The Melanau calendar (Malay: Bulan Melanau) is a calendar used by the Melanau people of Borneo. Its year consists of 12 months. The first month, Pengejin, signifies the celebration of the Kaul festival (a giving of thanks for the preceding year, with prayers for the year ahead). Each month in the Melanau calendar consists of 30 days. It is guided by the constellations, natural phenomena and guardian spirits. Each month is named for occurrences during the month or events which are supposed to have occurred during that particular month, according to legend. The rise and fall of the Sun, the Moon and the stars determine the time for planting, harvesting, fishing, building, travel and marriage.[citation needed]
The Melanau concept of the universe is a multilayered one, in which the territories of all should be respected and a balance maintained. Hence, it is important to be aware of one's surroundings: changes in the weather, the wind, the tides and the position of the constellations. The Melanau calendar is a guide for daily activities such as fishing, planting, harvesting, homebuilding and marriage, because the calendar is guided by the constellations and the ways of nature, spirits and God.[1]
Months
Gregorian month
Melanau month
March
Pengejin (Month of the spirits)
April
Pengelawah Umik (Month of cloudy water)
May
Pengelawah Ayeng (Month of clear water)
June
Paka Umik (Month of the lesser stars)
July
Paka Ayeng (Month of the greater stars)
August
Pelepa (Month of plenty)
September
Pegalan (Month of the North Star)
October
Suwah (Month of the waves)
November
Pidai (Month of the discoloured sky)
December
Penangaih (Month of revival)
January
Pemalei (Taboo month)
February
Pengesiseng (Month of the gills)
Pengejin
This month coincides with the Gregorian month of March. During this month it is windy; light rain showers fall during the early part of the month. The wind gradually strengthens, the sun moves north and the moon replaces the original position of the sun. Fish are plentiful in forest ponds, as they search for food; afterwards, they again go into hiding. Bulan Pengejin marks the beginning of the year. Since it is difficult for the Melanau to work outdoors because of the strong wind, they spend their time indoors cleaning the tools of their trades. At the end of the month, the Melanau purify themselves and call the fish from the beaches and river mouths in a ceremony known as Kaul. The Melanau build a large swing (known as a Tibow); during its construction they sing the tibow song, seeking the blessings of their guardian gods for plentiful flowers, bountiful harvests of fruits and fish and the removal of illness and evil. They send offerings (known as Seraheng) out to sea to appease the gods and invite them to the feast. After the feast, leftover food and drink is left by the shore for the guardians spirits to take with them; nothing is kept.[citation needed]
Pengelawah Umik
This second month coincides with the month of April. During Pengelawah Umik, it is said that all the fish will come down to the sea; the sea turns a greenish color, a call to the fish that it is time to surface. For the Melanau, this month begins the fishing season. Melanau fishermen were formerly known for their barong panau, a fishing sailboat which could go out to sea for weeks on end and doubled as a travel and trade boat. The barong panau is no longer used, since the skills to build them have been lost. A picture of the boat may be found a Brooke-erapostage stamp.[citation needed]
Pengelawah Ayeng
The third month coincides with the month of May, when the emerald-greenish sea color first observed in Pengelawah Umik reaches the shore and the fishing season reaches its peak. Towards the end of this month, the sea loses its opaque green color and the sea floor will be visible from the surface; fishing becomes more challenging at the end of the first fishing season, which concludes at the beginning of Paka Umik, when winds and rain make fishing impossible.[citation needed]
Paka Umik
The fourth month coincides with the month of June, when the Seven Sisters appear in the skies. According to legend the west wind blows hard, to arrange the stars in the sky. During this month the Melanau go into the forest and begin the planting season, cutting large trees and vines and planting their crops. The farmers will continue their jungle-clearing work until the beginning of the next month, Paka Ayeng.[citation needed]
Paka Ayeng
The fifth month coincides with July. The Seven Sisters are high in the sky, and the Three Stars appear lower in the sky. The wind blows with gale force; all farming and fishing activities cease for the month (due to the strong winds) until the next month, Pelepa.[citation needed]
Pelepa
The sixth month coincides with August. The Three Stars replace the Seven Sisters, rising high in the sky. The wind drops; the sea is calm and the second fishing season begins before the long monsoon (suloh), when no work can be done due to wind and heavy rain. This fishing season lasts until the beginning of the next month, Pegalan.[citation needed]
Pegalan
The seventh month coincides with September. The sea remains calm, but little fishing is done since the fish are spawning. Pegalan is named for the Pegalan (North) Star, which is high in the sky in the evening. Legend has it that this is the month when the Melanau find it difficult to "swallow their saliva" (look for food). Marriage is taboo during this month, since it is believed it would lead to difficulty making a living.[citation needed]
Suwah
The eighth month coincides with October. During Suwah, the ground seems to rise like waves; according to Melanau belief this is caused by fish swimming back to the ocean, their fins resembling waves. Suwah marks the third (and final) fishing season for the year; it is also the time to start planting rice, sago palm and other crops. In Melanau tradition, as the earth grows so will the crops that are planted.[citation needed]
Pidai
The ninth month, coinciding with November, is the beginning of the monsoon season (suloh). Strong winds begin to blow, shifting the location (it is believed) of the sun and moon (called bulan tenggara, the southeast moon). It is the end of the fishing season; in the morning the sea is calm, but by afternoon the waves will be high.[citation needed]
Penangaih
The tenth month coincides with December. It is the time when rains come, allowing flowers to blossom and fruits to bear in the forest.
Pemalei
The eleventh month coincides with January. Legend has it that long ago a shaman was beheaded by his wife. His head disappeared from the house (becoming the Taboo Star) and the month is named for the killing of the shaman. During this month all activity (marriage, fishing, planting and homebuilding) is taboo, and Pemalei is regarded as a month of misfortune.
Pengesiseng
Pengesiseng coincides with the month of February. Strong winds bring heavy rain, blowing flowers off trees and uprooting them; floodwaters then bring them to the sea, where they are pushed ashore by huge waves. The wind blows branches and fronds of the coconut, sago palms and other trees, opening them to resemble the gills of a fish (hence its name). Pengesiseng marks the end of the Melanau year.[2]
Related Research Articles
A month is a unit of time, used with calendars, that is approximately as long as a natural phase cycle of the Moon; the words month and Moon are cognates. The traditional concept of months arose with the cycle of Moon phases; such lunar months ("lunations") are synodic months and last approximately 29.53 days, making for roughly 12.37 such months in one Earth year. From excavated tally sticks, researchers have deduced that people counted days in relation to the Moon's phases as early as the Paleolithic age. Synodic months, based on the Moon's orbital period with respect to the Earth–Sun line, are still the basis of many calendars today and are used to divide the year.
A lunar phase or Moon phase is the apparent shape of the Moon's directly sunlit portion as viewed from the Earth. In common usage, the four major phases are the new moon, the first quarter, the full moon and the last quarter; the four minor phases are waxing crescent, waxing gibbous, waning gibbous, and waning crescent. A lunar month is the time between successive recurrences of the same phase: due to the eccentricity of the Moon's orbit, this duration is not perfectly constant but averages about 29.5 days.
In Māori culture, Matariki is the Pleiades star cluster and a celebration of its first rising in late June or early July. The rising marks the beginning of the new year in the Māori lunar calendar.
A solar calendar is a calendar whose dates indicate the season or almost equivalently the apparent position of the Sun relative to the stars. The Gregorian calendar, widely accepted as a standard in the world, is an example of a solar calendar. The main other types of calendar are lunar calendar and lunisolar calendar, whose months correspond to cycles of Moon phases. The months of the Gregorian calendar do not correspond to cycles of the Moon phase.
Sorsogon, officially the Province of Sorsogon, is a province in the Philippines located in the Bicol Region. It is the southernmost province in the island of Luzon and is subdivided into fourteen municipalities (towns) and one city. Its capital is Sorsogon City and borders the province of Albay to the north.
Catanduanes, officially the Province of Catanduanes, is an island province located in the Bicol Region of Luzon in the Philippines. It is the 12th-largest island in the Philippines, and lies to the east of Camarines Sur, across the Maqueda Channel. Its capital is Virac, the most populous town in the province. It had a population of 271,879 people as of the 2020 census.
Weather lore is the body of informal folklore related to the prediction of the weather and its greater meaning.
The March equinox or northward equinox is the equinox on the Earth when the subsolar point appears to leave the Southern Hemisphere and cross the celestial equator, heading northward as seen from Earth. The March equinox is known as the vernal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere and as the autumnal equinox in the Southern Hemisphere.
Often called lunar mansion, a lunar station or lunar house is a segment of the ecliptic through which the Moon passes in its orbit around the Earth. The concept was used by several ancient cultures as part of their calendrical system.
MUL.APIN is the conventional title given to a Babylonian compendium that deals with many diverse aspects of Babylonian astronomy and astrology. It is in the tradition of earlier star catalogues, the so-called Three Stars Each lists, but represents an expanded version based on more accurate observation, likely compiled around 1000 BCE. The text lists the names of 66 stars and constellations and further gives a number of indications, such as rising, setting and culmination dates, that help to map out the basic structure of the Babylonian star map.
The Bakunawa, also called the Philippine moon-eating dragon, the Philippine moon dragon, moon dragon, or the moon-eating dragon, is a serpent, that looks like a Dragon in Philippine mythology. It is believed to be the cause of eclipses, earthquakes, rains, and wind. The movements of the Bakunawa served as a geomantic calendar system for ancient Filipinos and were part of the rituals of the babaylan priestess. It is usually depicted with a characteristic looped tail and a single horn on the nose. It was believed to inhabit either the sky or the underworld.
Indigenous Australian seasons are classified differently from the traditional four-season calendar used by most western European peoples. Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islander people have distinct ways of dividing the year up. Naming and understanding of seasons differs among groups of Aboriginal peoples, and depends on where in Australia the group lives.
Australian Aboriginal astronomy has been passed down orally, through ceremonies, and in their artwork of many kinds. The astronomical systems passed down thus show a depth of understanding of the movement of celestial objects which allowed them to use them as a practical means for creating calendars and for navigating across the continent and waters of Australia. There is a diversity of astronomical traditions in Australia, each with its own particular expression of cosmology. However, there appear to be common themes and systems between the groups. Due to the long history of Australian Aboriginal astronomy, the Aboriginal peoples have been described as "world's first astronomers" on several occasions.
The Yoruba calendar (Kọ́jọ́dá) is a calendar used by the Yoruba people of southwestern and north central Nigeria and southern Benin. The calendar has a year beginning on the last moon of May or first moon of June of the Gregorian calendar. The new year coincides with the Ifá festival.
Inuit astronomy is centered around the Qilak, the Inuit name for the celestial sphere and the home for souls of departed people. Inuit beliefs about astronomy are shaped by the harsh climate in the Arctic and the resulting difficulties of surviving and hunting in the region. The stars were an important tool to track time, seasons, and location, particularly during winter.
Kaul is a Melanau annual "cleansing" when traditionally, uninvited spirits and other bad influences were escorted out of the village by a flotilla of boats, and ceremonial offerings of food, cigarettes and betel nut were set on the Seraheng at the river mouth.
Mukah (muːkəh), historically known as Muka is a coastal town which has served as the capital and the administrative center of the Mukah Division since 1 March 2002.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
