_By Comr. Adawodi Shiloba_ 

 History of the early calendar

As the historic could have it, starting from the lunar calendar where we have 13 lunar months to make a year (either 354 or 384 days).

 *Lunisolar calendar* which has a 13 months added to some years to make up for the difference between a full year (Now known to be about 365.24 days).

The number twelve and thirteen came to feature prominently in many cultures. Other early forms of calendar originated in *meso American* particularly in ancient *Mayan civilization*. These calendars were religiously and astronomically based, with 18 months in a year and 20 days in a month, plus five epagomenal days at the end of the year.

The reforms of the Julius Caesar in 45BC put the Roman world on a solar calendar. This Julian calendar was faulty in that it intercalation still allowed the astronomical solstices and equinoxes to advance against it by about 11 minutes per year.

 *Pope Gregory XIII* introduced a correction in 1582; the Gregorian calendar was only slowly adopted by different nations over a period of centuries but it is now by far the most commonly used calendar around the world.

During the french revolution, a new clock and calendar were invented in an attempt to decbrishanize time and create a more national system in order to replace the Gregorian calendar. *The french Republican calendar* days consisted of ten hours of a hundred minutes of a hundred seconds which mark a deviation from the base 12 (duodecimal) system used in many other devices by many cultures. The system was abolished in 1806.

A typical Bassa speaking people of Nigeria have a discrete 12 months with its name as other cultures does. As we know earlier the most pronounce occupation of a typical Bassa man to be farming and fisheries. A typical Bassa man of Nigeria start counting her month when it is due for cultivation and planting.

To make this counting complete and mature, we shall include the type of rainfalls that involves in these months.

 *THE NOMENCLATURE OF MONTHS AS IT RELATE TO THE TYPICAL BUBASSA OF NIGERIA* 

As I have say earlier that the Bassa man start his counting and naming month when is due for cultivation and planting; here are the names of months that make up a year in a Bassa Nigeria calendar;

 _January = Bụvwԑbụ bi hiŋ_ 

 _February = Bụvwԑbụ bi yebi_ 

 _March = Bihiŋ_

 _April = Bi yebi_

 _May = Bụ tatụ_

 _June = Bụ neshi_

 _July = Bụ tanaa_

 _August = Bi cihiŋ_

 _September = Bi chenje_

 _October = Bụ tụndatụ_

 _November = Bi cinjishi_

 _December = Bụ ụmpwa_

You maybe surprising of these method of nomenclature as it is not inline with the normal counting of numbers as does to other cultures. Yes, this is the method of months nomenclature in Rubassa.

 *Why Bụvwԑbụ*

In Rubassa, the word "bụvwԑbụ" literally mean remove it or it was removed" so to say these two months (bụvwԑbụ bi hiŋ na bụvwԑbụ bi yebi) appear to be less important or insignificant because any rain that may fall on such months are valueless, useless and unproductive.

 *Why Bihiŋ At March?*

This is a month believe by a typical Bassa man of Nigeria to be a month of cultivation and plantation, it is belief that any rain that fall/fell on this particular months is as useful as gold and important as oxygen. This is a month mark the beginning and starting of planting in every planting season hence the name Bi hiŋ.

 *NAMES AND TYPE OF RAINFALL AS IT SHOWCASE IN IT DESIGNATED MONTH* 

Months is belief to be the agent the bring about changes of seasons due to the rotational and revolution of earth planet on solar orbit. As the month is passing by so is the season changes from raining to dry season, from sunny to cold and humid season.

Rain is an important element in every forms of human endeavors. It play a pivotal and principal roles in the life of crops and animals. 

Rain comprises of water and atmospheric dust and gaseous substance.

Rain is been call by typical bubassa of Nigeria as *OSHILO*

 *Type of OSHILO as belief by Bubassa of Nigeria* 

A typical Bassa speaking people of Nigeria has six different types of rainfall related to her geographical location, Namely:

1. _OSHILO MARԐ_ This is a type of rain that occur immediately after bush burning; it has the characteristic of killing and endangering aquatic animals due to the accumulation of poisonous gas of carbon monoxide in form of charcoal and others. This type of rain is been experience in late February (bụvwԑbụ bi yebi).

2. *OSHILO HALA* This is the type of rain that occur during harvest period or season hence the name "Hala". This type of rain destroy crops like groundnut, guinea corn, millet/sorghum. Sometime it fall immediately after OSHILO marԑ, and this type of rain is not common as other does.

3. *OSHILO GBAMA* This the rain that usher a farmer into his office properly. It mark the beginning of planting which occur by March (Bi hiŋ)- April (Bi yebi).

4. *OSHILO SHWO* This is the type of rainfalls that occur from May (Bụ tatụ) through July (Bụ tana) and which also has a twin sister of called *OSHILO AGBARASHA*. At this period, the rain fall periodically at anytime irrespective of cloud formation, at this juncture only the real bụfwashԑ goes to farm because it rain all the time. The twin sister rain called OSHILO AGBARASHA normally come fully from August (Bi cihiŋ) through September (Bi chenje).

5. *OSHILO SAGBA* This is the end tail rain that normally occurs from October (Bụ tụndatụ) to possibly November (Bi cinjishi) which is very rare. This type of rainfall has a characteristic of windstorms, lightening and thunderstorms. It mostly destroy crops that are at the peak of their produce such as ohiu, ashina etc.

6. *OSHILO HANANI* This is a rarely type of rainfall that falls by late November ( ni kunԑgԑ bi cinjishi) and or early December (Tu kuno tụ bụ ụmpwa). This cause a lot of damages to crop because at this time plants do not need rain again.