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DIPAKA [THE FOUR SEASONS]
Although we talk of the four seasons and have found a way to split our year quarterly, the climate and weather cycles
in Botswana do tell us a different story, and gives weight to the notion that Batswana originally only spoke of three
seasons: Summer, autumn, and winter. The traditional lunar year (https://setswanabwa.com/dikgwedi-months/) is
said to have started at the onset of summer (August/September) and the planting season. Autumn was viewed, not as
a sad time when winter sets in, but rather as a happy time – a time of plenty – where all the fruits of the labour that was
invested in agricultural production finally become abundant. Winter was the short, cold, dry period in between, and
Batswana have since learnt to fit spring in somewhere at the beginning of “summer”.
Selemo [Summer]
The first, longest, and perhaps most important season of the traditional Setswana year. The name selemo literally
references planting time, and is also used by Basotho to mean year. It span for around six months – ending at harvest
time (around March/April), which marked the beginning of autumn.
In the modern [Gregorian] calendar (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregorian_calendar), summer has been attributed
to the months of November, December, and January. Ironically, in a normal (non-drought) year, October is usually the
hottest month, as continual rains and cloud cover make these designated summer months cooler.
Another complication that arose during the summer was that apparently Batswana of old used both the lunar and
solar calendars concurrently. The solar calendar determined the seasons, and since it is not congruent with the lunar
one, once every so often, the months would fall out of alignment with the seasons. This was rectified with the inclusion
of the “part-time” thirteenth month, Morule. This is what resulted in December having two Setswana names:
Sedimonthole (actual December), and Morule (corrective 13th month).
Gwetla/Letlhafula [Autumn]
Although now regarded as a season, the words “letlhafula” and “legwetla” originally meant harvest-time, and was
more of a social season that a geographic one. Indeed there are some who still argue that Batswana live through only
two geographic seasons, and the other two are just artificial and token.
Even though ”gwetla” started off as a shortening of the word legwetla, it has now taken centre-stage, and many
younger speakers find “legwetla” somewhat alien.
This fairly short festive season extended from February/March to April/May (depending on the presence of Morule in
that year). The Gregorian autumn now spans February to April, and is famous for having one of the equinoxes in its
centre in March. Equinoxes [from Old French: “equal nights”] is the day when the length of daylight hours is exactly 12
hours, just as the night hours.
Mariga [Winter]
Both calendars agree on this one. At the centre of this cold, dry season is a month Batswana decided to
call Seetebosigo (https://setswanabwa.com/seetebosigo-june/) [do not visit at night] for obvious reasons. The nights
are long and cold, and in the olden days, the inconvenience that came with it was enough of a deterrent to would-be
night callers. July rivals June with its coldness, and had actually gained a reputation for harbouring the coldest
breezes, that could drop temperatures below zero. However, it would begin to warm up again very rapidly in August,
and September when the summer began.
The winter also boasts its important geographic day: the winter solstice. At the end of the third week of June, this
occurs simultaneously with what is known as the summer solstice in the northern hemisphere. All factors equal, the
winter solstice is supposed to be the coldest day of the year, with the longest night and shortest daylight hours.
Dikgakologo [Spring]
Also another “artificial” season, whose name is quite difficult to explain without borderline referring to the melting of
snow or frost. The idea of snow is not as far-fatched as it may initially seem, given the arid climate of the land of
modern Batswana. However, until a few hundred years ago, Batswana generally lived further south, and some even on
the same snowy peaks of the Drankesburg that are home to their cousins, the Basotho. The fact that a Setswana word
for snow, “kapoko” exists, pretty much affirms this notion.
This season is at the very end or beginning of the traditional year (depending how one looks at it), and was often
associated with ill-health caused by pollen and the general change in atmospheric conditions, giving rise to the
Setswana name for September being “Lwetse”, which means illness.
(HEADER PICTURE SOURCE: https://lost-cities-keeper.fandom.com/wiki/Four_Seasons_Tree?
file=Four_Seasons_Tree.jpg
Creator: lilkar | Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto Copyright: lilkar)
