Dakota Moon Counting Tradition, A Poster

Above, a screen capture of the Dakhóta moons throughout the year.

Haŋwíyawapi Wičhóh'aŋ Kiŋ
Dakhóta Moon Counting Tradition

Bismarck, N.D. (The First Scout) (Updated) - The Isáŋyathi, Dakhóta-speaking people east of the Red River of the north, east of the Big Sioux River, follow a twelve-month calendar. 

Their calendar system is much like that the moon counting tradition of the Thítȟuŋwaŋ, the Lakȟóta-speaking people west of the Missouri River. There are sometimes more than one name for the month, but each month reflected a deep relationship with that the people have with the environment. This informs us, that there was a long occupation and a record of observation for the people to survive and adapt to the landscape. 

Feedback from Spirit Lake informs us that the Dakhóta did, in fact, employ a thirteen-month traditional calendar. The twelve-month calendar indicates assimilation. Philámayaye Lekší. 

The historic Očhéthi Šakówiŋ held a world-view perspective that was south-oriented. Taking this into account, then the rotation of the moon and the rotation of the earth around the sun would give us a moon calendar layout that looks like the poster above with the cycle of the moons and the phases of the moons "read" in a counter-clockwise manner.

Of course, the Očhéthi Šakówiŋa would never have laid out images like this, rather, they kept track of the moons with counting sticks.

Get your copy of this 36"x48" poster of the Dakhóta Moon Counting Tradition for FREE. Share this with others and your classroom today. 

Moon Counting Tradition, A Poster

Pictured above is a screen capture of a poster with information about the Moon Counting Tradition. 

Haŋwíyawapi Wičhóȟ'aŋ Kiŋ

The Moon Counting Tradition

Dakota Wind, Editor

Bismarck, N.D. (The First Scout) - Winter Count Keepers kept track of time by following natural changes in the environment and naming the moon in which that moon became associated. 

Months were moons, and thirteen moons represented a winter. The Očhéthi Šakówiŋ (the Seven Council Fires; the "Great Sioux Nation") called a cycle of thirteen moons a winter because winter was the longest season on the Northern Plains. 

A moon could have many names. The Wolf Moon one year may be called the Moon of Popping Trees the next. The Yellow Leaf Moon among the Lakȟóta might also be called the Brown Leaf Moon; this same moon among the Dakhóta would be called the Moon When Rise is Laid Up to Dry. 

The historic Lakȟóta held a world-view perspective that was south-oriented. Taking this into account, then the rotation of the moon and the rotation of the earth around the sun would give us a moon calendar layout that looks like the poster above with the cycle of the moons and the phases of the moons "read" in a counter-clockwise manner. 

Of course, the traditional Lakȟóta would never have laid out images like this, rather, the winter count keeper kept track of the moons with counting sticks. 

This poster measures at 3' x 4' and is available for FREE, click here. Share this poster with others and your classroom today. 

Months of the Lakota Year as told to Rev Peter Rosen

Months of The Lakota Year
As Told to Rev. Peter Rosen
Edited by Dakota Wind
Rev. Peter Rosen was a Catholic missionary for seven years in the Black Hills beginning with his first placement at St. Andrew’s Parrish in Deadwood, Dakota Territory, 1882. Rosen collected any writing he could to acquaint himself with the Black Hills. He collected newspapers, books, copies of government records, church records including the manuscripts of Fr. Pierre DeSmet, and oral stories on his many various trips in and around the ‘Hills.

In 1895, Rosen published Pa-ha-sa-pah, or, The Black Hills of South Dakota: A Complete History. It was a series of six books published as one volume, with the first three focusing on the indigenous occupation of the Black Hills, their mythologies, and long associations with the ‘Hills.

Amongst Rosen’s work is a collection of Lakȟóta names for the twelve months of the year. The Lakȟóta employ a thirteen-month lunar calendar, not a twelve-month astrological one. Rosen recording offers readers a glimpse of both Lakȟóta and Dakhóta names for the times of year, with a few variant names. These month names have been re-written using the Standard Lakota Orthography which was developed by the Lakota Language Consortium; some of these month names appear in the LLC’s New Lakota Dictionary.

January

Theȟí Wí (Difficult Moon)

February

Wičhítegleǧa Wí (Racoon Moon)

March

Ištáwičhayazaŋ Wí (Sore Eye Moon)

April

Maǧáokada Wí (Moon When Geese Lay Their Eggs)
Watópȟapi Wí (Moon When They Paddle Their Canoes)

May

Wóžupi Wí (The Planting Moon)

June

Wažúštečaša Wí (Ripe Strawberry Moon)

July

Čhaŋpȟásapa Wí (Ripe Chokecherry Moon)
Wašúŋpȟa Wí (When The Geese Shed Their Feathers Moon)

August

Wasútȟuŋ Wí (Moon When Things Ripen)

September

Psiŋ’hnáketu Wí (Moon When They Lay Up Rice [To Dry])

October

Wážupi Wí (Drying Rice Moon)

November

Thakíyuȟa Wí (Deer Rutting Moon)

December

Tȟahékapšuŋ Wí (Moon When Deer Shed Their Horns)

2018 Lakota Calendar

Bunting's "Moonstick" book showcases the counting stick tradition of the Lakȟóta. Sanford provides some wonderful illustrations for each moon. 

Haŋwí Wówapi Kiŋ Lakȟól Wičhóȟ’aŋ
A Traditional Lakota Calendar

By Dakota Wind

Bismarck, ND (TFS) - The New Year begins in spring when life returns, and lasts from spring to spring. A year is called Waníyetu (A Winter), because winter is the longest season on Makȟóčhe Wašté (“The Beautiful Country;” the Great Plains, and North America by extension). The new month begins with the new moon. A month is called Wí. Luminaries such as the sun or the moon are also called Wí. To differentiate between the luminaries, the moon may be referred to as Haŋwí (Night-Luminary), and the sun as Aŋpétuwi (Day-Luminary).

The phases of the moon are:
Wit’é (Moon-Died) The New Moon.

Wílečhala (Moon To-Be-Recent). The Waxing Crescent between the New Moon and the First Quarter.

Wíokhiseya (Moon Half-Of). The First Quarter of the moon.

Wímimá Kȟaŋyela (Moon-To-Be-Round Near-By). The Waxing Gibbous between the First Quarter and the Full Moon.

Wímimá (Moon-To-Be-Round). The Full Moon.

Wí Makȟáŋtaŋhaŋ Ú (Moon From-The-Earth To-Be-Coming Here). The Waning Gibbous between the Full Moon and the Third Quarter.

Wiyášpapi (Moon-To-Bite-A-Piece-Off-Of). The Third Quarter of the moon.

Wit’íŋkta Kȟaŋyéla (Moon-Wears-About-The-Shoulders Near-By). The Waning Crescent between the Third Quarter and the New Moon.

The Thítȟuŋwaŋ (Dwellers On The Plains; Teton; Lakota) regard the moon in a feminine sense. There is no “man on the moon,” but an old woman in the moon whom they call Hokhéwiŋ. When a ring around the moon appears it is called Wíačhéič’ithi (The Sun Makes A Campfire For Itself); when a ring appears around the moon they say that Hokhéwiŋ has vigorously stirred her pot and the light has spilled out and around her lodge.

Wíačhéič’ithi is also a reference to sundogs. Long ago, a man went out to pray when the cold gray winter seemed to linger too long. The constant bleak gray days began to effect the people’s dreams. He came back and instructed the camp to select two groups of youth to go out east of camp and build to fires, then to return. Everyone came together in the center of camp and prayed. The sun broke through the clouds and as it rose into the sky, the two fires rose into the sky with it. For the Húŋkpapȟa, the sundog is a promise of hope and light.

The Thítȟuŋwaŋ have two differing explanations for the cycles of the moon. The Húŋkpapȟa say that a large Itȟúŋkala (mouse) with a pointed nose gradually eats away the lodge of Haŋwí until there is nothing left (the waning of the moon). Haŋwí then has to reconstruct her lodge (the waxing of the moon). The Oglála say that Haŋwí draws her shawl over either side of her face as Wí approaches her or withdraws from her.

Like other cultures, the Očhéthi Šakówiŋ recognize four seasons. These are: Wétu (Spring) which is two months; Blokétu (Summer) which is four months; Ptaŋyétu (Fall) which is two months; Waníyetu (Winter) which is five months. The changes of seasons are caused by the eternal conflict of two brothers: Wazíya (the North) and Ókaǧa (the South). If Wazíya plays his flute during summer rains, he causes it to freeze, making hail. When Wazíya wins we have winter; when Ókaǧa wins we have summer.

The Očhéthi Šakówiŋ used to keep track of the days, months, and year with Čhaŋwíyawa (Counting Stick/s). Some might use thirteen sticks, one for each month in the lunar year; others might just use one willow switch and notch it (one for a day, or one for each month). Čhaŋwíyawa are recognized more for their use in hand games (a traditional guessing game) than for tracking time.

This calendar includes Memorial days of massacres and conflicts. This 2018 moon calendar overlaps with part of December 2017 through part of January 2019. Note: All but eight photos were taken by me, two (4 & 9) come from the website Pixabay, the first comes from Theodore Roosevelt National Park, and the Leonid Meteor Shower comes from SPACE. Download the calendar for yourself and print (11"x17").

Dakota Wind is an enrolled member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. He is currently a university student working on a degree in History with a focus on American Indian and Western History. He maintains the history website The First Scout. 

New Moon, New Year In The Moon Counting Tradition

Settlers called the first flower of spring "Prairie Crocus" or "Pasque Flower," but the Lakota people know it as Hoksicekpa, A Child's Navel, or "Wanahca Unci, Grandmother Flower. 

Moon Counting Tradition
New Moon, New Year: 2017-2018
By Dakota Wind
Great Plains, N.D. & S.D. (TFS) – Waná wétu ahí, Spring as arrived. Maǧá, the geese, have returned over the past month from their sojourn in the south, Wakíŋyela, the Mourning Doves, greet the mornings in the Missouri River valley with their queries of possible snow, and Škipípila, the Chickadees, whistle their queries into the wind if spring has indeed returned. Tȟašíyagmuŋka, the Western Meadowlark sings to all, “Oíyokiphi! Ómakȟa Tȟéča yeló!” “Take Pleasure! The New Season [Year] is here!”

The Lakȟóta moon counting tradition calls for incising a notch on a willow switch, a stick would suffice, with the passing of each moon (month). At the end of the year, one should have thirteen notches. The new month in this new cycle is known by a few names: Pȟeží Tȟó Alí Wí (The Green Grass Moon), Maǧá Aglí Wí (Moon When Geese Return), or Wakíŋyaŋ Aglí Wí (Moon Of Returning Thunder).

The 2017 spring equinox occurred on Monday, March 20. Many Lakȟóta journeyed to a special place in Ȟesápa, the Black Hills, to participate in an annual tradition reaching back thousands of years to welcome the Thunder. Some Lakȟóta call this special place Hiŋháŋ KáǧA Pahá, the Making Of Owls Peak. For many years, this highest peak of Ȟesápa, was known as Harney Peak, which some now call Black Elk Peak, in honor of the Oglála holy man.

When spring arrived, not all Lakȟóta made the journey to Ȟesápa. When winter camps broke, many took to the open Great Plains to engage in the first big game hunt of the Ómakȟa Tȟéča. This kind of hunt is called WanásA. Spring was also the time when the Húŋkpapȟa journeyed east to Čaŋsáŋsaŋ Wakpá, Creamy White Tree River (White Birch River; the James River), to trade with the Iháŋktȟuŋwaŋna (Yanktonai). One rendezvous point was where the Íŋyaŋ Iyá Wakpá, Talking Stone River (the Cannonball River) converges with Mníšoše, another rendezvous point where the Oglála met with the Iháŋktȟuŋwaŋ (Yankton), where the Čaŋsáŋsaŋ Wakpá converged with the Mníšoše.

In the Lakȟóta calendar tradition, the year is referred to as Waníyetu, or Winter. It was called such because winter was the longest season of the year, typically lasting five moons. Wétu, or Spring, lasted two months. Blokétu, or Summer, lasted four months. Ptaŋyétu, or Fall, lasted two months. The Lakȟóta calendar tradition may need to be revised in the future to reflect a change in weather. Deny climate change or acknowledge it, the growing season in North Dakota since 1879 has lengthened twelve days.

Since the equinox, a light rain fell, even as blankets of snow still linger on the landscape. Some might even say that the Thunders stayed on over the winter. Indeed, lightning and thunder was present at Standing Rock. The Mníšoše, the Water A-Stir (the Missouri River), has been breaking for a month now. Geese gather on and around the sandbars to feed before taking flight north.

This morning, in Heart River country, where the Heart River converges with Mníšoše, light wisps of clouds stretched across the eastern horizon and caught fire in the first rays of morning. Fog enveloped the Missouri River valley over a still Mníšoše, so still as to be a perfect mirror. The air is cool and crisp enough to leave whorls of frost on car windows, and a wind so light as to be barely a whisper.

One more sign by which the Lakȟóta know and celebrate Ómakȟa Tȟéča is by the blossoming of Hokšíčhekpa, A Child’s Navel (Prairie Crocus; Pasque Flower), also called Wanáȟča Uŋčí, Grandmother Flower. It is the first flower to appear and the first to take her journey. She sings songs to the other flowers, that their time will come, and not to worry when it does, for their spirits come together to make the rainbow. The entire flower is medicine, used to treat dry skin and arthritis. Her petals are purple and furry like a bison robe, and her heart is golden like the sun, though once in a while Wanáȟča Uŋčí emerges with a white robe which indicates a spot where a bison breathed his or her last breath.

I hiked the rolling hills in Heart River country over the weekend searching for Wanáȟča Uŋčí, but my search bore no results. I found dried and weathered prairie aster from last summer, hard and wrinkled prairie rose hips my grandmother would have called SákA, and lichen ranging from grey and green to brilliant orange and bright red on sandstone jutting out of the hillsides. The Lakȟóta call lichen Ziŋtkála Ipátȟapi, which means "Bird Embroidery." I’ll check again in a week’s time.

The Lakȟóta waníyetu, year, will last until March 16, 2018, which is 354 days. Or, as some would have it, the new year began on Monday, March 20, 2017. Ómakȟa Tȟéča yeló!

Dakota Wind is an enrolled member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. He is currently a university student working on a degree in History with a focus on American Indian and Western History. He maintains the history website The First Scout.

The Lakota Months And New Year

An illustration from Jospeph Bruchac's "Thirteen Moons On Turtle's Back." A good book for introducing concepts of the months and names from several First Nations. 

The Lakota Calendar & New Year’s Day
Thirteen Months Equals One Year/Winter
By Dakota Wind
Bismarck, N.D. (TFS) – The Thitȟuŋwaŋ (Lakȟóta) refer to the year as waníyetu (a winter). They called it such for it was the longest season on Makȟóčhe Wašté (The Beautiful Country; Great Plains, or North America). The waníyetu was marked by the passing of thirteen moons (months). Some say that the waníyetu lasted from snowfall to snowfall, others from spring to spring. There is one Lakȟóta man on Standing Rock who says that he learned that the year lasted from mid-summer to mid-summer.

A traditionalist would say that the Lakȟóta month is twenty-eight days long. Using the moon counting stick method to track the days, one finds that new moon nights are not counted, so the length of the month can be said to be roughly twenty-eight days. A month lasted from new moon to new moon. Each month of the moon calendar, however, lasts on average twenty-nine to thirty days. The moon calendar from March 2017 to March 2018, lasts 383 days.

The Húŋkpapȟa say that after a full moon, a large mouse with a pointed nose nibbles away at the lodge of Haŋwí (the Moon) to describe the waning of the moon, then Haŋwí rebuilds her lodge after each new moon. Some Lakȟóta say that Haŋwí draws her shawl over her face as her husband, Wí (the Sun) approaches her. Long ago, Wí shamed Haŋwí with an indiscretion and they’ve been parted since. But on occasion, it is Haŋwí who approaches Wí and covers him with her shawl, they embrace for a moment, and then they part. You would call this a solar eclipse. The Húŋkpapȟa call it Maȟpíya Yapȟéta, “Cloud On Fire.”

A partial solar eclipse as seen from the central North Dakota, by author. 

Sometimes during the winter months, the light of Haŋwí spills out and lights the sky in a ring around her lodge. The Húŋkpapȟa say that Haŋwí is cooking and she has vigorously stirred her pot, and light has spilled out into the night sky. The Lakȟóta call this ring around the moon, Wíačhéič’ithi.

The Lakota Language Consortium have recorded eight phases of the moon in their New Lakota Dictionary. These are: Wit’é (the New Moon), Wílečhala (the crescent between the New Moon and the First Quarter), Wíokhiseya (the First Quarter), Wímimá Kȟaŋyéla (phase between First Quarter and Full Moon), Wímimá (the full moon), Wí Makȟátaŋhaŋ (phase between Full Moon and Third Quarter), Wiyášpapi (the Third Quarter), and Wit’íŋkta Kȟaŋyéla (the crescent between Third Quarter and New Moon).

New Year’s Day for the Húŋkpapȟa will fall on the day of the New Moon following the Spring Equinox, which is March 27, 2017. New Year’s Day for the one Húŋkpapȟa man in Wakpála, S.D. will fall on the Summer Solstice, which is June 20, 2017. For the Lakȟóta who say that the year lasts from snowfall to snowfall, their year will begin with snowfall later in 2017. 

A FREE 2017 Moon Phase Calendar at 72 Hours American Power. 

The name of the moon was never permanently set because the new moons gradually moved to a different time each winter. This explains why moons have alternate names. The Holding Hands Moon might be next year’s Moon Of Popping Trees. 

Download a FREE thirteen month Lakȟóta calendar. 

Here’s a breakdown of the thirteen month calendar for 2017 (with alternate names):

Dec. 29, 2016 – Jan. 26, 2017.
Wiótheȟika Wí: (Lit. “Sun-Hard-Time Moon”) The Sun Is Scarce Moon
Napé Oyúspa Wí: (Lit. “Hand To-Hold Moon”) Holding Hands Moon

Jan. 27, 2017 – Feb. 25, 2017
Čhaŋnápȟopapi Wí: (Lit. “Trees-Popping Moon) Moon Of Popping Trees
Aŋpétu Núŋpa Osní Wí (Lit. “Day Two Cold Moon”) Two Cold Days Moon
Šuŋgmánitu Tȟáŋka Wí (Lit “Wolf Moon”) Wolf Moon

Feb. 26, 2017 – March 26, 2017
Ištáyazaŋ Wí: (Lit. “Eyes-Sore Moon”) Sore Eyes [Snow-blindness] Moon
Aŋbháŋkeya Wí (Lit. “Day-Night-Half Moon”) Moon Of Half Day, Half Night

March 27, 2017 – April 25, 2017
Pȟeží Tȟo Wí (Lit. “Grass-Green Moon”) Green Grass Moon
Maǧá Aglí Wí (Lit. “Goose Returns Moon”) Moon When Geese Return
Wakíŋyaŋ Aglí Wí: (lit. “Thunder Return Moon”) Moon Of Returning Thunder

April 26, 2017 – May 24, 2017
Čhaŋwápenableča Wí (Lit. “Tree-Leaf-Unfold-Themselves Moon”) Moon When The Leaves Unfold
Waȟčá Hdehdé Wí (Lit. “Flower/s Scattered-Here-And-There Moon”) Flowers Bloom Here And There Moon
Ptehíŋčhala Tȟúŋ Wí: (Lit. “Bison-Calf Born Moon”) Moon When Bison Calves Are Born

May 25, 2017 – June 22, 2017
Maȟčhíŋča Nuŋwáŋ Wí (Lit. “Ducklings To-Swim Moon”) Moon When Ducklings Swim
Uŋžíŋžiŋtka Wí (Lit. “Prairie Rose Moon”) Prairie Rose Moon
Thíŋpsiŋla Wí (Lit. “Turnip Moon”) Prairie Turnip Moon
Wípazukȟa Wí (Lit. “Juneberry Moon”) Juneberry Moon

June 23, 2017 - July 22, 2017
Blokétučhokaŋ Wí (Lit. “Middle-Of-The-Summer Moon”) Middle Of The Summer Moon
Čhaŋpȟásapa Wí (Lit. “Chokecherry-Black Moon”) Ripe Chokecherry Moon

July 23, 2017 - Aug. 20, 2017
Kȟáŋtašá Wí: (Lit. “Plum-Red [Ripe] Moon”) Ripe Plum Moon
Wasútȟuŋ Wí: (Lit. “Things-Ripen Moon”) Moon When Things Ripen

Aug. 21, 2017 - Sept. 19, 2017
Čhaŋwápe Ǧí Wí: (lit. “Tree-Leaves Brown Moon”) Moon When Leaves Turn Brown
Čhaŋwápe Zí Wí: (lit. “Tree-Leaves Yellow Moon”) Moon When Leaves Turn Yellow

Sept. 20, 2017 - Oct. 18, 2017
Čhaŋwápe Kasná Wí: (lit. “Tree-Leaves To-Drop-Off Moon”) Moon Of Falling Leaves

Oct. 19, 2017 - Nov. 17, 2017
Ȟeyúŋka Wí: (lit. “Frost Moon”) Frost Moon
Thiyóȟeyuŋka Wí: (lit. “Lodge-On-Frost Moon”) Frost On The Lodge Moon

Nov. 18, 2017 - Dec. 17, 2017
Waníyetu Wí: (lit. “Winter Moon”) Winter Moon

Dec. 18, 2017 - Jan. 15, 2018
Waníčhokaŋ Wí: (lit. “Middle-Of-The-Winter Moon”) Midwinter Moon

Dakota Wind is an enrolled member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. He is currently a university student working on a degree in History with a focus on American Indian and Western History. He maintains the history website The First Scout.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Mrs. Amanda Grass, Welch Dakota Papers

Mr. Kevin Locke (The First To Arise) and Mr. Joe Bull Head

Mr. Raymond Winters (Fighting Bear)