Seasons of the Year
sajak
Each month has 30 days. In the Kyrgyz month, there are 29–30 days. In three years, one extra month accumulates, i.e., in three years there are 37 months,
solto
There are 360 days and 48 weeks in a year.
oshskie
Months have 29, 30, or 32 days, depending on the moon.
Determination of the Month's Numbers
sarybagysh
Each month has 30 days; the full moon is on the 15th. Months begin with the appearance of the young crescent. Dark days are not counted, and thus there can be a leak in the numbers and an addition to the 30 days of the Kyrgyz year (the missing four to five days until the European year). The number is determined by the size of the month. Not counting the number of days that passed without the moon, oshskie
The moon becomes visible on the second or third day of the month.
New Year
solto
Jany jyl — New Year is celebrated on the 11th day of the month kuran. A fire is lit from archi. Children jump over it. Adults wave their skirts over the fire. The one who turns 12 breaks a cup. He slaughters a ram, gives a poor person a shirt or some other clothing, and breaks a wooden bowl with his feet.
On February 11, everyone prepares noorus koche and invites neighbors. In the evening, a fire is lit from archi, and they sing: "Alas, alas, let misfortune not come" — to avoid misfortune. This day is a birthday for all. On this day, everyone digs out stones from the ground, corresponding to the number of years they have lived.
Songkul
On Nowruz, those who are wealthier slaughter livestock and make noodles, while those who are poorer cook koche, i.e., boiled wheat or barley with fat and meat. They visit each other's yurts. In the evening, they light a fire from archi, and boys jump over it, singing: "Alas, alas, let misfortune not come" (Alas, alas, free us from all filth). Bала — "disease, filth." At that time, boys throw their old hats into the steppe. The elders say: "The old year has gone, the new year has come — may it be blessed."
oshskie
Jany jyl (New Year) is celebrated either at wintering or already at summering, depending on the weather. For New Year, they cook porridge (atala) from flour, butter, water, salt, and milk. There are no special prayers, except for bata, when it is eaten.
The one whose 12 years are up breaks a spoon or a cup: "My 12 years have passed!" (My 12 years are over!). They do not light a fire.
With the end of the first 12 years, a boy is considered 13 years old, and with the end of the second 12 years — 25 years old. A child born before the New Year is considered one year old by the Kyrgyz New Year. A child born in February of the following year is already considered two years old. In the following year of the same name as the year of birth, he is considered 13 years old, although he may actually be less than 12, sometimes almost only 11 years old.
dol. Arpa
In whatever month of the year a child is born, they are counted as a whole year so that by the New Year they are considered one year old, and in the coming year they live their second calendar year, i.e., they are two years old (does this not take into account the 9 months of gestation? — F.F.). In the first year, winter and summer are counted as two years (comparable to the determination of the age of domestic animals: tai — two-year-old and considered such until the next spring after birth).
In the month of Nowruz, in the year of the same name in which a person was born, their 12 years are celebrated (mucal chikaram). They cook barley porridge (koche) and treat the guests. Then they light a fire, and the "birthday person" jumps over the fire (stepping over several times, waving his skirt), saying that all his sins from the past 12 years remain in the fire (? — F.F.): "Alas, alas, may it protect from future misfortunes. Alas, alas, may past sins disappear." Sins are left in the fire for the devil, who, being the master of fire, appears to man in the form of a flame. Then he (the "birthday person") breaks (stomps) a wooden bowl (ayak) — also to cleanse himself from sins.
This day is also celebrated because, according to Kyrgyz beliefs, a person is destined to die (there is a danger of death) on the day and year of the same name in which they were born.
B. Soltonaev
Every New Year, a fire is made, and people (men? — F.F.), stepping over it, say: "Alas, alas, the new year has come, Alas, alas, the old year has gone. Alas, alas, may father Alash lift us up, help us."
Alas is considered a Kalmyk word.
Names of the Months: Folk Etymology, Explanations, Additions
Jalgan kuran — incorrect, i.e., the time for wild goats to be ready for breeding has not fully come.
Chyn kuran — correct, i.e., the breeding season is in full swing.
Toguzdun ayi — the names of the months are based on the dates when the Pleiades and the Moon oppose each other: September 19, October 17, November 15, December 13, January 11 — it is especially cold on these days.
Bughu — deer (female maral). Males lag behind the females, who are about to give birth. Kulja — mountain goat (female argali). Teke — goat with a beard (female — echki).
Bash oona — young goats begin to run with males; the breeding season is just starting.
Ayak oona — old goats run, i.e., the breeding season has begun and is nearing its end.
Bash oona — summer begins to transition to autumn, the beginning of a good life when fruits ripen.
Ayak oona — the end of this season.
Bughu — the deer grow good, valuable antlers.
Kulja — all livestock gains strength, and at their best, they are just like kulja.
Teke — the longest and hottest days, the snow melts.
Kuran — another name for teke.
Chyn kuran — kumys begins.
Tokal ai — full moon, when the moon and the Pleiades oppose each other.
Kyrk kun childa — January until February 10 — the coldest time of winter.
Semirechensk Epithets for Months
January — may belek — hands elbow-deep in fat when slaughtering livestock for winter.
February — kelsinnel — if you want, come. There is plenty of meat, we will feed you.
March — shiyurash may — to whisper. There is no more meat to feed the guest, you need to consult with your wife secretly.
April — chi tartma — to open chi. They set up a chigdon chi for dairy herds, ayran appears.
May — sende bir, mende bir — the same for you and for me. Everyone has plenty of milk and other products.
The names of the months based on the names of animals denote the period of their birth.
Exact Dates in Parallel Calendars
Kyrgyz: June 5 (1925) = 1 teke, July 20 = 30 bash oona, July 22 = 1 ayak oona, July 24 = 3 ayak oona, July 25 = 5 ayak oona (not 4, because the month has risen higher), August 11 (1926) = 3–4 ayak oona, August 13 (1926) = 5 sumbela.
Tuesday — (hara32) seyshembi, Saturday — ishenbe. If livestock is given away on one of these days, there will be a great loss; if livestock is slaughtered — then livestock will die. On these days, they do not start plowing, do not shear horses, sheep, do not arrange marriages, and do not embark on long journeys.
A person who is lucky in life boasts that he has luck even on Tuesday.
Nas kun33 — "unlucky" days. Three at the beginning of the month. On Sunday, one should not go anywhere and sleep with one’s wife.
Calendar and Stars
If one travels in the direction of an unlucky star34, the journey will end in misfortune. On the 10th month, this star is underground, and one can go anywhere. On the 11th, it is to the right of the sun at dawn, i.e., in the south; on the 12th — to the left of it, i.e., in the north; on the 13th — also in the north; on the 14th — in the west; on the 15th — in the south. This star circles the sky once every 5 months. The prohibition applies only to men. The expression jildyzyng from obzhur — to correct (to bypass? — F.F.) the star on the right.
Bozbashtryk
This star was once a peri. She did not want to live with people and have connections with them, so she withdrew and began to live with two angels (berishte) — Arut and Marut, but they could not resist her beauty and desired her. Then she went to God, complained, and asked to make her a star instead. God did so. She said that if any man ever travels in her direction, she will bring him misfortune.
Sagimbai
For the first 10 days of each month, a traveler should not go in the direction of the changing star. On the first day, one should not travel east, towards the star that rises first; on the fifth, this star moves south, and then traveling in that direction will end in misfortune; on the seventh, it is in the constellation Ursa Major, in the north; on the 10th, it is overhead, and therefore one should not travel at all. On Sundays, one should not go anywhere and sleep with one’s wife.
On the 1st, do not travel east; on the 5th, do not travel towards Qibla; on the 7th — to zhetigen36, on the 9th — one should not travel at all, as the star is underground; on the 10th, 20th, 30th it is overhead — one can travel everywhere. Such is the schedule for all days ending in these digits37. On the 3rd, one should not travel to uch tobo — three clusters of stars in the south-southeast: the horse will limp.
tokolai
Tokis38 — the approach (collision) of the Pleiades (urkor) to the Moon — on the 17th kazana39, on the 15th karasha. On the 13th zhel tokson, etc., until the 1st mausum, after which the Pleiades disappear for 40 days, and then, appearing on the 21st tamys, they make tokis on the 23rd sarshet, on the 21st childa, on the 19th mizam, etc.
Comments:
4 Jumа — means not only "Friday" (by the way, a holiday for Muslims), but also "week" (Yudakhin K.K. Op. cit. p. 268). "48 jumа" means "48 weeks".
5 The year for the Kyrgyz consisted of 365 days; each season of the year has 91 days, and one extra day (zhyldyn ajyrylushy — literally, "divider of years" — B.K., S.G.) falls at the end of the old and the beginning of the new years (March 15), which was not counted. March 16 is the first day of the new cycle (Aitmambetov D. The Culture of the Kyrgyz People in the Second Half of the 19th — Early 20th Century. Frunze, 1967. p. 192). For lunar calendar calculations, see: Rakhimov M.R. Agriculture of the Tajiks in the Hingou River Basin in the Pre-Revolutionary Period. Stalinabad, 1957. pp. 165–166.
9 The month kuran corresponds to March or April (see below). Widely known today as the spring holiday Navruz, it was once celebrated during the summer solstice (Lobacheva N.P. On the History of Calendar Rites among Farmers of Central Asia // Ancient Rites, Beliefs, and Cults of the Peoples of Central Asia. Moscow, 1986. pp. 8-12).
10 Archа — tree-like juniper. Apparently possesses sacred power, as the smoke of archi is used for purification and to drive away evil spirits during illnesses.
11 The custom of jumping over the fire or waving skirts over it is apparently associated with the purifying power of fire (for various fire purification rites, see: Snesarev G.P. Relicts... pp. 189–191): the New Year must be met without old sins and mistakes, without misfortunes and illnesses. M. Eliade believes that the ritual associated with purification during the New Year is not just a simple cleansing but a rebirth, an attempt to return, even for a moment, to that "pure" time as it was at the moment of "creation" (Eliade M. Cosmos and History. Moscow, 1987. p. 68).
12 It is interesting that in many regions of Central Asia, there was a custom once a year, on the last Wednesday of the month safar, considered the hardest month, to jump over a fire for purification and break dishes. It was believed that all the troubles and misfortunes of a person were transferred to this dish (Andreev M.S. Trip in the Summer of 1928 to the Kasansky District (North of Fergana). pp. 111–112; Snesarev G.P. Relicts... pp. 189–190). We think that the Kyrgyz, by breaking cups, also transferred all sins, diseases, and misfortunes of the past 12 years to them in order to meet the new 12 years completely cleansed. However, the transfer of evil forces to inanimate objects was known to many peoples of the world (Frazer J. Op. cit. pp. 599-601).
13 There apparently was no fixed date for celebrating the New Year among the Kyrgyz (see note 7).
14 A ritual porridge made from seven different grains, which was prepared for the New Year celebration among many peoples (Sternberg L.Ya. Op. cit. p. 466; Lobacheva N.P. On the History of Calendar Rites... p. 16; Karmysheva D. Agricultural Rites... p. 54).
15 Yudakhin K.K. translates this incantation as: "Alas, alas — deliverance from misfortune" (Yudakhin K.K. Op. cit. p. 46). Alas — the fumigation with the smoke of archi (a folk method of healing and purification).
16 About the alchiks, see the section "Rites Associated with the Birth and Upbringing of a Child." Boys throw their old alchiks into the steppe, possibly for the same purpose as breaking old dishes during the pre-New Year purification.
17 Literally "The old year has gone, the new year has come! May it be happy!"
18 Literally "I bring out the 12," i.e., "I complete my 12 years."
32 Hara (kara) — black, heavy, unlucky. Tuesday was unlucky among other Turkic peoples as well. For example, the legend of the Yenisei Turks about the creation of the calendar, about "lucky" and "unlucky" days can be found in: Traditional Worldview of the Turks. I. p. 51.
33 Possibly from nasak — sick, unhealthy (Yudakhin K.K. Op. cit. p. 553).
34 Here and further, it seems to refer to the constellation of Scorpio, which changes its position in the sky every day. Among many peoples, it was considered unlucky to start any work, including travel or just a trip, during its appearance. At the beginning of work, the face should not be directed towards this constellation (Mukhiddinov I. Relicts of Pre-Islamic Customs and Rites among Farmers of Western Pamir in the 19th — Early 20th Century. Dushanbe, 1989. Book I. pp. 13-14).
35 Apparently, there is an error here, as it further discusses the "unlucky" star, the constellation of Scorpio.
36 Zhetigen — Ursa Major (see below).
37 Some discrepancies in the numbers can be explained by the fact that the information was recorded from different informants. I. Mukhiddinov provides the following information about the position of Scorpio in the sky: 1, 11, 21 (days of the month) — in the east; 2, 12, 22 — in the northeast; 3, 13, 23 — in the north; 4, 14, 24 — in the northwest; 5, 15, 25 — in the west; 6, 16, 26 — in the southwest; 7, 17, 27 — in the south; 8, 18, 28 — in the southeast; 9, 19, 29 — underground; 10, 20, 30 — overhead (Mukhiddinov I. Op. cit. p. 14).
38 More precisely: toghosh — to oppose (of planets). This is the time when the Moon and the Pleiades are distant from each other and opposite each other.
39 About the names of the months, see above.
Healing. Rites Related to the Social Life of the Kyrgyz at the Beginning of the 20th Century