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The Igbo calendar ((イボ語:Ògụ́àfọ̀ Ị̀gbò)) is the traditional calendar system of the Igbo people which has 13 months in a year (''afo''), 4weeks in a month (''onwa''), and 7 days in a week (''izu'') plus an extra day at the end of the year, in the last month. The name of these months was reported by Onwuejeogwu (1981).〔 Such a calendar was presented by Onasanya (2009) in his ''The Urgency of Now!: Building a True Nigerian Nation''. Many parts of this calendar are named for or dedicated to certain spirits ((イボ語:Mmuo)) and deities ((イボ語:Alusi)) in the Igbo mythology. Some of the spirits and deities were believed to have given the Igbo people knowledge of time. The days, also known as market day, also correspond to the four cardinal points, north, south, east, west. Although worship and spirit honoring was a very big part in the creation and development of the Igbo calendar system, commerce also played a major role in creating the Igbo calendar. This was emphasized in Igbo mythology itself. An example of this is the Igbo market days of which each community has a day assigned to open its markets, this way the Igbo calendar is still in use. Some Igbo communities have tried to adjust the thirteen month calendar to twelve months, in line with the Gregorian calendar. The calendar is neither universal nor synchronized, so various groups will be at different stages of the week, or even year. Nonetheless the four-eight day cycle serves to synchronize the inter-village market days, and substantial parts (for example the Nri kingdom) do share the same year-start. ==System== In the traditional Igbo calendar a week ((イボ語:Izu)) has 4 days ((イボ語:Ubochi)) (''Eke'', ''Orie'', ''Afọ'', ''Nkwọ''), seven weeks make one month ((イボ語:Ọnwa)), a month has 28 days and there are 13 months a year. In the last month, an extra day is added. The traditional time keepers in Igboland are the priests or ''Dibia''. The names of the days have their roots in the mythology of the Kingdom of Nri. Eri, the sky-descended founder of the Nri kingdom, had gone on to break the mystery of time and on his journey he had saluted and counted the four days by the names of the spirits that governed them, hence the names of the spirits ''eke'', ''orie'', ''afọ'' and ''nkwọ'' became those of the days of the week. The days also correspond to the four cardinal points, Afọ corresponds to north, Nkwọ to south, Eke to east, and Orie to west. These spirits, who were fishmongers, were sent down by Chukwu (Great God) in order to establish markets throughout Igboland which they did by selling fish.〔 While there are four days, they come in alternate cycles of "major" and "minor", giving a longer eight day cycle. An example of a month: ''Ọnwa Mbụ'' 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Igbo calendar」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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