Calenders!

From: Peter Metcalfe <P.Metcalfe_at_student.canterbury.ac.nz>
Date: Fri, 15 Dec 1995 16:10:22 +1300


Alex Ferguson:

>Anyone have any clever ideas about the cycle of the "Blue" moon, and
>any calendar-relics which might have been based on that? (I have a few,
>but am naturally cautious about Gregging.)

Sandy has stated that the current Blue Moon cycle is calculatable. I personally think that an accurate ephemeris was only made in the first century or two of the Lunar Empire. As for calender-relics based on the Blue Moon, Elder Secrets says the Blue Moon was more prominent in the Heavens during the Gods Age, not the most prominent. Moskalf/Dendara and Lokarnos were equally prominent planets according to the Perfect Sky.

>What calendar was in use in Dara Happa/Peloria before the Lunars?

I suspect that Alex is asking not the Plentonian dates of xx YS but the dating of the days and months themselves. The only hint I've seen is the dates of 9 reed etc in the Glorious Reascent which does suggest an Mesoamerican style calender. There is also mention that they adopted the Theyalan Sacred Time when Nysalor was alive. Beyond that, I suspect only Greg knows.

>(The Theyalan calaendar seems unDara Happan in the extreme. There isn't
>even a whole number of their "four-days" in a year. Anyone care for
>a four-season year of 300 days, starting at the winter solstice, with
>"leap months" to correct for true solar time?)

The four-day 'day' is a botchup. What the Dara Happans did was divide the solar day (ie from Sunrise to Sunset) into 100 time periods. Later on, the Dara Happans took to using the 25 hour day which contain an unequal amount of time periods (as there's 15 hours of day followed by ten hours of night). This is what Greg said the last time I spoke to him. Greg appears to have used 'hours' for the original day hundreth time period thus causing the apparent absurdity in the G:CotHW.

I suspect the Dara Happan Calender is based on Sideral Time (ie the rotation of the heavens). Since the Sun does not keep pace with this sideral year, the Starseers intercalcate days (ie 1st Day of the Disruptor) to make the Sun rise on in a constellation on a specific calender date.

>Which is the first Season of the Kralori year? Is it a "solar" year,
>or an "agricultural" one?

I think the Kralori peasants use a different agricultural calender which is independant from the offical one. Given the Official Kralori lack of attention to Weekday names, it could be that their definition of the week is fluid and really only changes when the Mystics feel sufficient chi'i has accumulated for the week (ie a good week may only take five days whereas a lean week may drag out for nine. Thus the Kralori Official Calender may not keep length or pace with the solar year.

End of Glorantha Digest V2 #281


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