The Seuna calendar: Difference between revisions

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In the Seuna calendar, the cycle of the moon is completely ignored. The year is divided into 5 parts which I have called "months" all through the following article but which might just as well be designated "seasons".
Actually each locality in the Seuna world breaks down the year into various "arc"s ("earth.arc"s in full). This is best translated as season. The timing, length and names of these "arc"s depend on local weather, local growing seasons, local cultural activities etc. For example '''acorn.arc''' might follow '''rain.arc''' and be followed by '''salmon.arc'''.


Also I have been calling the 4 year period that the Seuna CULTURE observe a "calendar". This is quite accurate in that the SEUNA word for "calendar" involves everything we mean by calendar. But it also has the meaning "a 4 year period of time", and this is the sense that is meant most of the times that you come across the word.
===1 day===


The 128 year period of time, consisting of 32 "calendars" is called a '''towa.ku'''. I suppose the nearest English translation is "century". Since the human lifespan seems to assymptote as it approaches 128, '''towa.ku''' can sometimes be translated into English as "generation", particularly in poetic writings.
The Seuna for day is '''noi''' .


Actually each locality in the SEUNA world breaks down the year into various "arc"s ("earth.arc"s in full). This is best translated as season. The timing, length and names of these "arc"s depend on local weather, local growing seasons, local cultural activities etc. For example '''acorn.arc''' might follow '''rain.arc''' and be followed by '''salmon.arc'''.
===8 days===


=== Building up from days to a century ===
8 days make up a period of time called a '''soi'''.   The '''noi''' of the '''soi''' are called ;-
 
There are 8 days in a week. They are;-


{|
{|
| so || gwe- || gum || -i || ad || dom || -om || =swe
| '''noicaju''' || '''noibuya''' || '''noinewa''' || '''noideda''' || '''noikiwe''' || '''noigufo''' || '''noikayu''' || '''noinege'''
|-
|-
| sun.day || leaf.day || river.day || sea.day || star.day || moon.day || tree.day || cloud.day
| sun.day || leaf.day || river.day || sea.day || star.day || moon.day || tree.day || cloud.day
|}
|}


There are 8 weeks in a month. They are;-
Between every '''soi''' there is a day called '''noituna''', which can be best translated as "gap day".
 
===72 days===
 
8 '''soi''' and 8 '''noituna''' make up a period of time called a '''doi'''.   The '''soi''' of the '''doi''' are called ;-


{|
{|
| ai.x || geu.x || suna.x || nela.x || ki'o.x || nelau.x || hia.x || hau.x
| '''soi@ai''' || '''soigeu''' || '''soisuna''' || '''soinela''' || '''soiki@o''' || '''soinelau''' || '''soihia''' || '''soihau'''
|-
|-
| white.week || green.week || orange.week || skyblue.week || yellow.week || blue.week || red.week || black.week
| white.week || green.week || orange.week || skyblue.week || yellow.week || blue.week || red.week || black.week
|}
|}
The 8 '''noituna''' of the '''doi''' can be differentiated from each other by calling them ;-
{|
| '''tuna@ai''' || '''tunageu''' || '''tunasuna''' || '''tunanela''' || '''tunaki@o''' || '''tunanelau''' || '''tunahia''' || '''tunahau'''
|-
| white.gap || green.gap || orange.gap || skyblue.gap || yellow.gap || blue.gap || red.gap || black.gap
|}
(In the Seuna calendar, the cycle of the moon is completely ignored.)
===365 days===
A '''noihitu''' is a special festival days. There are five of them in one year.
The 5 '''noihitu''' and 5 '''doi''' make up a '''yia'''(a year). 
The '''doi''' are;-
{|
| '''doiyigau''' || '''doipiwe''' || '''doiguya''' || '''doi@olai''' || '''doigamau'''
|-
| jupiter.month || venus.month || mercury.month || mars.month || saturn.month 
|}
The festivals or festival days ( '''noihitu''') are called;- '''hintuyigau    hintupiwe    hintuguya  hintu@olai  hintugamau'''
'''hintuyigau''' is between '''doiyigau''' and ''' doipiwe''', and so on.
===1461 days===
A four year period is known as a '''myamu'''.  This is often translated into English as "calendar".
A special day called '''noimamu''' is added every '''myamu'''.
=== The calendar (that you stick on the wall) ===
There are 4 years in a calendar.
There are 32 calenders in a '''kyutoza'''.
Below is the first sheet of the Seuna calendar (there are 20 sheets in all).
The first week is the top row, the last week is the bottom row.
The first day of the week is the first column, the last day of the week is the last column.
The "not completely enclosed space" at the end of the week is for the '''noituna'''. 
The space beneath the grid is for the '''noihitu'''.


[[Image:Bitmap_21_Seuna.PNG]]
[[Image:Bitmap_21_Seuna.PNG]]


There are 5 months in a year. They are;-
The day '''noimamu''' is not represented on the physical calendar. That is because this day is associated with special ceremonies associated with the passage of time. One ceremony involves the taking down of the old calendar, another ceremony involves the hanging of a new calendar. During '''noimamu''' there is no calendar hanging on any wall.
 
===128 years (or 46,751 days)===
 
32 '''myamu''' make up a '''kyutoza'''. This is often translated into English as "century", "generation", "lifetime".
 
One day is deleted every '''kyutoza'''.
 
The day dropped is '''tunahau''' from '''doipiwe'''.
 
The physical Seuna calendar that you hang on your wall lasts for four years. Every sheet represents a '''doi'''.
 
Below is the second sheet of the first '''myamu''' of a '''kyutoza'''.
 
[[Image:Bitmap_22_Seuna.PNG]]


'''jupiter.month, venus.month, mercury.month, mars.month, and saturn.month'''
As can be seen, the dropped day has been torn off.


There are 4 years in a calendar.  
It is usual to define every day within a '''kyutoza'''.
 
For example you can give the date of birth of somebody as;-
 
'''noigufo soinelan doiguyan yiatigan''' (which means "the moon day of the sky-blue week of the month of mercury of the year of the giraffe").
 
To define the day over the greater range you would have to add " '''kyutoza''' -11", "'''kyutoza''' 0", "'''kyutoza''' +32" etc. etc.


There are 32 calenders in a '''towa.ku'''.
===The '''tolza'''===


Each of the 128 years in the century has an animal associated with it. I have only (as yet) given a name to every second year. The calendars are named according to the animal of their first year. So the first one is weasel.calendar, the second capibara. calendar, the third badger.calendar etc. etc.
Each year of the '''kyutoza''' has an animal associated with it. These animals are ;-


{|
{|
| weasel || whale || small deer || wolf
| wolf || weasel/ermine/stoat/mink || bullfinch || badger
|-
|-
| capibara || worm || beautiful armadillo || ?
| whale || opossum || albatross || beautiful armadillo
|-  
|-  
| badger || lynx || rhino || house fly
| giant anteater || lynx || eagle || cricket/grasshopper/locust
|-
|-
| vulture || ? || kookabura || dove
| reindeer || springbok || dove || gnu/wildebeest
|-  
|-  
| spider || reindeer || gull || gorilla  
| spider || Steller's sea cow  || seagull || gorilla  
|-
|-
| horse || ? || lobster || python
| horse || scorpion || raven/crow || python
|-  
|-  
| gecko || eagle || koala || porquepine
| rhino || yak  || Kookaburra || porcupine ?
|-
|-
| swan || ? || zebra || cuckoo
| butterfly || triceratops || penguin  || koala
|-  
|-  
| hedgehog || albatross || hornbill || ?
| polar bear || manta-ray || hornbill || raccoon
|-
|-
| bee || wolverine || manta-ray || pelican
| crocodile/alligator || wolverine || pelican || zebra   
|-  
|-  
| yak || warthog || bear || toad ?
| bee || warthog || peacock || capybara
|-
|-
| Steller's sea cow || raven || seahorse || ?
| bat || bear || crane/stork/heron || hedgehog
|-  
|-  
| puffin || morray eel || bat || Moa
| frog || lama || woodpecker || gemsbok
|-
|-
| musk ox || vulture || walrus || cheeta
| musk ox || chameleon || hawk || cheetah
|-  
|-  
| anteater || ? || toucan || okapi  
| lion || frill-necked lizard || toucan || okapi            
|-
|-
| ant || ? || ostridge || ass/donkey
| dolphin || aardvark || ostrich || T-rex
|-  
|-  
| dolphin || ? || duck || driprotodon(wombat)  
| kangaroo || hyena || duck || driprotodon(wombat)  
|-
|-
| giant beaver || cobra || frog || mosquito
| shark || cobra || kingfisher || gaur
|-  
|-  
| goat || crane/stork || cricket* || chimp
| dragonfly || mole || moa || chimpanzee       
|-
|-
| turtle, tortoise || ? || megatherium || thompson gazelle
| turtle/tortoise || N.A. bison || black skimmer || panda
|-  
|-  
| chamelion || jaguar || kangaroo || water bufalo
| jaguar || snail || cormorant/shag || Cape buffalo
|-
|-
| rabbit || woodpecker || squid, cuttlefish || deedicurus (glyptodon)
| rabbit || colossal squid || vulture || glyptodon/doedicurus
|-  
|-  
| beetle || shark || crab || lion
| beetle || seal || falcon || pangolin
|-
|-
| seal || Woolly mammoth || owl || baboon
| megatherium || woolly mammoth || flamingo || baboon
|-  
|-  
| hummingbird || orang utan || mole || ?
| elk/moose || squirrel || blue bird of paradise || lobster
|-
|-
| penguin || ? || prairy dog || ?
| tiger || gecko || grouse || seahorse
|-  
|-  
| lemur || parrot || octopus || ?
| jackal/fox || octopus || swan || lemur
|-
|-
| gemsbok || swordfish || flamengo || ?
| elephant || swordfish || parrot || auroch             
|-  
|-  
| giraffe || tiger || bird of paradise || ?
| giraffe || ant || puffin || iguana
|-
|-
| mouse || ? || elephant || ?
| mouse || crab || swift || mongoose/meerkat
|-  
|-  
| butterfly || ? || dragonfly || ?
| smilodon || giant beaver  || owl || mantis
|-
|-
| snail || smilodon || camel || portugese man-of-war
| camel || goat || hummingbird || walrus
|}
|}


* Also includes locusts and cicadas
Each of these animals above is a '''tolza''', which can be translated as "token", "icon" or "totem ". '''kyu''' means a circle or cycle. So you can see where the name for the 128 year period comes from.


flouder, sword fish, gnat, bug, eagle
===The precise astronomical periods on which the Seuna time system is based===


Each of these animals above is a '''towa''', which can be translated as "token", "icon" or "totem ". '''ku''' means a circle or cycle. So you can see where the name for the 128 year period comes from.
Year 2000 had 365.242,192,65  days


The '''towa.ku''' are numbered.
Every year is shorter than the last by 0.000,000,061,4 days


=== The naming of days, weeks, months and years ===
By adding one day every calendar we get a 365.25 day year


There is a seperate name for every day within a '''towa.ku'''. For example '''hippo.mercury.green.leaf.day''' refers to one day within the '''towa.ku'''. However rarely would you come across a day defined with such precision. Normally '''leaf.day''' or '''green.leaf.day''' would be heard in conversation. Seldom would you hear '''mercury.green.leaf.day''' and outside of ceremonies and official documents you would never hear '''hippo.mercury.green.leaf.day'''.
If we then drop one day every '''kyutoza''' we get a 365.242,187,5 day year (very close to the actual year length)


As with days, so with weeks. There is a seperate name for every week within a '''towa.ku'''. For example '''hippo.mercury.green.week''' refers to one week within the '''towa.ku'''. But you would hardly hear anything but '''green.week''' in conversation.
Before 2084, the actual year will be bigger than the calendar year – after 2084 the actual year will be smaller than the calendar year


And the same with months. There is a seperate name for every month within a '''towa.ku'''. '''hippo.mercury.month''' refers to one month within the '''towa.ku''' but you would hear '''mercury.month''' talked about oftener.
For this reason midnight, 22 Dec 2083 is designated the fulcrum of the whole system. That day will be time zero.


And of course the years are referred to as '''hippo.year''', '''monkey.year''', etc. etc.
At the moment we are in negative time.


=== The spandays ===
=== The association of planets to months and shapes ===


We also have span.days
You will have noticed that the months share their names with the five visible planets.
That is Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn (in order of distance from the sun).


A month has 8 span.days.  
In order of occurence in the year ... Jupiter, Venus, Mercury, Mars, Saturn


A year has 5 span.days outside of its months.  
They also share their name with the five platonic solids.  


A calendar has 1 span.day outside of its years.
'''hizbuguya''' (mercury.shape) = a tetrahedron (4 sides)4<sub>8</sub>


Every century one span.day is dropped.
'''hizbu@olai'''(mars.shape) ... hexahedron (6 sides)6<sub>8</sub>


The spanday to drop in a particular year is chosen by the keeper of the rites, about half way through the fourth month of the previous year.
'''hizbuguya'''(venus.shape) ... octahedron (8 sides)10<sub>8</sub>


=== The naming of spandays ===
'''hizbupiwe'''(saturn.shape) ... dodecahedron (12 sides)14<sub>8</sub>


When talking weekly one would just say '''span.day'''
'''hizbuyigau'''(jupiter.shape) ... icosahedron  (20 sides)24<sub>8</sub>


When talking monthly one would just say;-
== The Seuna year ==


'''white.span.day, green.span.day, orange.span.day, skyblue.span.day, yellow.span.day, blue.span.day, red.span.day, and black.span.day'''
=== The first month of the year ===


When talking yearly one would just say;-
The first month of the year ('''doiguya''') starts on the 22nd of December and ends on the 3rd of March.


'''Jupiter.span.day, Venus.span.day, Mercury.span.day., Mars.span.day, and Saturn.span.day'''.
On the 4th of March the festival '''hintuguya''' is held. People gather at various regional centres to compete and spectate in various music and poetry competitions.


(of course you would also have '''Venus.green.span.day, Mercury.yellow.span.day''' etc. etc. as well)
=== The second month of the year ===


When talking in terms of calendars one would just say;- '''calendar.span.day'''
The second month of the year ('''doipiwe''') starts on the 5th of March and ends on the 15th of May.


=== Time keeping ===
On the 16th of May the festival of '''hintupiwe''' is held. It is usual to get together with old friends around this time and many parties are held.  Friends that live some distance away are given special consideration. Often journeys are undertaken to meet up with old acquainances. Also there is a big exchange of letters at this time. The most important happenings of the last year are stated in these letters along with hopes and plans for the coming year.


Year 2000 had 365.242,192,65  days
=== The third month of the year ===


Every year is shorter than the last by 0.000,000,061,4 days
The third month of the year ('''doi@olai''') starts on the 17th of May and ends on the 27th of July.


By adding one day every calendar we get a 365.25 day year
On the 28th of July the festival '''hintu@olai''' is held. This festival is all about outdoor competitions and sporting events. It is a little like a cross between the Olympics games and the highland games. People gather at various regional centres to compete and spectate in various team and individual competitions. However care is taken that no regional centre becomes too popular and people are discouraged from competing at centres other than their local one.


If we then drop one day every '''towa.ku''' we get a 365.242,187,5 day year (very close to the actual year length)
=== The fourth month of the year ===


Before 2084, the actual year will be bigger than the calendar year – after 2084 the actual year will be smaller than the calendar year
The fourth month of the year ('''doiyigau''') starts on the 29th of July and ends on the 8th of October.
 
For this reason midnight, 22 Dec 2083 is designated the fulcrum of the whole system. That day will be sun.day in the white.week in the jupiter.month in the ???.year of '''towa.ku''' 1.


[[Image:Bitmap_22_Seuna.PNG]]
On the 9th of October the festival '''hintuyigau''' is held. Family that live some distance away are given special consideration. Often journeys are undertaken for family visits and ancestors ashboxes are visited if convenient. This is the second most important festival of the year. People tend to take a quite some time of work if travelling, three days if receiving guests and two days if not receiving any guests.  


=== Month/Planet/Shape association ===
=== The fifth month of the year ===


You will have noticed that the months share their names with the five visible planets. That is Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn (in order of distance from the sun).
The fifth month of the year ('''doigamau''') starts on the 10th of October and ends on the 20th of December.


In order of occurence in the year ... Jupiter, Venus, Mercury, Mars, Saturn
On the 21st of December the festival '''hintugamau''' is held. This is the most important festival of the year. It is centred on the family and friends that you are living amongst.  Even though eating and drinking are involved in all the five festivals, this festival has the most looked-forward-to feasts. It usually lasts for 4 days.


They also share their name '''(@???, m???, y???, j???, f???)'''with the five platonic solids.
===The leap day ===


Mercury ... tetrahedron (4 sides)4<sub>8</sub>
Every fourth year we have a calendar day ('''noimamu'''). This day comes immediately after '''hintugamau'''. Rites are held to mark and celebrate various milestones in the life of an individual. In particular people who have attained the ages of 4, 20 and 64 during the past 4 year, publicly celebrate that fact now. Among the customs followed is the gift of new clothes to the celebrant.


Mars ... hexahedron (6 sides)6<sub>8</sub>
== Time of day ==


Venus ... octahedron (8 sides)10<sub>8</sub>
The basic unit of time is the day ('''noi'''). So one day is equal to "1". The day begins at six o'clock in the morning.


Saturn ... dodecahedron (12 sides)14<sub>8</sub>
So, for example, 6 o'clock in the evening would be called 0.4 (not 0.5 ... remember Seuna uses an octal system) or '''nyegayiwo @elai'''. The '''nyegayiwo''' is invariably dropped so it would be simply '''@elai'''.


Jupiter ... icosahedron  (20 sides)24<sub>8</sub>
By the way '''@ela''' would be  11.2 minutes after six in the morning  (written .004)
'''@aba''' would be 2.8 minutes after six in the morning.


== Festivals ==
For describing approximately when something happened during the day, we have eight periods : '''noifago''', '''@abaia''', '''@igaia''', '''@odaia''', '''@elaia''', '''@ucaia''', '''@aisaia''' and '''@aukaia'''. Each of these time periods is equivalent to three hours. They can be further defind by the prefix "early", "mid" and "late". So "mid"'''@odaia''' defines a time from 4 o'clock in the afternoon to five o'clock at night.


The months  each has a different festival associated with them. Which festival falls on which  month  depends upon which part  of the world you live in. The following is the festival calendar for Northern Europe. The festivals occur at the begining of every month : always starting in the first week and sometimes extending into the following week. They all start on different days of the week.
The word for midday is simply '''@igai'''. The word for midnight is simply '''@aisa'''.  


=== The '''jupiter.festival''' ===
The '''noi''' is a 24 hour period.


In the middle of winter (the 22nd of December), '''jupiters.month''' starts. The '''jupiter.festival''' is the most important one of the year. Officially it is about the passage of time and religeon.  
The name for the period that the sun is up (i.e. daytime) is '''noi@ai''' ... (white.day)


Even though eating and drinking are involved in all the five festivals, the '''jupiter.festival''' has the most looked-forward-to parties and feasts. It usually lasts for 4 days.
The name for the period that the sun is down (i.e. nighttime) is '''noihau''' ... (black.day)


=== The '''venus.festival''' ===
The name for the period from 6 in the morning until 6 at night '''noihai''' ... (high.day)


'''venus.month''' starts on the 5th of March. The '''venus.festival''' themes are music and poetry. People gather at various regional centres to compete and spectate in various music and poetry competitions.
The name for the period from 6 at night to 6 in the morning is '''noi@au''' ... (low.day)


=== The '''mercury.festival''' ===
The last two terms make sense when you think of the main hand on a Seuna clock.
 
'''mercury.month''' starts on the 17th of May. Officially it is about indoor sports and boardgames. This festival often involves getting together with old friends again and can entail quite a bit of partying. Often journeys are undertaken to meet old acquainances. Also there is a big exchange of letters. Everybody that is condidered a friend should be sent a letter with the last years news (only friends that don't live close by of course). People gather at various regional centres to compete and spectate in various events.
 
=== The '''mars.festival''' ===
 
'''mars.month''' starts on the 28th of July. The '''mars.festival''' is all about outdoor competitions and sporting events. It is a little like a cross between the Olympics games and the highland games. People gather at various regional centres to compete and spectate in various team and individual competitions. However care is taken that no regional centre becomes too popular and people are discouraged from competing at centres other than their local one.
 
=== The '''saturn.festival''' ===
 
'''saturn.month''' starts on the 10th of October. The '''saturn.festival''' is all about the family and relations. The preparation of good food is especially important during this festival. Often journeys are undertaken for family visits and ancestors ashboxes are visited if convenient. This is the second most important festival of the year. People tend to take a quite some time of work if travelling, three days if receiving guests and two days if not receiving any guests.
 
=== The passage ceremony ===
 
A few days before the '''jupiter.festival''', rites are held mark and celebrate various milestones in the life of an individual. In particular people who have attained the ages of 4, 20 and 64 during the past year, publicly celebrate that fact now. Among the customs followed is the gift of new clothes to the celebrant.
 
== Time reckoning through the day ==
 
The unit of time is equal to 24 hours. The day begins at six o'clock in the morning. To make appointments, people say "I will meet you at .544" or just "I will meet you at 544"('''acailaula'''). Note that between .544 and .545 is 2.8 minutes so to say "I will meet you at 544" is accurate enough for arranging most human affairs.
 
For describing approximately when something happened during the day, we have eight periods : "pre"'''abai''', '''abain''', '''again''', '''adain''', '''alain''', '''acain''', '''asain''' and '''akain'''. Each of these time periods is equivalent to three hours. They can be further defind by the prefix "early", "mid" and "late". So "mid"'''adain''' defines a time from 4 o'clock in the afternoon to five o'clock at night.
 
The word for midday is simply '''agai'''. The word for midnight is simply '''asai'''. These can be given the prefixes "pre" and "post" to divide the day into four periods. 6 o'clock in the morning is called ??. There are also terms for sunup/dawn and sundown as these vary with time of year and with latitude.
 
The name for the period that the sun is up is '''ai'''"day"
The name for the period that the sun is down is '''hau'''"day"
The name for the period 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. is '''hai'''"day"
The name for the period 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. is '''au'''"day"


== The clock ==
== The clock ==
Line 232: Line 275:
At midnight the ‘hour’ hand stands at the bottom and procedes anti-clockwise (at least in the northern hemishere). The ‘hour’ hand only sweeps out one revolution in 24 hours. Both the red and the black arms do not move incrementally but both move one slot (1/64 th of a revolution) at a time. The black arm moves every 22.5 minutes and the red arm moves every 21 seconds.
At midnight the ‘hour’ hand stands at the bottom and procedes anti-clockwise (at least in the northern hemishere). The ‘hour’ hand only sweeps out one revolution in 24 hours. Both the red and the black arms do not move incrementally but both move one slot (1/64 th of a revolution) at a time. The black arm moves every 22.5 minutes and the red arm moves every 21 seconds.


Every town has a clocktower and the clocktower will have four faces at the top, each face displaying a clock similar to the one below. The clocktower is surmounted by a green conic roof. Backlighting and lighting from under the roof is provided for each face. There should never be any numbering.
Every town has a clocktower and the clocktower will have six faces at the top, each face displaying a clock similar to the one below. The clocktower is surmounted by a green conic roof. Backlighting and lighting from under the roof is provided for each face. There should never be any numbering.
 
== Old Stuff ==
 
'''towa''' = token or totem or icon
 
'''ku''' = a circle or cycle or round
 
'''sai''' = colour
 
'''towaŋko''' = token-cycle


'''saiŋko''' = colour.round
The clock faces should be illuminated from a light within. The colours of the faces should be white (N), orange (~NE), green (~SE), yellow (S), red (~SW), dark blue (~NW).


==Index==
==Index==

Latest revision as of 14:57, 9 November 2009

Actually each locality in the Seuna world breaks down the year into various "arc"s ("earth.arc"s in full). This is best translated as season. The timing, length and names of these "arc"s depend on local weather, local growing seasons, local cultural activities etc. For example acorn.arc might follow rain.arc and be followed by salmon.arc.

1 day

The Seuna for day is noi .

8 days

8 days make up a period of time called a soi. The noi of the soi are called ;-

noicaju noibuya noinewa noideda noikiwe noigufo noikayu noinege
sun.day leaf.day river.day sea.day star.day moon.day tree.day cloud.day

Between every soi there is a day called noituna, which can be best translated as "gap day".

72 days

8 soi and 8 noituna make up a period of time called a doi. The soi of the doi are called ;-

soi@ai soigeu soisuna soinela soiki@o soinelau soihia soihau
white.week green.week orange.week skyblue.week yellow.week blue.week red.week black.week

The 8 noituna of the doi can be differentiated from each other by calling them ;-

tuna@ai tunageu tunasuna tunanela tunaki@o tunanelau tunahia tunahau
white.gap green.gap orange.gap skyblue.gap yellow.gap blue.gap red.gap black.gap

(In the Seuna calendar, the cycle of the moon is completely ignored.)

365 days

A noihitu is a special festival days. There are five of them in one year. The 5 noihitu and 5 doi make up a yia(a year).

The doi are;-

doiyigau doipiwe doiguya doi@olai doigamau
jupiter.month venus.month mercury.month mars.month saturn.month

The festivals or festival days ( noihitu) are called;- hintuyigau hintupiwe hintuguya hintu@olai hintugamau

hintuyigau is between doiyigau and doipiwe, and so on.

1461 days

A four year period is known as a myamu. This is often translated into English as "calendar".

A special day called noimamu is added every myamu.

The calendar (that you stick on the wall)

There are 4 years in a calendar.

There are 32 calenders in a kyutoza.

Below is the first sheet of the Seuna calendar (there are 20 sheets in all).

The first week is the top row, the last week is the bottom row.

The first day of the week is the first column, the last day of the week is the last column.

The "not completely enclosed space" at the end of the week is for the noituna.

The space beneath the grid is for the noihitu.

Bitmap 21 Seuna.PNG

The day noimamu is not represented on the physical calendar. That is because this day is associated with special ceremonies associated with the passage of time. One ceremony involves the taking down of the old calendar, another ceremony involves the hanging of a new calendar. During noimamu there is no calendar hanging on any wall.

128 years (or 46,751 days)

32 myamu make up a kyutoza. This is often translated into English as "century", "generation", "lifetime".

One day is deleted every kyutoza.

The day dropped is tunahau from doipiwe.

The physical Seuna calendar that you hang on your wall lasts for four years. Every sheet represents a doi.

Below is the second sheet of the first myamu of a kyutoza.

Bitmap 22 Seuna.PNG

As can be seen, the dropped day has been torn off.

It is usual to define every day within a kyutoza.

For example you can give the date of birth of somebody as;-

noigufo soinelan doiguyan yiatigan (which means "the moon day of the sky-blue week of the month of mercury of the year of the giraffe").

To define the day over the greater range you would have to add " kyutoza -11", "kyutoza 0", "kyutoza +32" etc. etc.

The tolza

Each year of the kyutoza has an animal associated with it. These animals are ;-

wolf weasel/ermine/stoat/mink bullfinch badger
whale opossum albatross beautiful armadillo
giant anteater lynx eagle cricket/grasshopper/locust
reindeer springbok dove gnu/wildebeest
spider Steller's sea cow seagull gorilla
horse scorpion raven/crow python
rhino yak Kookaburra porcupine ?
butterfly triceratops penguin koala
polar bear manta-ray hornbill raccoon
crocodile/alligator wolverine pelican zebra
bee warthog peacock capybara
bat bear crane/stork/heron hedgehog
frog lama woodpecker gemsbok
musk ox chameleon hawk cheetah
lion frill-necked lizard toucan okapi
dolphin aardvark ostrich T-rex
kangaroo hyena duck driprotodon(wombat)
shark cobra kingfisher gaur
dragonfly mole moa chimpanzee
turtle/tortoise N.A. bison black skimmer panda
jaguar snail cormorant/shag Cape buffalo
rabbit colossal squid vulture glyptodon/doedicurus
beetle seal falcon pangolin
megatherium woolly mammoth flamingo baboon
elk/moose squirrel blue bird of paradise lobster
tiger gecko grouse seahorse
jackal/fox octopus swan lemur
elephant swordfish parrot auroch
giraffe ant puffin iguana
mouse crab swift mongoose/meerkat
smilodon giant beaver owl mantis
camel goat hummingbird walrus

Each of these animals above is a tolza, which can be translated as "token", "icon" or "totem ". kyu means a circle or cycle. So you can see where the name for the 128 year period comes from.

The precise astronomical periods on which the Seuna time system is based

Year 2000 had 365.242,192,65 days

Every year is shorter than the last by 0.000,000,061,4 days

By adding one day every calendar we get a 365.25 day year

If we then drop one day every kyutoza we get a 365.242,187,5 day year (very close to the actual year length)

Before 2084, the actual year will be bigger than the calendar year – after 2084 the actual year will be smaller than the calendar year

For this reason midnight, 22 Dec 2083 is designated the fulcrum of the whole system. That day will be time zero.

At the moment we are in negative time.

The association of planets to months and shapes

You will have noticed that the months share their names with the five visible planets. That is Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn (in order of distance from the sun).

In order of occurence in the year ... Jupiter, Venus, Mercury, Mars, Saturn

They also share their name with the five platonic solids.

hizbuguya (mercury.shape) = a tetrahedron (4 sides)48

hizbu@olai(mars.shape) ... hexahedron (6 sides)68

hizbuguya(venus.shape) ... octahedron (8 sides)108

hizbupiwe(saturn.shape) ... dodecahedron (12 sides)148

hizbuyigau(jupiter.shape) ... icosahedron (20 sides)248

The Seuna year

The first month of the year

The first month of the year (doiguya) starts on the 22nd of December and ends on the 3rd of March.

On the 4th of March the festival hintuguya is held. People gather at various regional centres to compete and spectate in various music and poetry competitions.

The second month of the year

The second month of the year (doipiwe) starts on the 5th of March and ends on the 15th of May.

On the 16th of May the festival of hintupiwe is held. It is usual to get together with old friends around this time and many parties are held. Friends that live some distance away are given special consideration. Often journeys are undertaken to meet up with old acquainances. Also there is a big exchange of letters at this time. The most important happenings of the last year are stated in these letters along with hopes and plans for the coming year.

The third month of the year

The third month of the year (doi@olai) starts on the 17th of May and ends on the 27th of July.

On the 28th of July the festival hintu@olai is held. This festival is all about outdoor competitions and sporting events. It is a little like a cross between the Olympics games and the highland games. People gather at various regional centres to compete and spectate in various team and individual competitions. However care is taken that no regional centre becomes too popular and people are discouraged from competing at centres other than their local one.

The fourth month of the year

The fourth month of the year (doiyigau) starts on the 29th of July and ends on the 8th of October.

On the 9th of October the festival hintuyigau is held. Family that live some distance away are given special consideration. Often journeys are undertaken for family visits and ancestors ashboxes are visited if convenient. This is the second most important festival of the year. People tend to take a quite some time of work if travelling, three days if receiving guests and two days if not receiving any guests.

The fifth month of the year

The fifth month of the year (doigamau) starts on the 10th of October and ends on the 20th of December.

On the 21st of December the festival hintugamau is held. This is the most important festival of the year. It is centred on the family and friends that you are living amongst. Even though eating and drinking are involved in all the five festivals, this festival has the most looked-forward-to feasts. It usually lasts for 4 days.

The leap day

Every fourth year we have a calendar day (noimamu). This day comes immediately after hintugamau. Rites are held to mark and celebrate various milestones in the life of an individual. In particular people who have attained the ages of 4, 20 and 64 during the past 4 year, publicly celebrate that fact now. Among the customs followed is the gift of new clothes to the celebrant.

Time of day

The basic unit of time is the day (noi). So one day is equal to "1". The day begins at six o'clock in the morning.

So, for example, 6 o'clock in the evening would be called 0.4 (not 0.5 ... remember Seuna uses an octal system) or nyegayiwo @elai. The nyegayiwo is invariably dropped so it would be simply @elai.

By the way @ela would be 11.2 minutes after six in the morning (written .004) @aba would be 2.8 minutes after six in the morning.

For describing approximately when something happened during the day, we have eight periods : noifago, @abaia, @igaia, @odaia, @elaia, @ucaia, @aisaia and @aukaia. Each of these time periods is equivalent to three hours. They can be further defind by the prefix "early", "mid" and "late". So "mid"@odaia defines a time from 4 o'clock in the afternoon to five o'clock at night.

The word for midday is simply @igai. The word for midnight is simply @aisa.

The noi is a 24 hour period.

The name for the period that the sun is up (i.e. daytime) is noi@ai ... (white.day)

The name for the period that the sun is down (i.e. nighttime) is noihau ... (black.day)

The name for the period from 6 in the morning until 6 at night noihai ... (high.day)

The name for the period from 6 at night to 6 in the morning is noi@au ... (low.day)

The last two terms make sense when you think of the main hand on a Seuna clock.

The clock

At midnight the ‘hour’ hand stands at the bottom and procedes anti-clockwise (at least in the northern hemishere). The ‘hour’ hand only sweeps out one revolution in 24 hours. Both the red and the black arms do not move incrementally but both move one slot (1/64 th of a revolution) at a time. The black arm moves every 22.5 minutes and the red arm moves every 21 seconds.

Every town has a clocktower and the clocktower will have six faces at the top, each face displaying a clock similar to the one below. The clocktower is surmounted by a green conic roof. Backlighting and lighting from under the roof is provided for each face. There should never be any numbering.

The clock faces should be illuminated from a light within. The colours of the faces should be white (N), orange (~NE), green (~SE), yellow (S), red (~SW), dark blue (~NW).

Index

  1. Introduction to Seuna
  2. Seuna : Chapter 1
  3. Seuna word shape
  4. The script of Seuna
  5. Seuna sentence structure
  6. Seuna pronouns
  7. Seuna nouns
  8. Seuna verbs (1)
  9. Seuna adjectives
  10. Seuna demonstratives
  11. Seuna verbs (2)
  12. Asking a question in Seuna
  13. Seuna relative clauses
  14. Seuna verbs (3)
  15. Methods for deriving words in Seuna
  16. List of all Seuna derivational affixes
  17. Numbers in Seuna
  18. Naming people in Seuna
  19. The Seuna calendar
  20. Seuna units
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