Re: Calendar Systems

Ok.  Here's what I've come up with so far.

The planet that the Xinkutlan live on (it doesn't have a name _as a planet_
yet, because they aren't that advanced- it might be called
tlaxaq /tKa'tSaq/, which is their word for "world" or "cosmos") has a solar
year of 422.7813 days.  It has 2 moons, arai /a'raj/ and xerai /tSE'raj/.
Arai has an orbital period of almost exactly 12 days, and xerai has an
orbital period of just about 59 days.

(There's a legend that in the dawn of time, xerai had a cycle of 60 days,
but after some primordial monster or demon whose name I haven't invented
yet devoured one of the days of arai's cycle, xerai gave up one of her days
to her sister moon.  And incidentally, Xinkutlan counting is based on the
numbers 12 and 60 :) )

Anyway, they divide the year up into 7 "months" of 60 days, plus 3 days
left over, which are considered outside the year and ill-omened.  Possibly
so ill-omened as to mean that children born in these days are killed, but
we'll see if I can stomach that long-term.  Twice in every 9 years (if my
calculations are correct- arithmetic has never been my strong point, even
with a calculator :P), this dark time is reduced by a day.

The months are further divided into 5 12-day cycles.

The 7 months are each named after one of the Xinkutlan elements:

dzak      /dzak/              "fire"
tsu       /tsu/               "air"
nuatl     /nwa'tK/ /nwa'tl/   "rain" (possibly)
tlomal    /tlo'mal/           "earth", "soil"
llapas    /Ka'pas/            "water"
tlep      /tKEp/              "stone" (again, possibly)
capil     /Sap'Il/            "light" (I'm really unsure about this one)

The 12 days all bear animal names, and each cycle through them in the week
bears a number from 1-5:

beli      /bE'li/             "armadillo"
noma      /no'ma/             "peccary", "pig"
pakuati   /pakwa'ti/          "mouse"
eitsu     /ej'tsu/            "swan"  (or possibly inar - goose)
zutla     /zUt'Ka/            "dog"
qutl      /qUtK/              "bat"
tab       /tab/               "water buffalo", "ox"
sata      /sa'ta/             "snake (constrictor)"*
laqat     /la'qat/            "goat-sheep"**
xuikas    /tSuj'kas/          "eagle"
kuezi     /kwe'zi/            "deer"
uilar     /uj'lar/            "red panda"

*There are 2 words for snake.  sata is a general word for snake,
huaqac /hwa'qaS/ is a "fanged (ie non-constricting) snake"
**The wildlife of their world is Earth's, but tweaked.  Sometimes
considerably so, but all the main Earth taxonomic groups are represented.
The laqat is halfway between what we would consider a sheep and what we
would call a goat.  (and yes, I know the difference is minimal and many
languages don't have seperate words).

Dates are written as "1 Armadillo in the month of Rain", or "4 Bat in the
month of Fire".

I'll probably go ahead and work out some complex symbolism for each of the
animals, but that's a future project.

In counting years, they use a Great Year of 420 years, or 35 times through
the animal cycle of day names (which are also used in the Chinese manner of
year designations)  I'm still working on this part.

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