JEIGIN OF THE CALENDAR. [e^'hnoI.ogy 



A vstatemeut by Crawfurd leads to the belief tbat there was also a 

 portion of the year considered sacred by the Javanese. It is as follows : 



For astrological purposes the thirty ivukus are divided iuto six periods, each of 

 which is considei-ed to be unpropitious to some portion of animal or vegetable nature. 

 The first is cousidcred iinpropitious to man, the second to quadrupeds, the third to 

 ti'ees, the fourth to birds, the lifth to seeds or vegetables, and the sixth to fishes. 

 Each of these divisions has been said to consist of thirty-five days or seven Javan- 

 ese weeks, which would make the ancient Javanese year a cycle of 210 days. I 

 rather suspect that it consisted of twice that number, or 420, and that the ivukus 

 expressed fortnights or half lunations. This interesting point would be determined 

 by investigations conducted in the island of Bali, where I have reason to believe 

 that this civil, or rather ritual year or period still obtains. '^ 



The second point in which the Hawaiian calendar resembles the 

 Mexican is the intercalation of live days — wliich were considered tabu 

 days — at the end of the last month to complete the year. The fact that 

 this was true in reference to the calendars of some of the peoples of the 

 Old World does not affect the bearing of this fact on the question 

 under discussion, as the Polynesians (at least the lighter-colored race; 

 and it is among them only that these more advanced calendars are 

 found) are admitted to have had their origin at some point in south- 

 eastern Asia; in other words, that they probably pertain to the Malay 

 race. Hence it is not impossible or even improbable that some Poly- 

 nesian customs may be traced back to the Old World. The same may 

 be said of the fact that each day of the month has its name, another 

 point in which the calendars of Hawaii and Mexico agree. It is true 

 that in the former the month consisted of thirty days, while in the lat- 

 ter it contained only twenty; but of this we shall speak farther on. 



This naming of the days was true of other Polynesian calendars, as 

 that of Society Islands, of Marquesas, Samoa, New Zealand, etc., also 

 of the old Javanese calendar. In some cases the days appear to have 

 had two names, one series being that of the deities supposed to preside 

 over them. This appears to have been true of the old Samoan, Kew 

 Zealand, and Javanese calendars, and Dr. Seler states that the same 

 was true of the Mexican calendar. The importance of this fact in this 

 connection is that Mr. Taylor gives us, in his "Te Ika a Maui,"t the 

 names of the thirty deities who x>reside over the days of the month, 

 together with the things over which they preside. In this list we lind 

 the pigeon (though the corresponding word in the Hawaiian language 

 signities the kite); also the shark, stone, dog, lizard, wind, dew, and 

 birds or bird in the general sense. Now it is a somewhat strange 

 coincidence that we find the following among the Mexican days : An 

 unknown sea monster which may be a shark, swordfish, or alligator 

 (the same uncertainty applies to the Maori day) ; wind; water; dog; 

 the eagle (in the corresponding Tzental and Quiche names '' bird in 

 general"); lizard, and flint. Is this coincidence merely accidental? If 

 it stood alone, it would be best to assume this to be the case, but when 



■ Op. cit., p. 295. t pp. 135-136. 



