Istuunka | Somaliwave
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Istuunka

MasterKeaton

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Wadani
🪵 Tertius
𝚂𝚌𝚑𝚘𝚕𝚊𝚛 ♖
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Happy Enkutatash/ Ethiopian new Year 2012 😃
Nah I’m kidding, but this is most interesting and reminded me of something @Pirate once posted about us once having our very own Solar calendar with our new year being called Dabshid or Istunka which is celebrated by holding a martial arts tournament, this tradition dates to the Ajuuran era and is still held up to this day in Xamar and Afgooye







How the Somali Solar calendar was determined
By the Somali standard method of calculation, the year has two divisions. The first half of the year is called Bilo Dabshid (Months of Dabshid). In this division, the length of the months is calculated by counting the days from Dabshid, the New Year. The second half is called Bilo Dirir (months of Dirir). Dirir is a star that is identified with Spica, in the European astronomy, which is used by both the two Somali calendars to interconnect some of their operations in a particular conjunction. As a result, the conjunction is astrologically calculable and observable by the lulation or average time for one lunar phase cycle. The occurrence of the star rising with a particular moon phase is also called Dirir. Thus, Dirir is a monthly conjunction in which the lunar phase changes but its position in the sky is held constant.

The dates of Dirir in solar months are of not much concern because almost everything is held constant. The Dirir months in the lunar system naturally shift, but a Dirir date in a given month is one of three particular days, depending on the length of the month, 29 or 30 days, so it is almost held constant. For this reason, the first Dirir, Lixkor, falls on the 21st, 20th, or 19th of the lunar month, forcing each Dirir to occur two days later than the preceding one in the next month. For example, suppose that Lixkor falls on the 20th of seventh lunar month, Rajab; the next Dirir, Toddob, will take place on the 18th of the following month, Sha’baan; while the sixth Dirir, Samuulaad, will fall on the 10th of twelfth month, Dul-Hijjah.

The event standardizes the beginning and the length of the solar month as well as designates the rainfall periods in the second half of the year. Right after the conjunction, there is usually rain or at least a sign of rain, depending on the fasal or season. Further, this lunisolar interconnection permits a layman to observe the Dirir in night. Since the lunar year is approximately ten days shorter than the solar year, the lunar year annually begins about ten days earlier than the last year’s correspondence date. For this reason, the beginning of the lunar year and other important dates can also be estimated by ordinary observers. This gives them another way of calculating the correspondences between the two systems. Although Dirir lasts for six months, a nominal Dirir, Dirir-Sagaar, is recognized to satisfy the rule of ‘seven’. Dirir-Sagaar occurs prior to the eve of Dabshid, which shows its lack of Dirir requirements. Some say that it is not Dirir, but part of Samuulad.
 
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