Javanese calendar

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The Javanese calendar was created by Sultan Agung of Mataram in the 1600's C.E. to give Javanese their own calendar that ties in with the Islamic calendar and breaks with the earlier Hindu calendar system used in Java. It officially replaced the earlier use of Saka years in 1633.^[1] Years given in the Javanese calendar are sometimes called in English Anno Javanico.

Being tied into the sequence of the lunar calendar used in Islam, it floats against the Gregorian calendar. The calendar includes a number of interrelated cycles, including a pasaran cycle of five days, the familiar seven day week, mangsa and wulan monthlong cycles, tahun cycles of years, and cycles of years in windu. The various cycles included within the calendar create a labyrinth of days and combinations that in turn have numerical and mystical meanings to the Javanese.

Contents 1 Cycles of days 1.1 Pasaran cycle 1.2 Seven-day week 1.3 Wetonan cycle 2 Pawukon 3 Pranata Mangsa 4 Saka calendar 5 Dino Mulyo 6 See also 7 References 8 Further reading 9 External links

[edit] Cycles of days

[edit] Pasaran cycle

The pasaran cycle dates from when villages converged to a marketplace (pasar) every five days to buy and sell wares. Itinerant merchants would go to a different village each day of this cycle. The days of the cycle were named (ngoko, with krama in parentheses, see Javanese language):

1. Legi (manis)
2. Pahing (pait)
3. Pon (petak)
4. Wagé (cemeng)
5. Kliwon (asih)

Markets are now operational every day, but many Javanese believe that the pasaran cycle grants certain characteristics to people born under it. In some cities, traces of this system are visible in the names of market districts; for example in Surakarta, there is Pasar Legi, Pasar Pon, and Pasar Kliwon, which had markets on the given days. It also forms part of the wetonan cycle, described below.

[edit] Seven-day week

The Javanese use the seven-day week (dina pitu, "seven days") derived from the Islamic calendar in ordinary use. The names of the days of the week in Javanese, derived from their Arabic counterparts, are:

Days of 7-Day Week

Javanese	Arabic	English
Senin	yaum al-ithnayn يوم الإثنين	Monday
Selasa	yaum ath-thalatha' يوم الثُّلَاثاء	Tuesday
Rebo	yaum al-arba`a' يوم الأَرْبعاء	Wednesday
Kemis	yaum al-khamis يوم الخَمِيس	Thursday
Jumat	yaum al-jum`a يوم الجُمْعَة	Friday
Setu	yaum as-sabt يوم السَّبْت	Saturday
Minggu/Ahad	yaum al-ahad يوم الأحد	Sunday

[edit] Wetonan cycle

The wetonan cycle superimposes the five-day pasaran cycle with the seven-day week. This cycle lasts 35 days, and are named using the week day name and the pasaran day name. In English, either the Javanese or the English names of the week can be used. This gives:

The repetitions of this cycle are regarded similar to months, but do not have fixed starting and ending points, and are not named. A specific day in the cycle is termed a weton. This cycle is frequently encountered in divinatory systems, and important events are held on propitious days. One example is the proclamation of the Republic of Indonesia on August 17, 1945, a Friday legi (Jumat legi), just as the birth and death day of Sultan Agung, one of the most famous kings in Javanese history.^[2]

[edit] Pawukon

The pawukon is a 210-day cycle that is related to Hindu tradition. It is most associated with Bali but is also used in Java for special purposes.

[edit] Pranata Mangsa

The 365-day year is divided into twelve periods (mangsa) of unequal length. Its origin lies in agriculture, but it is now principally of divinatory use. The names of the months are simply the ordinal numbers from 1 to 12.

Pranata mangsa

Starting day	Name	Number of Days	Description
Jun 23	Mangsa Kaso	41	The dry season; leaves are falling from the trees; the ground is withered and arid, bereft of water "like a jewel that has come free of its setting."
Aug 3	Mangsa Karo	23	The dry season; parched earth lies in hard clumps; the mango and cotton trees begin to bloom.
Aug 26	Mangsa Katelu	24	The dry season; spice roots are harvested; the gadung tree begins to bear fruit.
Sep 19	Mangsa Kapat	25	Rain begins to fall, as "tears well up in the soul", marking the end of the dry season; birds are singing and busily constructing nests. The Labuh Season is at hand.
Oct 14	Mangsa Kalima	27	The rainy season, sometimes with fierce winds and flooding; mangoes are ripe; snakes are driven from their nests; "a fountain of gold falls across the earth".
Nov 11	Mangsa Kanem	43	The rainy season; lightning strikes and there are landslides; but it is also the season of many fruit.
Dec 23	Mangsa Kapitu	43	The rainy season is at its peak; birds are hard pressed to find food, and in many areas there is severe flooding.
Feb 4/5	Mangsa Kawolu	27	The rainy season; rice fields are growing and the cat is looking for his mate; grubs and larvae abound.
Mar 2	Mangsa Kasanga	25	The rainy season; rice fields are turning yellow; "happy news is spreading"; water is stored within the earth, the wind blows in one direction, and many fruits are ripe.
Mar 27	Mangsa Kasadasa	24	Rain yet falls, but is diminishing; the wind rustles and blows hard; the air is still chilly. The Mareng Season is at hand.
Apr 20	Mangsa Desta	23	The dry season has begun; farmers are harvesting the rice fields; birds tend their young with affection, as if they were "jewels of the heart".
May 13	Mangsa Saddha	41	The dry season; water begins to recede, "vanishing from its many places".

Source: From Misteri Pranata Mangsa by Ki Hudoyo Doyodipuro. Semarang: Dahara Prize (1995), cited on http://xentana.com/java/calendar.htm.

[edit] Saka calendar

Another system for grouping years and days of a year derives from the Saka calendar, and is based on the lunar cycle. The longest groupings are the windu, which is 81 repetitions of the wetonan cycle, or 2,835 days (about 8 years) in length. Windu are no longer used much in divination, but people frequently celebrate the passing of a windu (in personal age, etc.). There is a cycle of four windu:

1. Windu Adi
2. Windu Kunthara
3. Windu Sengara
4. Windu Sancaya

Each windu is divided into 8 tahun ("years," although of shorter length than Gregorian years), named as follows (in krama/ngoko, see Javanese language):

1. Purwana/Alip (354 days)
2. Karyana/Ehé (354 days)
3. Anama/Jemawal (355 days)
4. Lalana/Jé (354 days)
5. Ngawanga/Dal (355 days)
6. Pawaka/Bé (354 days)
7. Wasana/Wawu (354 days)
8. Swasana/Jimakir (355 days)

Within each tahun are twelve wulan ("months", of 29 or 30 days each). This is similar to the use of months in the Islamic calendar.

1. Warana/Sura (30 days)
2. Wadana/Sapar (29 days)
3. Wijanga/Mulud (30 days)
4. Wiyana/Bakda Mulud (29 days)
5. Widada/Jumadil Awal (30 days)
6. Widarpa/Jumadil Akhir (29 days)
7. Wilarpa/Rejeb (30 days)
8. Wahana/Ruwah (29 days)
9. Wanana/Pasa (30 days)
10. Wurana/Sawal (29 days)
11. Wujana/Sela (30 days)
12. Wujala/Besar (29 or 30 days, depending on the length of the tahun)

[edit] Dino Mulyo

Dino Mulyo (literally "noble days") are celebrated by worshiping Gusti, the creator of life and the universe. There are five noble days preserved:

• Satu Suro, the first of Sura, the New Year
• Aboge (from A - alip (first year), Bo - rebo (Wednesday), and Ge - Wage of the pasaran), celebrated on Wednesday Wage in the year of alip
• Daltugi (from Dal - Dal (fifth year), tu - setu (Saturday), and Gi - Legi of the pasaran), celebrated on Saturday Legi in the year of Dal
• Hanggara Asih (Tuesday Kliwon)
• Dino Purnomo: Jemuah Legi/Sukra Manis (Friday Legi)

[edit] See also

• Islamic calendar

[edit] References

[edit] Further reading

• Pigeaud, Th., 1938, Javaans-Nederlands Woordenboek. Groningen-Batavia: J.B. Wolters
• Ricklefs, M.C., 1978, Modern Javanese historical tradition: a study of an original Kartasura chronicle and related materials. London: School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London

[edit] External links

• Xentana page
• Joglosemar page
• Weton calculator
• (Indonesian) Babad Bali page