BY
ISYAKU BALA IBRAHIM
Introduction
There is one
important phenomenon which chases a being. It gradually hunts and brings it
down as predetermined. It is an experience that everyone should be conscious
of. It is simply called time. Time is well known conqueror of the living and to
a large extend even the non-living. BM Dzukogi, a philosopher of our time defines
it as, “Time is the permanent determinant of how, when and what becomes of
actions, processes, events, man and the environment.” So in essence man is
aware of the fact that he is in transition the very day he stepped into the
world. It is however propelled by a constant doting of the second which
gradually eat-away the time he is expected to spend on earth. It therefore
becomes important for man to tract events and actions in a manner to be able to
tell, move or recount actions of the past, present and future. The past may be
gone; the present is here while the future is pregnant with lots of
aspirations.
The idea of Nupe Lunar Calendar project is aimed at
promoting the way our people structured their activities which covered the 12
months in the past and how it became a concept of awareness, currently. This is
an idea that was muted on 20th November 2013 on my usual contacts
with BM Dzukogi, and we muted the idea in an attempt to sell to the public the
calendar and the most importantly the new Nupe numeral symbols.
On
22nd November 2013, I met him (BM Dzukogi) for the second time on
the calendar issue; he then made an interesting statement that it will be
preferable if we have our own numeral symbols on it, stating that it will be
more dramatic and attention-grabbing too. I immediately informed him of the
numeral symbols I had invented on 29th April 2012, shortly after my Enyalò
(Nupe Arithmetic) book was published. He was amazed to see it and sought
that we use it immediately.
However,
the first written document on the Nupe calendar was in Banfield &
Macintyre’s Nupe Grammar Book published in 1915. It documented the days and the
months, and the various activities and festivals in each of the Nupe month in
the calendar year. These festivals became symbols or names of months which
could be traced to the time Nupe people used it in the past, orally and greatly
influenced when the kingdom embraced Islam as its religion. The only evidence
we have of our Islamic heritage could possibly be in the 15th or 16th
century of the Gregorian calendar reckoning. That is around 9th and
10th century of the Hijrah (Islamic) calendar.
For
centuries, Nupe people used the moon for counting the days which were primarily
to celebrate their pagan feasts, rites and rituals of the old Nupe religion
such as Gunnukó (fertility god), zhiba (god of commitment), Sako (hunting ritual), Wásá (snake medicine
festival), Tsari/Gànì (strength/power/wrestling contest festival), Dzakó (the
god of Ndaduma) etc. The fixed months of the festivals or rituals were Etswa Gànì,
Etswa Tógàya, Etswa Gunnukó/ Gunnu/ Egunnu, Etswa Wásá, Etswa Dzakó and others.
They were largely oral in recognition to celebrate the festivals through the
constant and gradual phenomenon of appearance and disappearance of the moon,
tracked through mere observation and counting of 29 or 30 days for a month.
So
the Pagan calendar was later overshadowed by the Islamic calendar as most Nupe
people converted to the new religion.
The names that still reflect the past pagan festivals were rejected
while those that were ordinary were retained by the Islamic orientation of the
kingdom. Some retained ones are: Etswa Gani,
Eyazhe, Eyazoci, and Togaya.
EFO
(DAY)
The efo (a day) is the same with the western
or Arabic day systems of second, minute and hour. Efo is not tracked in 24hours instead a comprehensive tracking is
employed based on the phase-to-phase changes within the day which broadly
comprises the Yigidi (day) and the Yèshi (night) periods. These periods are
further broken into Yisàká/fafa (dawn), Lazhìn (morning), Yigidi-tinya (sunrise), Yigidiwó (midday), Lózùn
(evening), Sadu (midnight), and Sadugándu (deep-night). However, efozhi (days) of the month are not
tentatively grouped in weeks,but counting of the days are done to meet up with
daily and monthly engagements i.e. fixed market days, feast days or any
important schedules/activity known to each community.
Therefore, below are
the ways Nupe people counted days that make up a month backward or forward:
The
forward counting of days:
1. Nyina/today
2. Esun/tomorrow
3. Sòkpazhìn/
in two days’ time
4. Efogunni-nyina
/in three days’ time
5. Efogutsun-nyina/
in four days’ time
6. Efogutswanyi-nyina/
in five days’ time
7. Efogutwabà-nyina/
in six days’ time
8. Efogutòtá-nyina/
in seven days’ time (a week in Arabic or western reckoning)
9. Efogwegi-nyina/
in fourteen days’ time
10. Efoshi
be nìní-nyina/ in twenty days’ time
The
backward counting of days:
1. Yábaci
/ Eyábaci – last year
2. Aguntswaguta
– three months ago
3. Agunfogwegi/two
weeks ago
4. Agunfogutòtá/a
week ago
5. Agunfogunni/three
days ago
6. Tsotaci/a
day before yesterday
7. Tsuwó/yesterday
A
Week
As I pointed earlier,
before the advent of foreign religions in Nupe land, Nupes counted days without
the week, and no names were given to days that made up the week as we have them
today. So the current names of days that make up a week were adopted with
advent of Islam. So, the days of the week has an Arabic source as enumerated
below:
Átènin/ Ithnayn/
(Monday)
Tàlátà / Thulaathaaʼ/
(Tuesday)
Làrùba/ Arba’aa’ /
(Wednesday)
Àlàmí/ Khamīs /
(Thursday)
Jímà/ Jumu’ah /
(Friday)
Àsíbì / Sabt /
(Saturday)
Ladè/ Aḥad / (Sunday)
ÈTSWÁZHI
(MONTHS)
The months are strictly
according to the lunar appearance on the sky and the counting is done from the
first day crescent appearance till it disappears on the 29th or 30th
day of each of the months. There could be some overlap in some instances. And
in all, there are twelve months:
1. Èyázheci/
Ninfu – it is the month of torches (návùn) and feast of filled bellies (Ninfu)
2. Etswa
Bedzo-Gànì – month before local wrestling /combat
3. Etswa
Gànì -month before local wrestling /combat
4. Tógàya
– the first month of Tógàya
5. Tógàya-Bàci
– the second month of Tógàya
6. Etswa
Bedzo Azun-Ezagbakozhi – the month before the old people’s fast
7. Etswa
Azun-Ezagbakozhi – the month of old people fast
8. Etswa
Bedzo-Azun – the month before general
fast
9. Etswa
Azun – the month of general fast
10. Etswa
Sálagi – the month small feast
11. Etswa
Bedzo Èyázoci/Sálakó – the month before the end of year
12. Èyázoci/Sálakó
– end of year month / big feast month
EKÁZHI
(SEASONS)
There are six seasons
(Nadel, 1942: 409) in the Nupe agricultural calendar which are:
i.
Gbama/first rains season/
ii.
Zuzunka/rainy season/
iii.
Elemàgi/heavy rain season/
iv.
Sabaká /growth season/
v.
Gbanferè/cold season
vi.
Banagun /hot season/
EYÁ
KPÓBÀ BÈ SHITSUN Ì DÍN GUBÀ (NUPE YEAR 498AN)
The Nupe year counting
is tied to the year the Kingdom was founded in 1531 by Etsu Edegi or Tsoede (Nadel, 1942.406) at
Gbárá which is equivalent to the year 937AH (Hijrah Lunar calendar) which if we
deduct 937 from the current year of 1435, we would have 498 Lunar years since
Nupe Kingdom was founded. In the alternative, it is possible to calculate the
years using a solar year by deducting 1531 from the current year 2014 which
will give 483years in the solar reckoning. And to make it a lunar year, divide
these years 483 by 33 (that is, in every 33 years, the lunar years will be a
year ahead of the solar year or Gregorian year) which will give 16 years addition.
When it is added to 483, it gives a total of 498 lunar years. So, 498 is the
number of years since Nupe Kingdom was founded (AN). Hence that is the way Nupe
year 498AN was arrived at.
Conclusion
The essence of
the calendar is principally to enable one to be very conscious of time, and to
judiciously use it to his benefit, and to the benefit of others. It should
serve as radar to enable us remember and record the past, the present and plan
for the future.
References:
Banfield, A. W. &Macintyre, J.
L. (1915).A
Grammar of the Nupe Language, Together with a Vocabulary. London: Richard
Clay & Sons Limited.
Dzukogi, BM. Artistry of Time in Creation. New Nigerian Newspaper. Kaduna: February 23, 2002
Ibrahim, Isyaku Bala (2012). Enyalò (Nupe Arithmetic). Minna: Gandzo Enterprises.
Ibrahim, Isyaku Bala (2012). Enyalò (Nupe Arithmetic). Minna: Gandzo Enterprises.
Lamtabbet,
R. Arabic
Days of the Week
http://www.softarabic.com/arabic-days-of-the-week/
(accessed 26 January 2014)
Nadel, Siegfried Frederick (1942).The Black Byzantine: Nupe Kingdom of
Northern Nigeria. London: International Institute of African languages
& cultures.
The Year
1531.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1531 (accessed on 24 November 2013).
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