Nukimau Time

Pronunciation table

Latin	m	n	p	t	k	s	f	h	y	l	i	e	a	o	u
IPA	/m/	/n/	/p/	/t/	/k/	/s/	/ɸ/	/h/	/j/	/l/	/i/	/e/	/a/	/o/	/u/

Written history

• The Islanders have no system of writing.

Calendar

• The Islanders do not have a complex system of time keeping. There are only four units of time.

1. The word for day (nome) is the word for sun; it begins at first light. There is a morning (tose), a noon (esanome, high sun), and an evening (oye). The night is called ti. The planet's rotation gives a 28-hour day.
2. The word for month (sepo) is the word for moon. It is measured from the first sighting of the waxing crescent of the moon.
3. The are only two seasons: sifosepo, rain moon, and kelisepo, dry moon.
4. The year (koi) begins with the first rains.

• The closest thing to a week is the four phases (oyio) of the moon. They are kitisepo (grow moon), teyosepo (full moon), nokasepo (die moon) and oyasepo (no moon).
• The Islanders do not have any other words to describe the passing of time except yesterday (ao ya nome), the day before yesterday (ao ao ya nome), tomorrow (iu ya nome) and the day after tomorrow (iu iu ya nome).
• Other than these, only general terms are available, such as "past days" (ha pa foma nonome, gone days) and "coming days" (ha pe nofe nonome, coming days).

The Lunar Cycle

• The lunar cycle contains eight months of 48 days each. However, because the rainy season does not always begin on the same date, the Islanders are unable to synchronize the lunar cycle with the solar cycle.
• A month begins the morning after the sighting of the first crescent of the waxing large moon. There is no attempt to number or name the months. after the leafing of the trees.
• The Islanders do recognize the two halves of the month. The first half (kitiyoimi, growing half) extends from the morning of the first crescent to the morning of the full moon. The second half (nokayoimi, dying half) extends from the morning of the full moon to the morning of the first crescent.