View source for Intercalary month (Egypt)

{{short description|Calendar day outside any regular month in ancient Egyptian, Coptic, and Ethiopian calendars}}
{{hatnote|Not to be confused with the pre-Islamic concept mentioned in the Quran, known as [[Nasi']].}}
{{See also|Intercalation (timekeeping)}}
The '''intercalary month''' or '''epagomenal days'''<ref name=a2z>{{citation |last=Gabra |first=Gawdat |title=The A to Z of the Coptic Church |contribution=Coptic Calendar |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UaYdpfAZDBMC |contribution-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UaYdpfAZDBMC&pg=PA70 |pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=UaYdpfAZDBMC&pg=PA70 70–1] |series=''A to Z Guide Series'', No. 107 |date=2008 |publisher=The Scarecrow Press |location=[[Plymouth, England|Plymouth]] |isbn=9780810870574 }}.</ref> of the ancient [[Egyptian calendar|Egyptian]], [[Coptic calendar|Coptic]], and [[Ethiopian calendar]]s are a period of five days in [[common year]]s and six days in [[leap year]]s in addition to those calendars' 12 standard months, sometimes reckoned as their thirteenth month. They originated as a periodic measure to ensure that the [[heliacal rising]] of [[Sirius (star)|Sirius]] would occur in the [[Mesori|12th month]] of the Egyptian lunar calendar but became a regular feature of the civil calendar and its descendants. Coptic and Ethiopian leap days occur in the year preceding [[Julian calendar|Julian]] and [[Gregorian calendar|Gregorian]] [[leap year]]s.

{{anchor|Etymology|Name}}

==Names==
{{hiero|{{nowrap|Those upon the Year<ref name=clag>{{harvp|Clagett|1995|p=29}}.</ref>{{efn|Alternative representations of Those upon the Year include <small><hiero>D2:D21-Z4:N1-Z7-Z3A-M4-X1-Z1</hiero></small>.<ref name=vygus/>}}}}<br>{{nowrap|''Ḥryw Rnpt''<ref name=vygus/>}}|<hiero>D2:D21-G43-M4-X1</hiero>|align=right}}
{{hiero|{{nowrap|The Five upon the Year<ref name=clag/>{{efn|Alternative representations of the Five upon the Year include <small><hiero>M4-X1-Z1*Z1*Z1:Z1*Z1-D2-G43</hiero></small>.<ref name=vygus/>}}<br>{{nowrap|''5 Ḥryw Rnpt''<ref name=vygus/>}}}}|<hiero>M4-D2:D21-G43-N5-Z1*Z1*Z1:Z1*Z1</hiero>|align=right}}
The English names "intercalary month" and "epagomenal days" derive from [[Latin]] ''{{lang|la|intercalārius}}'' ("proclaimed between")<ref>{{citation |contribution=intercalary, ''adj.''", and "intercalate, ''v.'' |title=Oxford English Dictionary |date=1900 |location=Oxford |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] }}.</ref> and [[Greek language|Greek]] ''epagómenoi'' ({{lang|grc|ἐπαγόμενοι}}){{sfnp|Dawood|2007|p=3}} or ''epagómenai'' ({{lang|grc|ἐπαγόμεναι}}, "brought in" or "added on"),<ref>{{citation |contribution=epagomenal, ''adj.''", "epagomenic, ''adj.''", and "epagoge, ''n.'' |title=Oxford English Dictionary |date=1933 |location=Oxford |publisher=Oxford University Press }}.</ref> [[Latinisation of names|Latinized]] as ''{{lang|la|epagomenae}}''. The period is also sometimes known as the "monthless days".<ref>{{citation |contribution-url=https://cmes.uchicago.edu/sites/cmes.uchicago.edu/files/uploads/Middle%20Eastern%20Calendars.pdf |contribution=Middle Eastern Calendars |url=https://cmes.uchicago.edu/page/educational-resources |title=Educational Resources |publisher=Center for Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Chicago |location=Chicago |access-date=7 February 2017 |page=3 |archive-date=3 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190703113504/http://cmes.uchicago.edu/page/educational-resources |url-status=dead }}.</ref>

In [[ancient Egypt]], the period was known as the "Five Days upon the Year" ({{langx|egy|Hrw 5 Ḥry Rnpt}}),{{sfnp|Jauhiainen|2009|p=196}} the "Five Days" (''{{lang|egy|Hrw 5}}''){{sfnp|Jauhiainen|2009|p=196}} or "Those upon the Year" (''{{lang|egy|Ḥryw Rnpt}}''), the last of which is transliterated as {{nowrap|'''Heriu Renpet'''}}.<ref>{{citation |url=http://anthropology.msu.edu/anp455-fs16/files/2012/10/2-Understanding-Egyptian-Chronology.pdf |title=Understanding Egyptian Chronology |publisher=[[Michigan State University]] |last=Watrall |first=Ethan |page=8 |date=2016 |access-date=2017-02-05 |archive-date=2017-02-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170206104052/http://anthropology.msu.edu/anp455-fs16/files/2012/10/2-Understanding-Egyptian-Chronology.pdf |url-status=dead }}.</ref> [[Richard Anthony Parker|Parker]] also proposed that in some cases the intercalary month was known by the name [[Thoth (god)|Thoth]] (''{{lang|egy|Ḏḥwtyt}}'') after the festival that gave its name to the [[Thoth (month)|following month]].{{sfnp|Parker|1950|p=46}}

In modern Egypt, the period is known as {{nowrap|'''Kouji Nabot'''}}{{sfnp|Dawood|2007|p=3}} or {{nowrap|'''Pi Kogi Enavot'''<ref name=takla>{{citation |url=http://st-takla.org/Full-Free-Coptic-Books/Coptic-Synaxarium-or-Synaxarion_English/Eng-Synexarium-or-Synexarion-index.html |title=Coptic Synaxarium |publisher=St Takla Haymanout |location=[[Alexandria, Egypt|Alexandria]] |contribution=13: Nasie Month |contribution-url=http://st-takla.org/Full-Free-Coptic-Books/Coptic-Synaxarium-or-Synaxarion_English/Eng_Senexar-Senksar-13-Nasie-Coptic-Month.html |ref={{harvid|St Takla}} |access-date=6 February 2017 }}.</ref>}} ({{langx|cop|Ⲡⲓⲕⲟⲩϫⲓ ⲛ̀ⲁⲃⲟⲧ}}, ''Pikouji n'Abot'', {{abbr|lit|literally}}.{{nbsp}}"The Little Month") and '''Al-Nasi''' ({{langx|arz|النسيء}}, ''en-Nasiʾ'', {{abbr|lit|literally}}.{{nbsp}}"The Postponement"), after [[Nasi']] of the [[Pre-Islamic calendar]]. The Arabic name is also [[romanization of Arabic|romanized]] as '''Nasie'''.<ref name=takla/>

In [[Ethiopia]], the period is known as '''Paguemain''',<ref name=eot>{{citation |title=Encyclopedia of Time: Science, Philosophy, Theology, & Culture, ''Vol. I'' |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=b3ddWSxmi9cC |editor=H. James Brix |display-editors=0 |publisher=Sage |location=Los Angeles |date=2009 |contribution=Ethiopian Calendar |last=Mebratu |first=Belete K. |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=b3ddWSxmi9cC&pg=PA128 128] |isbn = 9781412941648}}.</ref> '''Phagumien''' ({{langx|am|ጳጐሜን}}, ''Ṗagʷəmen''),<ref name=selma>{{citation |contribution=Ethiopian Calendar |contribution-url=http://www.selamta.net/Ethiopian%20Calendar.htm |title=Selamta |url=http://www.selamta.net/index.htm |date=2015 }}.</ref> '''Pagume''',{{sfnp|Shinn & al.|2013}} or '''Pagumay'''<ref name=tesfa/> ({{lang|am|ጳጉሜ}}, ''Ṗagume'').

==Egyptian calendars==
===Ancient===
{{hiero|{{nowrap|Birth of [[Osiris (god)|Osiris]]}}<br>{{nowrap|''Mswt Wsı͗r Ḥb''<ref name=vygus>{{citation |last=Vygus |first=Mark |date=2015 |title=Middle Egyptian Dictionary |url=http://www.pyramidtextsonline.com/documents/VygusDictionaryApril2015.pdf }}.</ref>}}|<hiero>F31-S29-G43-X1-Q1-D4:W3</hiero>|align=right}}
{{hiero|{{nowrap|Birth of [[Horus (god)|Horus]]{{efn|For variant hieroglyphic representations of this god, see [[Horus (god)|Horus]].}}}}<br>''Mswt Ḥr''|<hiero>F31-S29-G43-X1-G5</hiero>|align=right}}
{{hiero|{{nowrap|Birth of [[Set (god)|Set]]}}<br>''Mswt Stẖ''<ref name=vygus/>|<hiero>F31-S29-G43-X1-G7-Z3A-E21-G7</hiero>|align=right}}
{{hiero|{{nowrap|Birth of [[Isis (goddess)|Isis]]}}<br>{{nowrap|''Mswt Ꜣst Ḥb''<ref name=vygus/>}}|<hiero>F31:X1-Q1:X1-W3</hiero>|align=right}}
{{hiero|{{nowrap|Birth of [[Nephthys]]}}<br>{{nowrap|''Sw n Mswt Nbt Ḥwt''<ref name=vygus/>}}|<hiero>N5*Z1:N35-F31-S29-G43-X1:Z1*Z1*Z1-O9-B1</hiero>|align=right}}
{{further|Egyptian calendar|Decree of Canopus}}
Until the {{nowrap|4th century BC,}} the beginnings of the months of the lunar calendar were based on observation,{{sfnp|Parker|1950|p=29}} beginning at dawn on the morning when a waning crescent moon could no longer be seen.{{sfnp|Parker|1950|p=23}} The intercalary month was added every two or three years as needed to maintain the [[heliacal rising]] of [[Sirius (star)|Sirius]] within the [[Mesori|fourth month]] of the [[season of Low Water]].{{sfnp|Parker|1950|p=32}} This month may have had as many as 30 days.{{sfnp|Parker|1950|p=64}} According to the civil calendar, the months fell in order with the rest regardless of the state of the moon. They always consisted of 30 days, each individually named and devoted to a particular patron deity, but the year was always followed by an intercalary month of only five days. Owing to the lack of a leap day, the calendar slowly cycled relative to the solar year and Gregorian date until the [[Ptolemaic Egypt|Ptolemaic]] and [[Roman Egypt|Roman eras]].

The period of the intercalary month was considered spiritually dangerous{{sfnp|Spalinger|1995|p=35}} and the [[pharaoh]] performed a ritual known as "Pacifying [[Sekhmet]]" (''{{lang|egy|Sḥtp Sḫmt}}'') to protect himself and the world{{sfnp|Jauhiainen|2009|p=77}} from that god's plague.{{sfnp|Jauhiainen|2009|p=196}} The period seems to have usually been a time of rest, placed between the New Year's Eve celebrations on 30{{nbsp}}[[Wep Renpet (month)|Wep Renpet]] and the New Year's celebrations beginning on 1{{nbsp}}[[Thoth (month)|Thoth]].{{sfnp|Jauhiainen|2009|pp=81–2 & 198}} Scribes sometimes omitted the entire period from their records of the year.{{sfnp|Jauhiainen|2009|p=56}} Torches were carried{{sfnp|Jauhiainen|2009|pp=78 & 198}} and [[apotropaic magic|apotropaic]] charms were drawn on [[linen]] and worn around the neck.{{sfnp|Jauhiainen|2009|p=196}}

The period was known as the "birthdays of the gods" as early as the [[Pyramid Texts]].{{sfnp|Spalinger|1995|p=33}} By the early [[Egyptian Middle Kingdom|Middle Kingdom]], the days were specified and ordered:{{sfnp|Spalinger|1995|p=33}}

* The first day was the Birth of [[Osiris (god)|Osiris]] (''{{lang|egy|Mswt Wsı͗r}}'').{{sfnp|Jauhiainen|2009|pp=197 & 223}} It was also originally known as the "Pure Bull in His Field"{{sfnp|Spalinger|1995|p=38}} (''{{lang|egy|[[Transliteration of ancient Egyptian|Ngꜣ Wꜥb m Sḫt.f.]]}}''), although that aspect of the intercalary festivities was later moved to the second day as Horus grew in importance.{{sfnp|Spalinger|1995|p=46}}
* The second was the Birth of [[Horus (god)|Horus]] (''{{lang|egy|Mswt Ḥr}}'').{{sfnp|Jauhiainen|2009|pp=197 & 223}}
* The third was the Birth of [[Set (god)|Set]] (''{{lang|egy|Mswt Stẖ}}'').{{sfnp|Jauhiainen|2009|pp=197 & 223}}
* The fourth was the Birth of [[Isis (goddess)|Isis]] (''{{lang|egy|Mswt Ꜣst}}'' or ''{{lang|egy|Mswt n Ꜣst}}'').{{sfnp|Jauhiainen|2009|pp=197 & 223}}
* The last day was the Birth of [[Nephthys]] (''{{lang|egy|Mswt Nbt-Ḥwt}}'').{{sfnp|Jauhiainen|2009|pp=82, 197, & 223}} It was originally the most important, heralding in the New Year's festival and celebrating a "child in his nest" (''{{lang|egy|ḥwn ı͗my sš.f}}''),{{sfnp|Spalinger|1995|p=35}} but these aspects shifted to the fourth night in the Ptolemaic and Roman period owing to the greater importance of Isis and her longstanding connection with the star [[Sirius (star)|Sirius]].{{sfnp|Spalinger|1995|pp=42 & 44}}

Throughout the days, their connections to the solar boat of [[Ra (god)|Ra]], fish, and a "creator of terror" (''{{lang|egy|ı͗r ḥrywt}}'') were also stressed.{{sfnp|Spalinger|1995|pp=45–7}} In all but a handful of texts, however, the days are merely numbered as "Day ~ of the Five Days upon the Year".{{sfnp|Spalinger|1995|p=34}}

[[Ptolemy III]]'s [[Canopus Decree]] was an attempted calendrical reform in 239{{nbsp}}BC which would have inserted a sixth day into the intercalary month, but it was abandoned due to the hostility of the priests<ref name=bumstead>{{citation |last=Dawood |first=K.R. |contribution-url=https://stnoufer.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/the-coptic-calendar-bishoy-k-r-dawood.pdf |date=2007 |page=7 |contribution=The Coptic Calendar |title=Coptic Heritage |url=https://stnoufer.files.wordpress.com/ }}.</ref> and people of Egypt. The leap day was finally established by [[Augustus]] in 30, 26,{{sfnp|Parker|1950|p=8}} or 25{{nbsp}}BC.<ref name=bumstead/> Under this "[[Alexandrian calendar]]", the epagomenal days ran from [[Julian calendar|Julian]] 24 August to 28 August in [[common year]]s and to 29 August in [[leap year]]s.{{sfnp|Parker|1950|p=8}}{{efn|For a chart of conversions from Julian to Gregorian dates from 3701{{nbsp}}BC to AD{{nbsp}}1900, see [[Richard Anthony Parker|Parker]].{{sfnp|Parker|1950|p=8}}}}

===Coptic===
{{further|Coptic calendar}}
In the present-day [[Coptic calendar]], the intercalary month remains the same as the Alexandrian dates in the [[Julian calendar]]. In terms of the [[Gregorian calendar]], it has begun on 6 September<ref name=a2z/> and ended on 10 September in [[common year]]s and 11 September in [[leap year]]s since AD{{nbsp}}1900 ([[Anno Martyrum|{{sc|am}}]]{{nbsp}}1616)<ref>{{citation |last=Reingold |first=Edward M. |author2=Nachum Dershowitz |display-authors=1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J90gKVAque4C |title=Calendrical Tabulations, 1900–2200 |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=J90gKVAque4C&pg=PA2 2] |location=[[Cambridge, England|Cambridge]] |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |date=2002 |isbn=9780521782531 |ref={{harvid|Reingold & al.|2002}} }}.</ref> and will continue to do so until AD{{nbsp}}2100 ([[Anno Martyrum|{{sc|am}}]]{{nbsp}}1816).{{sfnp|Reingold & al.|2002|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=J90gKVAque4C&pg=PA402 402]}} In that year, the [[Gregorian calendar]]'s lack of a leap day will cause the Coptic month to advance another day relative to it<ref>{{citation |last=Von Staufer |first=Maria Hubert |contribution=Christmas in Egypt |title=The Christmas Archives |contribution-url=http://www.christmasarchives.org/christmas_in_egypt.php |url=http://www.christmasarchives.org |date=2002 }}.</ref> and it will run from 7 September to 11 September. Coptic leap years are not computed as divisors of four in that calendar's [[Diocletian era]] but occur in the year prior to the Gregorian leap year.{{efn|For example, the Coptic leap day occurred on 11 September AD{{nbsp}}2015 (6 Epag. [[Anno Martyrum|{{sc|am}}]]{{nbsp}}1731){{sfnp|Reingold & al.|2002|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=J90gKVAque4C&pg=PA232 232]}} and its Gregorian equivalent on 29 February AD{{nbsp}}2016 (21 Meshir [[Anno Martyrum|{{sc|am}}]]{{nbsp}}1732).{{sfnp|Reingold & al.|2002|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=J90gKVAque4C&pg=PA234 234]}}}}

The Coptic liturgical calendar of the month consists of:<ref name=takla/>

{|class="wikitable"
|-
! style="width:5%;"| Coptic
! style="width:5%;"| Julian
! style="width:5%;"| Gregorian
! style="width:50%;"| Commemorations
|- valign="top"
|Intercalary
1
|24 August
|6 September
|
* Departure of [[Eutychus|St. Eutychus]].
* Martyrdom of St. Pishay (Abshai), the [[Antiochian]].
|- valign="top"

|2
|25 August
|7 September
|
* Departure of [[St. Titus]], the Apostle.
* Martyrdom of St. Isaiah, brother of Apa Hor
|- valign="top"
|3
|26 August
|8 September
|
* Commemoration of [[Raphael (archangel)|Raphael]], the Archangel. 
* Martyrdom of St. Andrianus. 
* Departure of [[Pope John XIV of Alexandria|St. John XIV]], the 96th Pope of Alexandria.
|- valign="top"
|4
|27 August
|9 September
|
* Departure of [[Pope Liberius|St. Liberius]], Bishop of Rome. 
* Departure of [[Poemen|St. Poimen]], the Hermit.
* St. Inianamon
|- valign="top"
|5
|28 August
|10 September
|
* Departure of St. James, Bishop of [[Cairo]].
* Departure of [[Amos (prophet)|Amos]], the Prophet.
* Departure of [[Parsoma|St. Parsoma]], the "Naked". 
* Departure of [[Pope John XV of Alexandria|St. John XV]], the 99th Pope of Alexandria.
|-
! colspan=4; align="center" | only in years before Julian leap years
|- valign="top"
|(6)
|(29 August)
|(11 September)
|
* Thanksgiving to God the Exalted.
|- valign="top"
|}

==Ethiopian calendar==
{{further|Ethiopian calendar}}
In the present-day [[Ethiopian calendar]], Paguemain or Pagume is identical to the Coptic intercalary month, beginning on 6 September and ending on 10 September in [[common year]]s and 11 September in [[leap year]]s.{{sfnp|Shinn & al.|2013}} Its leap years occur at the same time{{sfnp|Reingold & al.|2002|pp=xx–xxii}}<ref name=selma/> and its dates will also shift forward one day relative to the [[Gregorian calendar]] in AD{{nbsp}}2100<ref name=tesfa>{{citation |contribution=Ethiopian Calendar |contribution-url=http://community-tourism-ethiopia.org/about/millenium/ |title=''Official site'' |url=http://community-tourism-ethiopia.org |access-date=6 February 2017 |publisher=Tesfa Community Treks }}.</ref> (2092{{nbsp}}[[Ethiopian calendar|{{sc|ec}}]]).{{sfnp|Reingold & al.|2002|p=402}}

The unusual calendar is notably used in Ethiopian tourist information to advertise the country's "thirteen months of sunshine".{{sfnp|Shinn & al.|2013}}<ref name=eot/>

==Mandaean calendar==
{{further|Mandaean calendar}}
The [[Mandaean calendar]] consisting of 12 30-day months, with 5 epagomenals inserted at the end of every 8th month ([[Mandaic language|Mandaic]]: Šumbulta). These 5 extra days constitute the [[Parwanaya]] (or Panja) festival in the Mandaean calendar.<ref name="Aldihisi 2008">{{cite thesis|url=https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1444088/|last=Aldihisi|first=Sabah|year=2008|title=The story of creation in the Mandaean holy book in the Ginza Rba|type=PhD|publisher=University College London}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Egyptian calendar|Egyptian]], [[Coptic calendar|Coptic]], and [[Ethiopian calendar]]s
* [[Babylonian calendar|Babylonian]], [[Zoroastrian calendar|Zoroastrian]], and [[Armenian calendar]]s
* [[Persian calendar|Persian]] and [[Hebrew calendar]]s
* [[Islamic calendar]]
* [[Sansculottides]]

==Notes==
{{Contains special characters|Egyptian hieroglyphs}}
{{Contains special characters|Coptic}}

{{Contains special characters|Ethiopic}}
{{Noteslist}}

==References==
===Citations===
{{reflist|30em}}

===Bibliography===
* {{citation |first=Marshall |last=Clagett |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xKKPUpDOTKAC |title=Ancient Egyptian Science: A Source Book, ''Vol. II:'' Calendars, Clocks, and Astronomy |location=Philadelphia |publisher=American Philosophical Society |series=''Memoirs of the APS'', No. 214 |date=1995 |isbn=9780871692146 }}.
* {{citation |url=https://helda.helsinki.fi/bitstream/handle/10138/19196/donotcel.pdf?sequence=2 |title=Do Not Celebrate Your Feast without Your Neighbors: A Study of References to Feasts and Festivals in Non-Literary Documents from Ramesside Period Deir el-Medina |last=Jauhiainen |first=Heidi |publisher=University of Helsinki |location=Helsinki |date=2009 |series=''Publications of the Institute for Asian and African Studies'', No. 10 }}.
* {{citation |url=https://oi.uchicago.edu/sites/oi.uchicago.edu/files/uploads/shared/docs/saoc26.pdf |title=The Calendars of Ancient Egypt |last=Parker |first=Richard Anthony |author-link=Richard Anthony Parker |publisher=University of Chicago Press |location=Chicago |series=''Studies in Ancient Oriental Civilization'', No. 26 |date=1950 |editor=Thomas George Allen |editor2=Elizabeth B. Hauser |display-editors=0 }}.
* {{citation |last=Shinn |first=David H. |author2=Thomas P. Ofcansky |display-authors=1 |title=Historical Dictionary of Ethiopia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WU92d6sB8JAC |contribution=Calendar |contribution-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WU92d6sB8JAC&pg=PA91 |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=WU92d6sB8JAC&pg=PA91 91] |publisher=Scarecrow Press |location=[[Plymouth, England|Plymouth]] |date=2013 |isbn=9780810874572 |ref={{harvid|Shinn & al.|2013}} }}.
* {{citation |last=Spalinger |first=Anthony |contribution=Some Remarks on the Epagomenal Days in Ancient Egypt |title=Journal of Near Eastern Studies, ''Vol. 54, No. 1'' |date=January 1995 |pages=33–47 }}.

{{S-start}}
{{succession box
|before=[[Season of the Harvest]] <br>''Šmw''
|title=''[[Egyptian calendar|Egyptian Seasons]]''<br>Days over the Year <br>''Ḥryw Rnpt''
|years=days: 5 or 6 days
|after=[[Season of the Inundation]] <br>''Ꜣḫt''
}}
{{S-end}}

{{Coptic months}}

[[Category:Egyptian calendar]]
[[Category:Months of the Coptic calendar]]
[[Category:Culture of Ethiopia]]