally used for pointing at objects, is raised).
8 Robile Monuāna 'mbeli (two broken fingers, because only two fingers remain down).
9 Robile Monuāna u le Mong (one broken finger, only one remaining down).
10 Leshume (the whole).
11 Leshume le metso u le Mong (the whole and one root); and so on up to twenty, which is—
20 Mashomé a Mabeli (two tens or wholes).
30 being Mashomé a Meraro (three tens); and so on up to one hundred, which is—
100 Le kholo (the big thing).
1000 Seketé.
The hours of the day were naturally quite unknown to them, the sun, moon and stars, light and darkness, being their only guides; for instance, sunrise, midday, afternoon sunset, and night time being the terms used to represent the various periods into which their day was divided.
They possess few customs which might be strictly termed religious, most of their beliefs being superstitions connected with the spirits of their forefathers, to whom they pray in times of trouble, and of whom they stand in great awe, offering sacrifices from time to time, with the view of assuaging their wrath; but acts of praise or actual devotion were unknown until the introduction of Christianity.