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Category: Dikgwedi

Phatwe (August in Setswana)

Phatwe (August in Setswana)

[ENG] The Setswana name for August is Phatwe. The eighth month of the Gregorian Calendar (August/Phatwe) is also the twelfth month of the traditional Tswana lunar calendar, whose year starts with the onset on the agricultural season in August/September (Lwetse). In fact, it gets more complicated than that, since because the 12-month lunar year inevitably falls out of alignment with the seasons, and therefore the beginning of the planting season will not occur at exactly the same time each solar cycle. According…

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Phukwi (July in English)

Phukwi (July in English)

[ENG] The Setswana name for July is Phukwi. The seventh month of the Gregorian Calendar (July/Phukwi) is also the eleventh month of the traditional Tswana lunar calendar, whose year starts with the onset on the ploughing season in August/September (Lwetse). In fact, it gets more complicated than that, since because the 12-month lunar year inevitably falls out of alignment with the seasons, and therefore the beginning of the planting season will not occur at exactly the same time each solar…

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Seetebosigo (June in Setswana)

Seetebosigo (June in Setswana)

[ENG] The Setswana name for June is Seetebosigo. Although Seetebosigo [June] has been designated as the sixth month of the Gregorian Calendar in Setswana, it is actually the tenth month of the traditional Setswana lunar calendar, whose year starts with the onset on the ploughing season in September (Lwetse). In fact, it gets more complicated than that, since because the 12-month lunar year inevitably falls out of alignment with the seasons, and therefore the beginning of the planting season will not…

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Motsheganong [May in Setswana]

Motsheganong [May in Setswana]

[ENG] The Setswana name for May is Motsheganong. Although it is the fifth month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar Motsheganong (May) is in fact the ninth month of the traditional Tswana lunisolar calendar, whose year starts with the onset on the agricultural season in August/September (Lwetse). However, this is not as clear-cut as my introduction above makes it seem. Traditional Southern African calendars were based on the moon cycle, as well as annual seasonal rotations. This tended to create complications as…

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Moranang [April in Setswana]

Moranang [April in Setswana]

[ENG] The Setswana name for April is Moranang. Although it is the fourth month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar Moranang (April) is in fact the eighth month of the traditional Tswana lunisolar calendar, whose year starts with the onset on the agricultural season in August/September (Lwetse). However, this is not as clear-cut as my introduction above makes it seem. Traditional Southern African calendars were based on the moon cycle, as well as annual seasonal rotations. This tended to create complications as…

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Mopitlo [March in Setswana]

Mopitlo [March in Setswana]

[ENG] The Setswana name for March is Mopitlo. Although it is the third month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (March/Mopitlo) is in fact the seventh month of the traditional Tswana lunisolar calendar, whose year starts with the onset on the agricultural season in August/September (Lwetse). However, this is not as clear-cut as my introduction above makes it seem. Traditional Southern African calendars were based on the moon cycle, as well as annual seasonal rotations. This tended to create complications as a…

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Tlhakole [February in Setswana]

Tlhakole [February in Setswana]

[ENG] The Setswana name for February is Tlhakole. Although it is the second month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (February/Tlhakole) is in fact the sixth month of the traditional Tswana lunisolar calendar, whose year starts with the onset on the agricultural season in August/September (Lwetse). However, this is not as clear-cut as my introduction above makes it seem. Traditional Southern African calendars were based on the moon cycle, as well as annual seasonal rotations. This tended to create complications as a…

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Firikgong (January in Setswana)

Firikgong (January in Setswana)

[ENG] The Setswana name for January is Firikgong. Alternative spellings include Ferikgong, Hirikgong, and Herikgong (depending on dialect and other influences). Although it is the first month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (January/Firikgong) is in fact the fifth month of the traditional Tswana lunisolar calendar, whose year starts with the onset on the agricultural season in August/September (Lwetse). However, this is not as clear-cut as my introduction above makes it seem. Traditional Southern African calendars were based on the moon cycle,…

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Morule [Undecimber] – the 13th Month

Morule [Undecimber] – the 13th Month

Traditionally, Batswana used “leap years” to retain alignment of their months to seasonal markers. These leap years were somewhat different from what we use today, because they involved the addition of an entire intercalary month, rather than the intercalary day (February 29) that we are all so familiar with. Morule is the 13th (intercalary) month of the Tswana calendar. Batswana, like most of the peoples of Southern Africa traditionally used the moon cycle to determine their months, together with the…

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Sedimonthole (December in Setswana)

Sedimonthole (December in Setswana)

[ENG] The Setswana name for December is Sedimonthole, but sometimes people use “Morule”. The twelfth month of the Gregorian calendar (December/Sedimonthole) is in fact the fourth month of the traditional Tswana lunar calendar, whose year starts with the onset on the agricultural season in August/September (Lwetse). However, this is not as clear-cut as my introduction above makes it seem. Traditional Southern African calendars were based on the moon cycle, as well as annual seasonal rotations. This tended to create complications as a 12-month…

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