Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Saxon Hawke]

For many the expression “As long as an Intaki summer” is simply a means of expressing a seemingly endless expanse of time. For natives of the Intaki prime world, however, the complexities of the local calendar are more than a simple figure of speech.

Intaki’s long celestial orbit, taking just over 602 standard days, means not only are the summers long, but so are autumn, spring and winter. The popularity of summer in the expression is most likely due to the Intaki tourism industry, which attracts the wealthy from throughout the galaxy to its tropical resorts during the five-month dry season.

There is more to the Intaki calendar than summer, however.  Many tourists often have difficulty adjusting to the local system, which features six-day weeks and five-week months. The calendar’s 20 months are each named for one of the planet’s 20 orbital moons.

The most confusing aspect of the calendar, however, is the so-called “leap month” of Kumhbelaa. An 11-day festival observed every five years, Kumhbelaa’s roots go back into Intaki pre-history. It is likely that the length and timing of the holiday were adjusted to fit the current calendar as it was developed thousands of years ago. As a matter of practical purposes, the Kumhbelaa serves to correct the 2.2 day difference between the calendar year and the orbital year.

While its precise origins are unknown, Kumhbelaa is an important part of Intaki culture. Depending on the individual's outlook, the holiday is celebrated in several ways.

Among the Idama and more devout followers of Ida, Kumhbelaa is a time of reflection and introspection. It is during this time that many make pilgrimages to Intaki holy sites. Fasting during the daylight hours is common and among some extremist factions (the Rohaani in particular) the fasting may extend to the entire observance.

For most Intaki, Kumhbelaa is a time to spend with family and friends. Large communal dinners are held with each adult member sharing an important personal story from the last five years. Ceremonies to remember those who have died since the last Kumhbelaa are also held and in certain provinces, candles on small rafts are launched in local rivers as a way of guiding departed spirits into their next life.

Secular Intaki, and especially young, single adults, often use Kumhbelaa as an opportunity to celebrate with reckless abandon. Resort communities are sometimes overwhelmed by thousands of celebrants who mark the week with non-stop parties. Planetary authorities have tried (mostly unsuccessfully) to curb these parties in recent years, however, after it was proven that Serpentis operatives were using the festivities as cover for illicit drug operations.

The Intaki Calendar explained:
THE SIX DAYS OF THE WEEK
FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK: Illhorti - literally, "First day"
SECOND DAY OF THE WEEK: Aahemti - literally, "Aahm day"
THIRD DAY OF THE WEEK: - Candraymti - literally, "Moons day", (day when most moons are visible at one time)
FOURTH DAY OF THE WEEK: Taahrti - literally, "Star day"
FIFTH DAY OF THE WEEK: Idahti - literally, "Holy day of the Idamas"
SIXTH DAY OF THE WEEK: Juhambhti - literally, "Day of Rebirth"

THE FIVE WEEKS OF THE MONTH
FIRST WEEK OF THE MONTH: Jhuambheyhti - literally, "Week of Rebirth"
SECOND WEEK OF THE MONTH: Ideyhti- literally, "Week of Ida"
THIRD WEEK OF THE MONTH: Aameyhti- literally, "Week of Aahm"
FOURTH WEEK OF THE MONTH: Shadaeyhti- literally, "Week of Destruction"
FIFTH WEEK OF THE MONTH: Aatrbhaeyhti- literally, "Week of Ataarbhava", (ataarbhava - the bardo)

THE TWENTY MONTHS OF THE YEAR
FIRST MONTH OF THE YEAR: Juhmbhicandra - literally, "Rebirth Moon", (juhambhaati - rebirth)
SECOND MONTH OF THE YEAR: Kalkicandra - literally, "Kalki Moon", (Kalki, an Ida deva)
THIRD MONTH OF THE YEAR: Idacandra- literally, "Idama Moon"
FOURTH MONTH OF THE YEAR: Aahmicandra- literally, "Aahm Moon"
FIFTH MONTH OF THE YEAR: Ramacandra- literally, "Rama Moon", (Rama, an Ida deva)
SIXTH MONTH OF THE YEAR: Budhicandra- literally, "Budh Moon", (Budh, an Ida deva)
SEVENTH MONTH OF THE YEAR: Shaylmycandra- literally, "Harvest Moon", (shaylaamya - harvest)
EIGHTH MONTH OF THE YEAR: Intk'hcandra- literally, "Little Intaki Moon"
NINTH MONTH OF THE YEAR: Naracandra- literally, "Peace Moon", (narav - peace)
TENTH MONTH OF THE YEAR: Intacandra- literally, "Intaki Moon"
ELEVENTH MONTH OF THE YEAR: Kalicandra- literally, "Kali Moon", (Kali, an Ida deva)
TWELFTH MONTH OF THE YEAR: Indracandra- literally, "Indra Moon", (Indra, an Ida deva)"
THIRTEENTH MONTH OF THE YEAR: Ataarbhacandra- literally, "Ataarbhava Moon" (ataarbhava - the bardo)
FOURTEENTH MONTH OF THE YEAR: Shurbhucandra- literally, "Devil Moon", (shurubnha - devil)
FIFTEENTH MONTH OF THE YEAR: Ca'hacandra- literally, "Silver Moon", (candra - silver)
SIXTEENTH MONTH OF THE YEAR: Avsracandra- literally, "Avsratjaara Moon", (avsratjaara - avatar)
SEVENTEENTH MONTH OF THE YEAR: Laghucandra- literally, "Low Moon", (laghu - low)
EIGHTEENTH MONTH OF THE YEAR: Agnicandra- literally, "Agni Moon", (Agni, an Ida deva)
NINTEENTH MONTH OF THE YEAR: Krishcandra- literally, "Krish Moon", (Krish, an Ida deva)
TWENTIETH MONTH OF THE YEAR: Ulsacandra- literally, "Destroyer Moon", (ulsodard - destroyer)
TWENTY-FIRST MONTH (QUINARY CYCLE): Kumhbelaa- (Kumhbelaa - ancient holiday)

((A huge, huge thanks goes to Artabanus for his help in developing the names used in the calendar.))

[Ken]

\o/

100% pure awesome sauce, not from concentrate

Edit:  A few questions...  How long is the Intaki day compared to EVE standard time/Earth time?  What is the current date according to the Intaki calendar, and by extension when was the last Kumhbelaa (and when is the next)?

[Saxon Hawke]

Intaki rotates on its axis once every 23.97 hours, making the Intaki day essentially the same as a standard EVE day. (Periods of light and dark vary depending on the season and distance from the equator).

The current date on the Intaki calendar (as of this writing, of course) is Candraymti Shadaeyhti Agnicandra (third day of the fourth week of the eighteenth month )in the year 1215.

It should also be noted that the Intaki Calendar is used on all of the Intaki colonial worlds as the official calendar of the Intaki Assembly. For day to day use, however, each of the colonies also has a calendar appropriate to their planet's orbital characteristics.

There are only 69 shopping days remaining until the start of the next Kumhbelaa celebration. (If anyone's interested, a new Navy Comet is at the top of Saxon's list this year.)

[Ken]

I bet they've been playing Kumhbelaa music in all the shopping malls and elevators on Intaki V for months already then.  It's so close!  What does the ILF have planned for such an auspicious holiday I wonder...  It'll be the first to come since the organization was founded, yes?

Thanks very much for the specifics on the current day and year.  So 1215 in Intaki years is about... 2005 Earth/EVE years.  That's well before Gallente first contact, iirc.  What was the formative event that set the Intaki year to 0 (or 1)?

[Bong-cha Jones]

I don't mean to come off as overly negative, Saxon Hawke.  You're a creative writer with a meticulous attention to detail, who clearly puts time and caring into the subject matter.  This isn't even directed entirely at you, so much as it is that this stands out as a good example.

I really wish rp'ers would be cautious about creating culture-wide norms.  It's a bit jarring to be told that the Intaki, not just some of the ones on Intaki Prime, but all of them from any Intaki colony worlds, grew up using a system in order to interact with their governments that is neither official nor has existed previously.  I would prefer to not have to reference this stuff, good as it is, in order to pass as an Intaki Prime native (which Simon is), because I won't remember it all.  Adding a major holiday that most every Intaki cares about and celebrates in some fashion just heightens the issue.

To put it another way:  Would this calender lose value for you (and presumably the ILF and IPI) if it was just a calender that used to be in use by Saxon's pre-contact ancestors, or that a small subset of the population still use, etc?  What about it requires it to be something that Intaki as a people use everyday?  Would it work just as well for your group if it was just something the ILF and/or the IPI used?

[Ken]

I really wish rp'ers would be cautious about creating culture-wide norms.

An important (and recurring) point, Simon. 

Speaking for myself, I agree with your sentiment that world-building material that establishes culture-wide norms and essentially requires players to adapt to it is the exclusive product of CCP.  When players create something as broad as this calendar (or my own/the community's Napanii language project) great caution is necessary lest that certain line is crossed.  Going too far means your creation is simply ignored as non-consensual RP, in effect a sort of passive god-modding.  In order to be accepted, apocryphal material like this has to have a convenient 'out', an excuse anybody can use to claim their character doesn't ascribe to the material at all.

For Napanii (and all the other language projects), that excuse is the capsuleer's ever-present language translation systems.  You're speaking whatever language you say you're speaking.  It's all translated anyway.  The Napanii (or Intaki) words are just there for colour and strangeness.

I would prefer to not have to reference this stuff, good as it is, in order to pass as an Intaki Prime native

I don't think you have to.  In the case of this calendar I think there is already an 'out' in that all space-living people and presumably a large portion of planetary populations in New Eden use Eden Standard Time (EST) for official timekeeping.  Saxon says that the Intaki Assembly still keeps time by the homeworld's system.  That doesn't mean they do not also conform to EST or that a diaspora colony with a 27-hour day forces its government offices to operate on a 23.97-hour schedule just because that's how it works on Intaki V. 

Consider the references to the Chinese Lunar New Year or the current Islamic calendar year that increasingly appear in the western media.  We accept that there are a variety of timekeeping traditions on Earth while everyone generally follows the Gregorian calendar for official business.  Imagine cosmopolitan citizens in Intaki Prime's large cities who write the date as 14.10YC112 and are only peripherally aware that it's the year 1215 according to the old calendar.  This is not dissimilar to timekeeping in much of the Middle East.

Furthermore I think that during the course of your career as a pod pilot, there is no reason you'd really ever have to worry about which week of the month it was back on the homeworld even if you spend a lot of time in the Intaki system.  You can simply explain that you've been using EST for so long you don't even remember the proper Intaki date or realize that it was almost time for the Kumhbelaa holidays again.  If, for some reason, you really wanted to know or make a specific reference, Saxon has provided a detailed resource for doing so.

What about it requires it to be something that Intaki as a people use everyday?

Ultimately, the problem of different orbital and rotational periods is an unavoidable one in a sci-fi setting.  These planets would have days and years of different lengths and would have developed different calendars to match.  I can't log in to check the planetary details for Intaki V, but I strongly suspect Saxon used them as the basis for this calendar.  The interstellar (post-planetary?) citizens of New Eden would have no need for the calendars of the old world (and there is your 'out'), but that doesn't mean they would simply vanish overnight.  Again speaking for myself, I think this is yet another brick in the expanding and increasingly deep stockpile of Intaki cultural resources, but is my no means a case of non-consensual RP.

[Ken]

Replying to Simon deserved its own post, so I'm putting this in a separate one.  Ran the math for those who are interested...

Relative Values

October 14, 2010 corresponds to 14.10YC112 (or October 14, 23348 AD), day 287 of the 112th year since the Yoiul Conference.  14.10YC112 corresponds to Taahrti Shadaeyhti of the 1215th Agnicandra or day 532 in year 1215 of the Intaki calendar (a Julian dating system may make it easier to determine precise position within the Intaki year).

At 23.97 Standard hours, the length of the Intaki day is .99875 that of the Eden Standard 24-hour day.

With an orbital period of 602.2 local days, one orbit of Intaki V around its star takes 601.44725 Eden Standard days.  The uncorrected calendar year of 600 local days is 599.25 Standard days long.

As there are 365.25 Standard days in one year, the Intaki orbital period is 1.6466 Eden Standard years (the standard also used throughout almost all of modern Earth) or .60951 Standard years per Intaki 600-day calendar year.

These values make it possible to compute Intaki calendar dates (or at least years) for several major events in New Eden history.

June 10th, YC110

The catastrophes of 10.06YC110 changed the face of New Eden by destroying much of what CONCORD had been built to achieve and reigniting open (if channeled) warfare between the great powers.  It is a day that indirectly led to the occupation of Intaki Prime by Caldari forces and the ongoing struggle for dominance in Placid and Black Rise.  Presuming the leap year is observed in the Eden Standard calendar at the same time we observe it in the present day, YC110 (2008) was a leap year.  That fateful day took place on the 162nd day of YC110 or 856 days ago.

In the Intaki calendar this was day 276 of year 1214 or Juhambhti Jhuambheyhti Intacandra 1214: it was the day of rebirth in the week of rebirth under the moon of Intaki.  What significance that dating holds is sure to be a topic of some discussion.

January 1, YC105

The Empyrean Age (the period that has seen the rise of the independent capsuleer class) is said to have begun in YC105, a Standard year that began on day 92 of year 1211 by Intaki reckoning or Aahemti Jhuambheyhti Aahmicandra 1211, the day of Aahm in the week of rebirth in the month of Aahm.

January 1, YC0

The Yoiul Conference in YC0 took place 41195 Standard days ago (112 years, 287 days), which is 41143.5 Intaki days or approximately 68 years 486 days ago by the Intaki calendar.  Accounting for the 143 days of the thirteen Kumhbelaa 11-day holiday cycles since then, the Intaki would date the conference to day 189 of year 1147 or Aahemti Ideyhti Shaylmycandra 1147, the day of Aahm in the week of Ida under the harvest moon.

Founding of the Federation

Looking much farther back in time, the Gallente Federation was founded 227 Standard years ago (23121 AD or YC-115) in the Intaki year 1078.  The Caldari and Achura seceded from the Federation to form the State 33 Standard years later (23154 AD or YC-82) in the Intaki year 1098.  The Intaki Syndicate and Mordu's Legion were born from the war that followed.

First Contact

Farther back still, the Gallente made first contact with the pre-industrial Intaki civilization 554 years ago in 22794 AD or YC-442.  This was in the year 878 or 879 by Intaki reckoning.  Interesting that exactly two hundred local years later the Federation was born.

Ancient History

Year 0 of the Intaki calendar corresponds to a time 2007 Standard years ago, roughly 21341 AD or YC-1895.  This was approximately 343 Standard years after the fall of the Raata Empire, 5 years before the ascension of Zaragram II to the Amarrian throne, 67 years before the Minmatar first took to space, and 373 years before the establishment of the Age of Rouvenor on Gallente Prime.

The first Amarrian Emperor was crowned 6878 Standard years ago in -2951 by the Intaki calendar, and the EVE gate collapsed 9260 Intaki years ago in -8045.

Chronology

532.1215  Present day
276.1214  Elder & Luminaire Invasions, Empyrean War begins
092.1211  Empyrean Age begins (approx.)
189.1147  Yoiul Conference, establishment of Eden Standard Time (EST)
???.1098  Secession of the Caldari from the Federation, start of the Gallente-Caldari War
???.1078  Establishment of the Federated Union of Gallente Prime
???.878/9  First contact between Gallente and Intaki

A Note on Ages

With an unaided life expectancy of 70 Standard years, a human being has some 25500 days in their lifetime.  In the Intaki calendar this adds up to about 42 local years and some change.  Estimating about 5000 days after birth before the onset of puberty, the Intaki "teenager" is actually only 7-11 local years old.  Young adulthood (21 years of age) arrives around age 12 or 13 for Intaki homeworlders and retirement age (60+) would be around 37 or 38 local years.  Perhaps on the homeworld, entering one's teens is seen not as the start of the coming-of-age but the completion of it, and to turn forty on Intaki V might have the same significance as the 60th birthday does in many Far Eastern cultures: the achievement of a full life.

This raises some interesting questions about how the human body would adapt to a 602.2-day year as long as the actual day/night cycle remained approximately the same as Earth's.  Considering that people who live in season-less and seasonally exaggerated regions of Earth seem to be unaffected in the long run, the body might not even care about Intaki V's long seasonal shifts.

Kumhbelaa 1215

As for the future, the next quinary Kumhbelaa 11-day holiday cycle will begin in 68 days on December 21st, YC112 (2010) and will last until January 1st, YC113 (2011).  How about that... it's almost Christmas time on Intaki Prime.

Jingle bells
Mammal smells
Saxon's in his egg...

[Bong-cha Jones]

Ultimately, the problem of different orbital and rotational periods is an unavoidable one in a sci-fi setting.  These planets would have days and years of different lengths and would have developed different calendars to match.  I can't log in to check the planetary details for Intaki V, but I strongly suspect Saxon used them as the basis for this calendar.  The interstellar (post-planetary?) citizens of New Eden would have no need for the calendars of the old world (and there is your 'out'), but that doesn't mean they would simply vanish overnight.  Again speaking for myself, I think this is yet another brick in the expanding and increasingly deep stockpile of Intaki cultural resources, but is my no means a case of non-consensual RP.

He did, as far as I can tell.  Like I said, meticulous attention to detail    To carry my case a bit further, in light of your spirited rebuttal, I'd point out that if all Intaki interact with an important festival that many groups time their pilgrimages around, it seems unlikely that the calender that makes the leap-month necessary would fade into the background.  They're coupled.  Don't get me wrong, I think the calender is pretty neat.  My only objection is the implied scope of what Saxon's written.

Like, you say that I can explain that I forgot about Kumhbelaa.  My reaction to that is:  why should I have to?  The construction of the holiday is such that it's presented as normative in Intaki culture. It's a fanwork that carries with it the expectation that other people's characters would have to interact with it and accept it as a part of their own background.  I think that when it's assumed that a player needs to make up a specific excuse to opt out of another player's fiction, the fiction has gone a bit too far.  I think an opt-in model is better than an opt-out one in this instance, particularly because it helps head off meaningless 'what is this Kumhbelaa?  If it's so important, why can't I find any official documents on it?' nonsense.

This is, I'll admit, my own personal preference, but I'd prefer it if rp'ers resisted the urge to make their own personal works the norm for a sandbox that extends beyond their own personal contributions.  Making up holidays for a town/family/province is totally awesome.  Making up holidays for the entire culture, other PC's included?  Less so.

Would this discussion benefit from a split?  I feel like there's a useful discussion to be had on this subject, but I'd prefer not to drag Saxon's fiction through a craft discussion.

[Ken]

I doubt a thread split is really necessary as our discussion is immediately important to anyone looking here for insight into the Intaki calendar and is mostly geared toward the specifics thereof, but the mods can make that call.  If you want to get a more general thread going on the topic, I'm all for that.

Opt-in stuff is definitely better than opt-out, I agree.  We seem to be on the same side as far as actually liking the material, but I think my reading of Saxon's description of the calendar, its application, and importance to the average Intaki is different from yours.  I'm going to re-read the OP and see where the split is.  And... Okay.  I have done read it.

There are two primary segments here.  First, the calendar and then the description of Kumhbelaa.  The calendar itself is a logical division of time in keeping with what we know from the in-client info about the natural movement of Intaki V.  I can't imagine that being unacceptable to anyone, especially since details of planetary life as specific as the names of days of the week are largely unimportant to a capsuleer's regular activities.  We go by 24/365 Eden Standard Time anyway.  As much as I like it, this is a mostly unimportant fluff extrapolation from an in-client line of data.  Harmless.  (Still, consider how many Gallente pilots in space right now know the intricate details of Gallente Prime's orbital and rotational periods?  Fewer than the Intaki pilots that now know about Intaki Prime's, I'd wager. )

The 11-day Kumhbelaa holiday, a logical correction to the calendar's missing 2.2 days that has many comparisons in the real world, appears to be the part of the material that really exerts a broad impact on the implied experience of all Intakis everywhere.  As such, it's specifically this holiday that stands out as the offending factor from your point of view, no?  The way Saxon's depicted it, the holiday has similar significance to Christmas, Ramadan, or the Olympics; the kinds of events that are virtually impossible to avoid or not know about as an Earthling.  Chances are no matter where you're born, you at least know of if not observe two of those three in some way.  Thus it's difficult to imagine an Intaki raised anywhere within the diaspora (let alone on the homeworld like Simon--and some of my own characters) without knowing about Kumhbelaa and probably observing it at least once.  So this does jump into other folk's little sandy patch of the larger box and try to change the rules a bit.

In that respect and on face value, it's more likely to be ignored than embraced.  This, I think we probably both agree (and Saxon to be sure), is an undesirable outcome.  I won't defend it on a technical level as I can't.  You're correct that this requires the opt-out rather than invites the opt-in.  I will offer, however, that it's such a fine little construction that I'm surprised you would want to opt out at all.  Were he to change the scale/spread of the holiday's significance I would offer that it's cultural importance be geographically localized, limited to history, and/or to the more faithful Ida followers (and particularly among the ILF's membership).  Perhaps observations of the holiday vary even more greatly than he has already described and there are significant areas of the homeworld or elements of the society that don't get into it at all.

I think it's 'leap year' function can exist without requiring any undue over-backward bending on the part of Simon or any other Intaki pod pilot out there.  Harmless just like the names of the months.  But with a slightly tighter scope, it would be an opt-in decision to celebrate the holiday in any of the ways described in the OP.

On the right track?

[Saxon Hawke]

June 10th, YC110

The catastrophes of 10.06YC110 changed the face of New Eden by destroying much of what CONCORD had been built to achieve and reigniting open (if channeled) warfare between the great powers.  It is a day that indirectly led to the occupation of Intaki Prime by Caldari forces and the ongoing struggle for dominance in Placid and Black Rise.  Presuming the leap year is observed in the Eden Standard calendar at the same time we observe it in the present day, YC110 (2008) was a leap year.  That fateful day took place on the 162nd day of YC110 or 856 days ago.

In the Intaki calendar this was day 276 of year 1214 or Juhambhti Jhuambheyhti Intacandra 1214: it was the day of rebirth in the week of rebirth under the moon of Intaki.  What significance that dating holds is sure to be a topic of some discussion.

Creepy. That was a totally random thing that I in no way, shape or form planned.

[Valdezi]

I'm excited about celebrating Kumhbelaa this year. We can make a whole rp'ing big deal about it. Gives us something to rp aside from war and death.

[Ken]

Get it all in while you can.  It won't come around again for more than 8 Standard years, sometime around March 22, YC121 (2019)!  By then you might even be able to celebrate Kumhbelaa 1220 while walking inside a station. 

[Morwen Lagann]

Get it all in while you can.  It won't come around again for more than 8 Standard years, sometime around March 22, YC121 (2019)!  By then you might even be able to celebrate Kumhbelaa 1220 while walking inside a station. 

Dude, you're just giving him an excuse to tweak the math so that it happens next year.

[Saxon Hawke]

What does the ILF have planned for such an auspicious holiday I wonder...  It'll be the first to come since the organization was founded, yes?
What was the formative event that set the Intaki year to 0 (or 1)?

I was looking back over this topic and realized that I'd been asked questions that I never answered.

It is the first Kumhbelaa since our founding. As it so happens the fourth anniversary of our founding will take place on the second day of Kumhbella, so I imagine we will have some sort of special event planned. Nothing is set yet.

As for your second question, the start of the new calendar came about during a renaissance in Intaki culture. It is a popular misconception among some capsuleers that the Intaki were living in medieval society when the Gallente made first contact. While the Intaki were "pre-industrial," they were far from primitive and scientific concepts were not unknown to them.

It was about 2,000 years ago that Intaki astronomers were increasing their knowledge of their solar system (as much as one can with basic telescopic equipment) and the movement of their planet through it. Their calculations (which were fairly accurate) allowed the calendar as we know it today to be developed.

[Isobel Mitar]

I like the calendar, it is well made.

Bit off topic but I very much agree with the following:

I really wish rp'ers would be cautious about creating culture-wide norms. 

Personally, I consider opt-in a more polite, collaborative and flexible approach to RP and player-made fiction than opt-out. In particular, I feel opt-in structure scales much better to large goups of creative players each writing their own stuff (for example in MMORPGs). Opt-out forces the other players to interact on the terms offered, contest the fiction, or not interact at all.