Rest Days; A Sociological Study 59 



connection with the moon, the Mexican months being purely 

 artificial divisions of the solar year.*'^ 



The Roman nundinal period, an eight-day week, closed (or 

 began) with a market day not unlike the Peruvian and Mexican 

 institutions. The country folk, having labored for seven days 

 in the fields, came to the towns on the eighth day. This was 

 called nundinae, the ninth (the eighth day by the ordinary in- 

 clusive reckoning being counted as the ninth), and was employed 

 as a market day when peasants and townsmen exchanged their 

 products. The nundinae, however, was more than a market-day : 

 at this time ordinary occupations were interrupted ; school-chil- 

 dren enjoyed a holiday; and banquets of more than the usual 

 sumptuousness celebrated the festive occasion. 



The origin and early development of the nundinae are veiled 

 in obscurity. In the classical age it was even disputed whether 

 the nundinal day began or ended a week; clearly, however, it 

 marked the separation of the weeks. The institution enjoyed a 

 high antiquity,'*^ tradition ascribing it now to the Etruscans, now 

 to Romulus or to Servius Tullius. In historic times the nundinae 

 present themselves as the rest-days and market-days of a labori- 

 ous agricultural people ; it may, indeed, be questioned whether 

 they were ever anything else. Yet even classical writers were 

 imcertain whether the nundinae were properly included among 

 the ferial days, that is, among the days that belonged to the gods 

 and not to men {supra). In Varro's time the pontiffs held 

 that they were not fcriatae, but many writers, cited by Macro- 

 bius,'^ maintained the contrary belief. Though not public 

 festivals the state so far recognized the nundinae by dedicating 



1880, pp. Ixxiii, 290 sq.). Father Sahagun speaks of these quintaincs as so- 

 called " weeks." See also Payne, History of the Nezv World Called 

 America, Oxford, 1899, ii- 359- 



** However, the Mexicans are known to have once held a market at the 

 end of each thirteen-day period, the latter being apparently regarded as a 

 division of the lunar month (infra). 



'"Dionysius Halicarn. Antiquit. Roman., ii. 28. 



''^Saturnalia, i. 16, 30. 



59 



