Lunisolar calendar
An unnamed lunisolar calendar was created in 2019 by jan Kala.[1] It is designed to be tied to specific and observable cycles, specifically the seasons and the phases of the moon. Notably, this calendar system discourages the use of fixed compounds, and users are encouraged to use whatever words they deem appropriate for describing the seasons and moon phases. (jan Kala used specific compounds in their original post, and for the purposes of this article the same compounds shall be used.)
The epoch is the new moon nearest to the spring equinox of 2001, the year Toki Pona was initially published. Each year begins on or near the spring equinox. There are twelve months in a year, alternating between 29 and 30 days long. In a four-season climate, these months may be called mun open pi tenpo kasi, mun awen pi tenpo kasi, mun pini pi tenpo kasi, mun open pi tenpo seli, mun awen pi tenpo seli, mun pini pi tenpo seli, mun open pi tenpo pan, mun awen pi tenpo pan, mun pini pi tenpo pan, mun open pi tenpo lete, mun awen pi tenpo lete, and mun pini pi tenpo lete. An intercalary month (mun namako), lasting 30 days, is added every second, fifth, and seventh year in an eight-year cycle.
Days of the month correspond to phases of the moon. Each month begins with a new moon (mun len), then progresses to the waxing crescent (mun lili kama), then the first quarter (mun kipisi open), then the waxing gibbous (mun suli kama), then the full moon (mun suli), then the waning gibbous (mun suli tawa), then the last quarter (mun kipisi pini), then the waning crescent (mun lili tawa). These create periods of 3–5 days, and if more precision is required, the days of each phase may be numbered (e.g. mun lili kama nanpa wan, mun lili kama nanpa tu…). Each day begins when the sun sets. The new moon, first quarter, full moon, and last quarter may be used to split the month up into weeks if so desired.
Alternate month names[edit | edit source]
soweli Kina proposed alternate month names independent of seasons, inspired by the history of the Earth.[2] These alternate month names are as follows:
- mun Wan
- mun Kon
- mun Seli
- mun Ma
- mun Telo
- mun Mama
- mun Kasi
- mun Pipi
- mun Kala
- mun Akesi
- mun Waso
- mun Soweli