Cherokee calendar

The Cherokee calendar is traditionally defined as a Lunar calendar marked by 13 moon cycles of 28 days.[note 1] Each cycle was accompanied by a ceremony. In order to rectify the Cherokee calendar with that of the Julian calendar, these cycles were reduced to 12. The seasonal round of ceremonies was integral to Cherokee society. It was considered an important spiritual element for social cohesion and a way to bring all the Cherokee clans together.[1]

The Cherokee, like many other Native tribes, used a turtle’s back pattern of scales to determine their calendar cycle. The scales around the edge added up to 28, the same number of days as in a lunar cycle, while the center contained 13 larger scales, representing the 13 moon cycles of a year.[2][3][1]

Turtle shell calendar

Thirteen seasonal moon ceremonies

Cherokee priests, known as ᎠᏂᎫᏔᏂ or A-ni-ku-ta-ni, defined the 13 ceremonies as listed below. The common names in English are listed followed by their names in Cherokee syllabics, the Cherokee name's transcription in the Latin alphabet, and a literal translation of the Cherokee name for some of the moons in parenthesis.[1][4][5]

  • Cold Moon – (ᏅᏓ ᎧᎾᏬᎦ) Nv-da Ka-na-wo-ga
  • Bone Moon – (ᏅᏓ ᎪᎳ) Nv-da Ko-la (So little food the people eat bone marrow soup)
  • Wind Moon – (ᏅᏓ ᎤᏃᎴ) Nv-da U-no-le (Winds prepare the land for renewal)
  • Flower Moon – (ᏅᏓ ᎠᏥᎷᏍᎩ) Nv-da A-tsi-lu-s-gi (Flowers bloom and the earth is renewed)
  • Planting Moon – (ᏅᏓ ᎦᏢᏍᎦ) Nv-da Ga-hlv-sga (Putting it in a hole)
  • Green Corn Moon – (ᏅᏓ ᏎᎷᎢᏤᎢᏳᏍᏗ) Nv-da Se-lu-i-tse-i-yu-s-di (The corn is up)
  • Corn in Tassel Moon – (ᏅᏓ ᎤᏥᏣᏔ) Nv-da U-tsi-dsa-ta (the corn is showing a tassel)
  • Ripe Corn Moon – (ᏅᏓ ᏎᎷᎤᏩᏅᏌ) Nv-da Se-lu-u-wa-nv-sa
  • End of Fruit Moon – (ᏅᏓ ᎤᏓᏔᏅᎠᎩᏍᏗ ᎤᎵᏍᏛ) Nv-da U-da-ta-nv-a-gi-s-di U-li-s-dv
  • Nut Moon – (ᏅᏓ ᎤᏓᏔᏅ) Nv-da U-da-ta-nv
  • Harvest Moon – (ᏅᏓ ᏥᎠᎶᎭ) Nv-da Tsi-yah-lo-ha
  • Hunting Moon – (ᏅᏓ ᎦᏃᎭᎵᏙᎭ) Nv-da Ga-no-ha-li-do-ha
  • Snow Moon – (ᏅᏓ ᎫᏘᎭ) Nv-da Gu-ti-ha (First snowfall)

Cherokee names for Julian calendar months

With the expansion of Euro-American influences in North America, the Cherokee adapted their calendar to the widely accepted Julian calendar. As such the 13-moon phase calendar was gradually replaced by a 12-month calendar. However, the months were still associated with ceremonies and are still practiced by traditional Cherokee today.

Below is a list of months according to the Julian calendar followed by their name in Cherokee syllabics, then the Latin transliteration and finally their common English interpretation:[6][7][4][5]

  • January – ᎤᏃᎸᏔᏂ or ᎤᏃᎸᏔᎾ - U-no-lv-ta-ni - Cold Moon
  • February - ᎧᎦᎵ – Ka-ga-li - Bony Moon
  • March - ᎠᎾᏱᎵᏒ or ᎠᏅᏱ – A-na-yi-li-s-v - Windy Moon
  • April - ᎫᏬᏂ or ᎧᏬᏂ – Gu-wo-ni - Flower Moon
  • May - ᎫᏬᏂ or ᎧᏬᏂ – A-na-s-gv-ti - Planting Moon
  • June - ᏕᎭᎷᏱ – De-ha-lu-yi - Green Corn Moon
  • July - ᎫᏰᏉᏂ – Gu-ye-quo-ni - Ripe Corn Moon
  • August - ᎦᎶᏂ – Ga-lo-ni - End of Fruit Moon
  • September - ᏚᎵᏍᏗ – Du-li-s-di - Nut Moon
  • October - ᏚᏂᏃᏗ – Du-ni-no-di - Harvest Moon
  • November - ᏅᏓᏕᏆ – Nv-da-de-qua - Trading Moon
  • December - ᎥᏍᎩᏱ – V-s-gi-yi - Snow Moon

Below is a list of months as they appeared in ethnological studies and books of the Cherokee people from 1894 into the late 20th century, with Julian calendar name followed by Cherokee names and finally the meanings and associations:

  • January: Unolvtana or Unâlatŭni[8] meaning "windblown"[9][10]
  • February: Kagaʔli or Gŭgăli[8] Bone Moon,[1] "month when the stars and moon are fixed in the heavens"[9]
  • March: Anvhyi, referring to strawberries (anŭ)[10]
  • April: Kawohni, or Kùwáni[8] meaning "duck" as in "when the ducks return", "ducks swim in ponds month"[9][10]
  • May: Anisgvti, Ansgvti,[8] "planting moon"[6] month of strawberries[9] or making pottery (ŭntĭ),[10]
  • June: Dehaluyi,[8] "green corn moon,"[1] Green Corn ceremony, blackberry month[9]
  • July: Kuyegwona,[8] "ripe corn moon,"[1] huckleberry month[9]
  • August: Gaʔloni,[8] end of fruit moon,[6] wild grapes month,[9] refers to drying up of the streams[10]
  • September: Dulisdi,[8] nut moon,[1] translation unknown, Bounding Bush Feast[9]
  • October: Dunihidi, Duninhdi,[8] harvestime month, Great New Moon Ceremony[9]
  • November: Nvdadequa, Nvdadeqwa,[8] big moon month[9] [10]
  • December: Vsdgiyi, Vskihyi,[8] snow moon,[1][6] translation unknown[9]

Seasons
  • Spring, Gagéyl, "near the summer,"[10] Gi-la-go-ge (ᎩᎳᎪᎨ)[5]
  • Summer, Gagi,[10] Go-ge-yi (ᎪᎨᏱ)[5]
  • Early Autumn, Gúyû [10]
  • Late Autumn, Ulăgăhûstû (refers to falling of the leaves),[10] U-la-go-hv-s-di (ᎤᎳᎪᎲᏍᏗ)[5]
  • Winter, Gâlû,[10] Go-la (ᎪᎳ)[5]

Comparison with other calendars

The traditional Cherokee moon cycle of 28 days differs from the astronomical synodic month (the time it takes for the moon to return to the same phase) of approximately 29.5 days.[11] In this respect, it differs from many other traditional lunar calendars, which use synodic months.[12] However, the traditional Cherokee definition of a lunar month as consisting of exactly 28 days is identical to that formerly used in English common law.[13][14]

Notes
  1. The traditional definition of a moon cycle, however, is shorter than the synodic month by approximately one and a half days; see "Comparison with other calendars" below

References

Citations
  1. "Cherokee Moons". theucn.com. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  2. "The lunar calendar on a turtles's back". Ontario Parks. Parks Blog. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  3. "THIRTEEN MOONS Curriculum" (PDF). onlc.ca. Ontario Native Literacy Coalition, 2010. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  4. "Days Months" (PDF). cherokee.org. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  5. "Word List". cherokee.org. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  6. "Names of Cherokee moons". aaanativearts.com. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  7. "Learning Cherokee". learningcherokee.weebly.com. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  8. Feeling 234
  9. Dubin 193
  10. Mooney 1894.
  11. "Sidereal vs. Synodic Month". faculty.virginia.edu/. University of Virginia. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  12. "Lunar calendar". britannica.com. Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  13. Angell, Joseph Kinnicut (1846). A Treatise on the Limitations of Actions at Law and Suits in Equity and Admiralty. Boston: Charles C Little and James Brown. p. 52.
  14. Law, Jonathan, ed. (1983). A Dictionary of Law. Oxford University Press. p. 405. ISBN 978-0198802525.

Bibliography
  • Bruchac, Joseph; London, Jonathan (1992). Thirteen moons on turtle's back. Puffin Books. ISBN 9780698115842. Retrieved 30 December 2012.
  • Dubin, Lois Sherr (1999). North American Indian Jewelry and Adornment: From Prehistory to the Present. New York: Harry N. Abrams. ISBN 0-8109-3689-5.
  • Feeling, Durbin (1975). Pulte, William (ed.). Cherokee-English Dictionary. Tahlequah, Oklahoma: Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. LCCN 75329756.
  • Mooney, James (July 1894). "The Cherokee Calendar System". American Antiquarian and Oriental Journal (1880-1914). 16 (4): 244.
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