The Thirteen Dakota Moons

[yellowhair1850]

Can someone name the thirteen Dakota moons for me? I'm missing two.

Moon of Frost in the Tipis (Jan.)
Moon of Dark Red Calves (Feb.)
Moon of the Snow Blind (March)
Moon of Red Grass Growing (April)
Moon When the Ponies Shed (May)
Moon of Making Fat (June)
Moon When Cherries are Ripe (July)
Moon of Black Cherries (Aug.)
Moon When Calves Grow Hair (Sept.)
Moon of the Changing Season (Oct.)
Moon of Falling Leaves (Nov.)

The corresponding months are approximations. I know there are 28 days to a moon.

Thank you.

[lgarcia]

There are 40 to 60 moon names for the Dakota / Lakota.
Each reservation has their own set according to their traditional territory.
Most of the dictionaries or language books have these names in them.
Also if you check the various Community Colleges on line, their monthly calendar also reflect these names.
Here at Spirit Lake the months are as follows:

January Witehi wi (Difficult moon)
Feb. wicata wi (raccoon moon)
march istawicayazan wi (sore eye moon)
April magaokada wi (geese return)
may Wato wi (green grass)
June Wipazukasa wi (Red juneberry moon)
July Bdocokaya wi (middle of summer)
August campasapa wi (black chokecherry month)
Sept. canwapegi wi (brown leaf month)
October canwapekasna wi (rustling leaf month)
November tahekapsun wi Horns fall off month)
December Waniyetu cokaya wi 9middle of winter)
Where is the 13th moon?
I will have to look it up. it falls in the spring time as this year we have a cold spring.

[lgarcia]

Yellow hair:
I should point out that the names of the months are not standardized.
There are many differences even on one reservation.
I looked up some more names that were used here at one time but have fell out of use.
February: Canhutaoksaska wi (Thawing tree stump month)
June: wajustecasa Wi (red Strawberry Month)
September: Wasutun Wi (harvest Moon)
November: Takiyuha Wi (Rutting Moon)
Hope this helps,
LouieG

[yellowhair1850]

Thank you LouieG for your help. It helps a lot!