3o8 xativp: star xamks. 



called Candlemas, ^lay-day. Lammas, and the gloomy burial 

 of the year with sunset rites on All Hallowe'en, so the Basuto 

 begin their lunar months with Phato about August, when the 

 ploug'hing time warned of l)v Achernar and Pleiades is really 

 come. 



It is said that though much doubt often arises about the 

 exact name of the current moon, they have no name for the 

 thirteenth moon, which occurs, of course, seven times in each 

 Metonic cycle of 19 years, that is to say. every two or three 

 years. I am told that they have something corresponding to 

 leap year, but they do not, 1 am told, even number the days 

 of the year (though some do the days of the month), hence 

 they could not face the problem of the incommensurateness of 

 the tropical year and solar day, which lies at the bottom of 

 leap year calculations, especially as they have not apparently 

 reached so simple an operation as intercalculating a thirteenth 

 month. 



The solstices, though not ruling the year, are noted. There 

 is a curious legend that the cows stand facing the house to 

 which the sun is moving, and where it remains for about a week 

 before he begins his journeys again towards the other house 

 or solstice. This, if true, would mean that the oxen turned 

 some 46 degrees after each solstice. No doubt they tend to 

 turn their backs to the cold wind of the south as they face the 

 east in their kraals of a winter morning w^aiting for the sun to 

 rise, and so appear to be looking tow^ards the N.W. or winter 

 solstice, but why they should face S.E. before the summer 

 solstice and then turn half a right angle I have, like Herodotus, 

 a certain sacred reason for not explaining. 



The planets Jupiter and A^enus at least are known; the former 

 is called Tosa, meaning" the shining knob by which the 

 night and day are tugged round by some unseen power, cf., 

 Zulu, donsa, to attract, and itonsi. a drop, spot or ])uttonj. 

 Another form of the Suto name is Alatosabosiu, the drawer up 

 of night (or day). Owing to Jupiter taking so much more time 

 on the aphelion side of the line of its nodes, it is naturally con- 

 nected in the native mind rather with dawn than sunset, hence 

 the idea that it draws up the dawn; cf., its name dawn's heart 

 in Bushman, and foot of dawn in Australia. Its other name 

 is Moliana, probably a diminutive from lieha to delay, showing 

 an observation of its retrograde and also its irregular planetary 

 movement. Tosa may also refer to this apparent jerking lever- 

 age, as it were, of this steering wheel of the universe, as seen 

 from the earth. 



I am told that Basuto do not realise the identitv of the morn- 

 ing and evening stars. It seems strange that they should not, 

 seeing that they are accustomed to see the fixed stars shift 

 from one side to the other of the sun. As a morning star she 

 is known as Mphatlalatsane. connected with phatlalla, to open 

 (of the broadening dawn) and probably phatla, forehead. In 

 the evening" she is called Sofalabehohe. or crust-scrapings. 

 The meaning" is said to be that those who arrive by the light of 

 her will have nothing" but the scrapings of the pot. Apparently 



