Yoruba calendar
The Yoruba calendar is a calendar used by the Yoruba people of southwestern and north central Nigeria and southern Benin. The calendar has a year beginning on the last moon of May or first moon of June of the Gregorian calendar. The new year coincides with the Ifá festival
The traditional Yoruba week has four days. The four days that are dedicated to the Orisa go as follow:
- Day 1 is dedicated to Obatala
- Day 2 is dedicated to Orunmila *
- Day 3 is dedicated to Ogun
- Day 4 is dedicated to Sango
The seven days are: Ọjọ́-Aiku, Ọjọ́-Aje, O̩jọ́-Iṣẹgun, Ojo-Irú, Ọjọ́-Bo̩, Ọjọ́-E̩tì and O̩jọ́-Àbamé̩ta.
Time is measured in iseju aaya, iṣeju, wakati, ọjọ́, o̩sẹ̀, oṣu and o̩dun. There are 60 iseju aaya in 1 iseju ; 60 iṣẹju in 1 wakati; 24 wakati in 1 ọjọ́; 7 ọjọ́ in 1 ọsẹ̀; 4 ọsẹ̀ in 1 oṣu and 52 ọsẹ̀ in 1 o̩dun. There are 12 oṣu in 1 ọdun.
Calendar examples
“KỌ́JỌ́DÁ” - 'Ki ọjó̩ dá: may the day be clear, calendar'.| KṒJṒDÁ 10057/ CALENDAR 2014-2015 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| ÒKÙDÚ 10053 / June 2011 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| ȮSĖ | 91st | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th |
| O̩jó̩-Ṡàngó /Jakuta | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | |
| O̩jọ́-Ȯrùnmílá /Ìfá / Awo | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | |
| Ọ́jọ́-Ògún | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | |
| Ọjọ́-O̩bàtálá | 1 | 29 | 30 |
The traditional Yoruba calendar has a 4-day week and 91 weeks in a year.
The Yoruba year spans from 3 June of a Gregorian calendar year to 2 June of the following year.
According to the calendar developed by Remi-Niyi Alaran, the Gregorian year AD is the year of Yoruba records of time. With the British colonial and European cultural invasions, came the need to reconcile with the Gregorian calendar: Yoruba people also measure time in seven days a week and 52 weeks a year.
| KỌ́JỌ́DÁ 10053 / Calendar 2011–2012 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| ÒKÙDÚ 10053 / June 2011 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| O̩SẸ̀ | Week | 22nd | 23rd | 24th | 25th | 26th |
| o̩jọ́-Àíkú | Sunday | 5 | 12 | 19 | 26 | |
| o̩jọ́-Ajé | Monday | 6 | 13 | 20 | 27 | |
| o̩jọ́-Ìṣẹ́gun | Tuesday | 7 | 14 | 21 | 28 | |
| o̩jọ́-Rírú | Wednesday | 1 | 8 | 15 | 22 | 29 |
| o̩jọ́-Bo̩ | Thursday | 2 | 9 | 16 | 23 | 30 |
| o̩jọ́-E̩tì | Friday | 3 | 10 | 17 | 24 | |
| o̩jọ́-Àbámẹ́ta | Saturday | 4 | 11 | 18 | 25 |
Calendar terminologies
| Oṡu in Yoruba calendar | Months in Gregorian calendar |
| ÒKÙDÚ | June |
| AGḖMṐ | July |
| ÒGÚN | August |
| OWḖWḖ | September |
| ṐWAWA | October |
| BḔLU | November |
| ṐPḖ | December |
| ṠḔRḔ | January |
| ÈRÉLE | February |
| ḔRḔNA | March |
| IGBE | April |
| ḔBÍBÍ | May |
The year in festivals
Note: since there are thirteen months in the Youruba calendar, the relation between the Gregorian and Yoruban months is approximate only.Ajȯdun Yoruba
Sere/ January
Erele / February
= Oríṣà of Okún, the deep seas or oceans, patron of sailors, and guardian of souls lost at sea.Erele/Feb 21-25
Erénà / March
Annual rites of passage for menÈrèna/March 12 – 28
Oduduwa / Iyaagbe = Oríṣà of Earth and matron of the Ayé. Oduduwa endows the ebony dark skin pigment that accords greatest gifts of spirituality, beauty and intellect to the bearer. The essence of procreative love.
Èrèna/March 15 – 19
Oshosi = Oríṣà of Adventure and the hunt
Èrèna/March 21 – 24:
Igbe / April
Onset of wet seasonÈbìbí / May
Egungun (Commemoration of the Ancestors, including community founders and illustrious dead.Èbíbí: starts last Saturday of May, for 7 days
Okudu / June
- June 3: Onset of the Yoruba New Year. Ọrúnmilà / Ifá = Oríṣà of Divination and founder of the Ifá sciences, whose divination is with 16 palm nuts. Mass gathering of the yoruba
- Shopona and Osanyin
- Okudu 10 - 23: Annual rites of passage for women
- Okudu 18 - 21: Yemoja = matriarch of the Òrún-Rere). Oduduwa gave birth to a boy Aganju and Yemoja from marriage to Ọbàtala. Yemoja in turn birthed many other Oríṣà.
Agẹmo / July
Oko Harvesting of the new Yam crop.
Ẹlégba-Bara / Eṣu = Oríṣà of male essence and Power, who is the great Communicator and messenger of the will of Olódùmarè. No woman should bara a man who has not done Ikola in sacrifice to Ẹlégba.
Agẹmo second weekend of July
Ṣàngo. The Oríṣà of Energy – Ara and Manamana, make fire whose divination is with 16 cowries and whose messenger and water-bearer is Oshumare.
Agẹmo: third week of July
Ogun / August
Oṣun-OṣogboOṣun = Oríṣà of Fertility and custodian of the female essence. who guides pregnancies to term.
Ogun: last weekend of August
Ogun = Oríṣà of the metal and war crafts, and engineering. The custodian of truth and executioner of justice, as such patron of the legal and counselling professions who must swear to uphold truth while biting on a piece of metal.
Òwéré / September
It is the month in which festivals are being celebrated and a month of blessing. It celebrates how Yoruba is a rich culture.Ọwara / October
whose messenger is Afefe, and guardian of gateway between the physical realm and the spiritual realm.Ọwaro
Ọwaro third weekend of October
Onset of the dry season
Shigidi (Orísà of Òrún-Apadi, the realm of the unsettled spirits and the ghosts of the dead that have left Aye and are forsaken of Òrún-Rere. Custodian of nightmares and patron of assassins.
Solemn candlelight to guide the unsettled away from your residence, else they settle in your dolls or other toys.
Bèlu / November
Òpé / December
Obaluaye and owo.Òpé 15
Onset of the second dry season