Heritage is anything we have that comes from a previous generation. One aspect of our heritage is our knowledge about, and isiXhosa names for, the various months of the year.
Heritage is anything we have that comes from a previous generation. One aspect of our heritage is our knowledge about, and isiXhosa names for, the various months of the year.
The first month of the year is January, eyoMqungu. That is the name of the long grass which is used for thatching.
The next one is February, eyoMdumba. This is the time when that seed is seen.
Then we have March, eyoKwindla. That was an important time, a time for harvesting.
We have April, uTshazimpunzi. It is at that time that pumpkins wilt and some trees lose their leaves.
The next one is May, uCanzibe. This month gets its name from Saturn, a big planet that appears in the night sky at this time.
We have June, iSilimela. It is named after the constellation, Pleides, that appears at this time. In Xhosa tradition that is when the year begins and that is why that month was used to calculate one's age.
We have July, eyeThupha. This is when some trees show buds. Next we have August, eyeKhala (the aloe). That plant blooms at this time.
After that we have September, eyoMsintsi, the coral tree, which blooms then.
There is October, eyeDwarha (a medicinal plant for wounds and sores especially for the sore backs of horses). That tree is in flower during October.
November is eyeNkanga (ragwort), a small plant which has yellow flowers for a short time during November.
The last month is December, eyoMnga (mimosa tree), which has small yellow flowers during this month.
This is a bit of the indigenous knowledge that is disappearing. Now we look at ikhala (the aloe). This plant flowers in August. There are many types of aloes. They have green leaves which are full of juice. Some say this plant is ingcelwane.
There is the small aloe (aloe temior or ikhalana). In the past the juice of the aloe was used to cure wounds. The aloe has recently attracted much attention because it was seen that it can produce perfumes, drinks, hair ointments and ointments for wounds.
