428. Tingoḍe aka Singoḍe & Tulu Calendar

We hear occasionally some archaic words in Tulu spoken by elderly people. In the list of archaic Tulu words such as Rumi, Sāyer or Sayir  ( You may read our older Posts on these) etc,   we may add the word  ‘Tingoḍe  or Singoḍe’ (ತಿಂಗೊಡೆ/ಸಿಂಗೊಡೆ - pronounced with short vowel.  Most of the present-day young generation may be quite unaware of such archaic word usages.

What is this word Tingoḍe aka Singoḍe signify?  Let us elucidate.

Tulu Months

In Tulu Nadu, natives follow a calendar based on Solar system (Sauramāna Paddhati).   Tulu months are:

(1) Paggu : (Mesha = Chaitra-Vaishāka, April-May),

(2) Besha : (Vrishabha = Vaishākha-Jeshtha, May-June),

(3) Kārtel : (Mithuna = Jeshtha- Āshāḍa, June-July),

 (4) Aaṭi : (Karkataka = Āshāḍa -Shrāvana, July-Aug),

(5) Sona : (Simha – Shrāvana -Bhādrapada, Aug-Sept),

(6) Kanya/Nirnāl : (Kanya  = Bhādrapada- Ashwayuja, Sept-Oct),

(7) Bontel : (Tula = Ashwayuja -Kārtika, Oct-Nov),

 (8) Jārde: ((Vrishchika = Kārtika -Margashira, Nov-Dec),

(9) Perarde: (Dhanu = Margashira-Pushya, Dec-Jan),

(10) Puyintel : (Makara =  Pushya-Māgha, (Jan-Feb),

(11) Māyi: (Kumbha = Māgha -Phalguna, Feb-March), and

 (12)  Suggi : (Meena = Phalguna-Chaitra, March-April).

 

Tingode > Singode

First day of a Tulu month has been designated “Tingoḍe or Singoḍe” and the last day is called “Sankrānti”.  Sankrānti means transition. In other words, Sankrānti refers to   the day when sun appears to enter a new constellation in the sky. So a day following a Sankrānti  is Tingoḍe or Singoḍe.  Inversely, a day preceding a Tingoḍe or Singoḍe is Sankrānti.

Those who are following Gregorian/Julian Calendar (English Calendar), must have heard  the  All-India Radio  (AIR) one-liner song, “Aaj pahila taarik Hai, Aaj pahila tareek hai”  It is repeatedly sung before starting the other AIR programmes.  This is a reminder to listeners to give attention to money matters (namely, payment day, budgeting monthly wages/salaries, payment of recurring outgoings, like for milkman, grocery shops, etc.  We can thus visualise the importance of Tulu first day of a month, involving planning occupational priorities in an agrarian society and other socio-religious rituals.  Traditionally,  Tuluva households  conduct pooja (prayer) in family shrines for the daivas (divine Spirits) on the day of Sankrānti.

Etymology of Tingoḍe/ Singoḍe

In our opinion, the word is related to the Tulu word “tingol” (ತಿಂಗೊಳ್), meaning a month. Thus, the word:  tingoḍe   could have originated as:  ting +oḍe ( which means the beginning of the month) . 

  Either the ancient   words were designed for brevity or the original nature of these early words must have been brief.  Transition of letters in Tulu leading to regional variations in pronunciations, over a period of time, was a common phenomenon in different   regions.  The consonant   ta (ತ) has changed over to   sa (ಸ), forming   Singoḍe as a regional variation of the Tingoḍe during the passage of time. Now in different Tulu regions the words   Singoḍe  and   Tingoḍe   are used interchangeably.

Other equivalents of Tingoḍe/ Singoḍe

Other  known  regional / tribal equivalents of the  words Singoḍe  or   Tingoḍe   in Tulu language  include: Tingaloḍu, Tingalūḍu, Tingaludyo, Chingaḍe  etc ( See: Tulu Lexicon , Volume 6, page 2936)

Sauramāna Yugādi 

Sauramāna Yugādi, i.e. Solar New Year, falls on tingoḍe/ singoḍe of   Paggu, the first month of Tulu Calendar. The auspicious day is also celebrated   by name of   vishu  (Kerala) or bisu (Tulunadu).   This year, it falls on 14^th April, 2020, the next day of Mesha Sankranti.  As per the Indian solar calendar system, the Sun  transits from the star Revati  to  star Ashwini in the sky, appearing to our eyes as a result of the rotation of the earth in relation to Sun. (  In terms of lunar cycle it is usually the seventh day from full moon day or poornima.). The Sauramāna Yugādi is known as Varusa-pirappu, Chitirai-visu or Putanḍu in Tamilnadu. In Bengal it is known as  "Pohala boishak "(literally: first of Vaishaka), "nabha barsha" (literally: new year). In Odissa, it is known as "Maha vishuba sankranti". In Assam, Sauramāna Yugādi is celebrated as : "Bohag bihu" or "Rongali bihu." In Punjab it is celebrated as "Baisakhi".

Chandramāna Yugādi /Ugādi

In the case of Chandramāna or lunar system , the Yugādi,(beginning day of the lunar year) also known as gudi padva in  Maharashtra  is on first day of the Chaitra month.  Thus,  the  Chandramāna  Yugāadi has been celebrated on 25^th of March this year, i.e. on Shukla pādya or pratipada.

Naming System

In Lunar (Chandramāna) system, there is two fortnights - one for the waxing moon (Shukla Paksha)and the other for waning moon (Krishna Paksha).  Each fortnight, days (tithis) are named sequentially as: Pādya, Bidige, Tadige, Chaturthi, Panchami, Shashti, Saptami, Ashtami, Navami, Dashami, Ekādashi, Dwādashi, Trayodashi and Chaturdashi (Shukla  Paksha 14 + Krishna Paksha 14 +2 - one for Poornima (Full Moon Day) and the other for Amavashye (New Moon Day).  The month starts with Shukla Paksha and ends with Krishna Paksha.

We think, there has been a naming system for all days of a Tuluva month in Solar (Sauramāna) System.  The Tulu months   begin with tingoḍe/ singoḍe  and ends with a Sankrānti.  What were the other names used for other days in the Tulu months?  There may be some elderly people who are still   aware of these names in the traditional Tulu day naming system, now largely forgotten.   We have tried to elicit information but so far not successful.  If any of our readers are aware these forgotten names for days in Tulu month, please share the data with us in this blog.

In lighter vein, there is an old idiom in Tulu language: “ಕೆಬಿ ಕೇಣಂದಿನಾಯಡ ಗುಟ್ಟು  ಪಾತೆರುನು.“  (kebi kenandināyada  guṭṭu  pāterunu). On literal translation, this means:  Discussing   a secret   with  a deaf man.  It is a ridicule of a man doing useless work.  

 We hope we are   not doing such exercises.    We sincerely anticipate meaningful feedbacks   from our readers to make our efforts worthwhile.

Suggested Reading in  this blog:  Tulu Studies - Previous Posts:

 # 338/ 24.05.2014 -   Tulu Calendar,

 #  348/ 29.07.2015 -  Rumi,

 # 358/ 02.04.2016 -   Sayer  or Sayir

 

We wish all our readers a happy and prosperous Sauramāna Yugādi , with a sincere prayer that the auspicious day give us all strength to renew our energy levels  to fight courageously the dreaded disease covid- 19 caused by Corona Virus, in spite of many hardships caused by lock-down.  Let us spiritedly adhere to lock-down instructions to the letter, to drive away the common foe.

 

 

Ravindra Mundkūr   &  Hosabeṭṭu Vishwanāth