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Loa Luni-Ecdysial Calendar: Difference between revisions
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There lie beliefs that the alignment of certain days of the lunar calendar, such as new moons and full moons, with certain days of the ecdysial calendar produce days of bad luck. If a new moon falls on the first day of any ecdysial month, it is considered bad luck, and the inverse is true for full moons. As such, Loa often seek good luck charms in advance for these days, or even perform divination to determine how bad their luck will be on the associated day. Conversely, for full moon days there are often important events arranged on these days, such as the groundbreaking for a new building, the naming of children and opening of businesses. Women will even try to not give birth if a lucky day is very close by, though this practice is condemned by medical professionals as dangerous and unnecessary. | There lie beliefs that the alignment of certain days of the lunar calendar, such as new moons and full moons, with certain days of the ecdysial calendar produce days of bad luck. If a new moon falls on the first day of any ecdysial month, it is considered bad luck, and the inverse is true for full moons. As such, Loa often seek good luck charms in advance for these days, or even perform divination to determine how bad their luck will be on the associated day. Conversely, for full moon days there are often important events arranged on these days, such as the groundbreaking for a new building, the naming of children and opening of businesses. Women will even try to not give birth if a lucky day is very close by, though this practice is condemned by medical professionals as dangerous and unnecessary. | ||
A common hobby in Takatta Loa is the construction of silken calendars, in a play on the name. Generally, these calendars are made from indigenous Loa silk with no dye to preserve the natural golden hue of the silk. Instead, dyed red silk threads are embroidered onto circular cuts of silk in a stylized representation of the Silk Calendar's structure. They also often include schedules and important dates of the family, such as the days that they visit a forest preserve, the days they clean ancestral bones, the days they go to visit family other parts of the country, etc. These home calendars are a traditional aspect of Loa handicraft and have become very popular in recent years as a craft trend, with [[PagéPage]] reporting significant increases in the sales of custom-made calendars, bolts of silk and embroidery supplies. | |||
==Holidays== | ==Holidays== | ||
There are approximately 18 holidays associated with the luni-ecdysial calendar, 12 of these being lunar holidays. The other six are ecdysial holidays, with two of them being secular and four being religious. The Islamic lunar calendar does not correspond with the lunar aspect of the calendar and so Loa Muslims follow both the Islamic calendar and the Silk Calendar. | |||
===Lunar Holidays=== | |||
There are twelve lunar holidays celebrating the full moon, which also marks the end and beginning of the month. These are considered auspicious days, and the extended family gathers for a traditional dinner consisting of sweet rice soup and candied taro. These holidays are also associated with significant religious celebrations, with temples holding all night sermons and scripture readings and entomantic adyta hosting mass blessings for villages and crowds. These events are also often festivals, with many people dressing in fancy and traditional clothes and hosting ceremonial dances. The one exception is the month or months that correspond to the Loa New Year's, which is considered its own, far larger holiday. The reasoning for these events is that the moon is at its full majesty and power, and so religious rites have an added significance due to the fact that the will of the moon and the divine law is most easily accessible by mortal beings. As such, the Loa often take the opportunity to celebrate their faith to pay respects to the moon and its divinity. | |||
The Lunar New Year's is a similar holiday, but is far more associated with silk moths then with the moon. It is the full moon that is closest to June, when the traditional start of the silkworm season. This consists of harvests of mulberry leaves by families who then deliver them to sericulture farms. The farms then traditionally reward the family with two bolts of silk, which are then delivered to a temple, with one being exchanged for a blessing. However, in modern times this has become impractical, and so sericulture farms instead mark a family's name down and ask the temple to perform a blessing for the family when they deliver silk to the temples. Additionally, businesses offer sales on various silk and mulberry related products. The sericulture farms tend to offer a discount on bolts of silk, which are used to make small handicrafts or are woven into existing garments to add a golden silk sheen, and bakeries offer mulberry pastries. Families also gather to eat a dish of rice and fish, steamed in mulberry leaves. | |||
===Ecdysial New Year's=== | |||
The ecdysial new year's is a far larger holiday, taking place over a 15 day long week. It consists of a series of rites, festivals and household gatherings specifically timed out over the week. The holiday is officially announced at midnight on what is the eighth of November in the Gregorian Calendar by the temples sounding out on metal conch horns 15 times. This continues for each night, with the soundings decreasing as the days wear on. CONTINUE LATER, DON'T HAVE MENTAL ENERGY TO ADEQUATELY FINISH THIS | |||
===Aiasin-sekkin=== | |||
Ancestor worship day. January 12th | |||
===Huehuekaso-sekkin=== | |||
Holiday celebrating the birth of the Kiravian mystic. | |||
===Akaru'a-sekkin=== | |||
Holiday celebrating scripture, the boring holiday | |||
===Toua-sekkin== | |||
Holiday celebrating the birth of the Second Incarnate | |||
[[Category:Takatta Loa]] | [[Category:Takatta Loa]] | ||