Time
A calendar had no place in traditional life long ago. For the people of the Puget Sound, the world itself was the calendar. An awareness of seasons and the passage of time came in response to what was happening in the natural world. The calendar, for lack of a better term, was in response to an interactive relationship of the plants and animals around us, as well as the tides and stars.
Each year was unique and would have been described in its own terms, not in standard units of time measurement. For each season, or period of time, descriptions of what was happening in the world, referenced what plants were flowering, bearing fruit or resting. Because of unique characteristics from one year to the next, some months may have more than one name.
The Lushootseed Calendar is closely related to the Lunar calendar, meaning there are 12 or 13 months in a year, and several time periods cover more than one Gregorian calendar month. In 2016, there were 13 new moons. This in 2017 there will be 12 new moons.
The days of the week, really came about after the introduction of Christianity. The days of the week are based and related to Sunday.
Lushootseed Calendar and events.
