Grammar fact sheet:
year, months and seasons |
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Topics
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Year
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Months
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Seasons
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Year
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The Zarma society is mainly a Islamic society.
Therefore the months (handu)
are linked to the lunar
Islamic calendar. A year (jiri)
is about 10 days (hane or jirbi)
shorter using the Islamic lunar calendar than
when using the solar calendar. And so the various
feast days shift backwards that many days each
year. There are different words in Zarma to
express last year, next year, et cetera.
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Expressions with year
Zarma |
English |
jiri |
year [for counting years] |
yesi |
next year |
yesi fo |
year after next |
jiri wo, haraŋ |
this year |
mannaŋ |
last year |
mannaŋ fo |
another last year, usually two
years |
mannaŋ fo
wongo |
3
years ago |
mannaŋ fo a
jiri iddu haraŋ |
a
previous year, it 's 6 years ago
this year |
Kaa Yesi ! |
May next year come ! |
Irikoy m´iri cabe yesi ! |
May God show us next year ! |
Irikoy m´iri cabe yesi nda baani
! |
May God show us next year in
health ! |
Irikoy m´iri cabe yesi
mansaŋcine ! |
May God show us next year as of now
! |
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Months (25)
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The Zarma names of the months (handu) are
linked to the
Islamic lunar calendar. However many Zarma
don't know the names of the month of this
calendar, especially the first six. Everyone
knows the fast month (me haw), and the
month of the sacrifice (cimsi), but
probably not one in ten could recite to you the
whole twelve. Most how now are older people (dottijey).
A lunar month begins with the first day the new
moon is visible. This is not at what we call
"new moon".
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Lunar and Islamic calendar
Lunar / Islamic |
Zarma |
Literal
translation |
Alternative |
1st
/ 5th |
dadab beri |
big grope around |
dadabu beeri |
2nd
/ 6th |
dadab kayna |
small grope
around |
dadabu kayna |
3rd
/ 7th |
gani |
dance |
gaani |
4th
/ 8th |
gani banda |
after dance |
gaani banda |
5th / 9th |
bine kuna |
inside the heart |
binkuna |
6th
/ 10th |
bambana |
- |
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7th
/ 11th |
way zeno me
haw |
old woman mouth
tie up |
way zeeno |
8th
/ 12th |
ce konno |
warm foot |
ce wasso (D) |
9th
/ 1st |
me haw |
mouth tie up
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10th
/ 2nd |
me feri |
mouth untie |
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11th
/ 3rd |
fulanzam |
to rest |
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12th
/ 4th |
cimsi |
not truth (Tabaski) |
cibsi |
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In daily life often the
Roman calendar is used as well. The names
are derived from the French pronunciation of the
name of the month.
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Roman calendar
number |
English |
French |
Zarma 1 |
1 |
January |
janvier |
janeru |
2 |
February |
févier |
faberu |
3 |
March |
mars |
marsu |
4 |
April |
avril |
afrillu |
5 |
May |
mai |
mayu |
6 |
June |
juin |
yuni |
7 |
July |
juillet |
yuli |
8 |
August |
août |
agusta |
9 |
September |
septembre |
satumba |
10 |
October |
octobre |
oktoba |
11 |
November |
novembre |
nuwamba |
12 |
December |
décembre |
disamba |
1 information
provided by Hadji Somaco Pastor (Antwerp,
Belgium)
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There are different ways in Zarma to express
last month, next month, et cetera.
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Expressions with month
Zarma |
English |
handu |
month (also: moon) |
handu wo |
this month |
handu kan bu |
last month |
handu teji |
next month; next moon |
handu bene |
month after next |
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Seasons
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The seasons in land locked
semi arid Niger are determined by occurrence
or absence of rain and the temperature.
There are no fixed dates for the beginning
or the end of a season. Seasons are unequal
of length among themselves, and their
individual length may vary from one year to
another. For example, the rainy season may
start as early as April or as late as July,
depending on when the rains actually start.
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Seasons
Zarma |
Type of season |
Normal period |
Activities |
hayni, hayno |
hot and dry |
March - May |
preparation of fields |
kaydiya |
warm and rainy |
June - September |
farming season |
hemar, hemaro |
warm and dry |
October |
harvest season |
jaw, jawo
(hargu, hargo) |
cold and dry |
November - February |
non-farming activities |
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Information about the climate in
western Niger in cities along the river
Gaya (west, south)
Niamey (west, central)
Tillabéri (west, north)
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Last updated:
05 februari 2012
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