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TheBalinese saka calendar is one of two calendars used on theIndonesian island ofBali. Unlike the210-day pawukon calendar, it is based on thephases of the Moon, and is approximately the same length as thetropical year (solar year, Gregorian year).
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The calendar islunisolar: the Saka year comprises 12 months, orsasih, each consisting of 30 days. However, because the lunar cycle is slightly shorter than 30 days, and because thelunar year has a length of 354 or 355 days, the calendar is adjusted to prevent it losing synchronization with the lunar or solar cycles. The months are adjusted by allocating two lunar days to one solar day every 9 weeks. This solar day is calledngunalatri,Sanskrit for "minus one night". To stop the Saka year from deviating unduly from the solar year – as happens with theIslamic calendar – an extraintercalary month is inserted after the 11th month (when it is known asMala Jiyestha), or after the 12th month (Mala Sadha). The length of these months is calculated according to the normal 63-day cycle. An intercalary month is added whenever necessary to prevent the final day of the 7th month, known asTilem Kapitu, from falling in the Gregorian month of December.[citation needed]
The names the 12 months are taken from a mixture of Old Balinese and Sanskrit words for the ordinal numbers from 1 to 12, and are as follows:[1][2]
Each month begins the day after a new moon and has 15 days of waxing moon until the full moon (Purnama), then 15 days of waning, ending on the new moon (Tilem). Both sets of days are numbered 1 to 15. The first day of the year is usually the day after the first new moon in March.[3] Note, however, thatNyepi falls on the first day of Kadasa, and that the years of the Saka era are counted from that date.[citation needed]
Year numbering in the calendar is 78 years behind theGregorian calendar, and is calculated from (its "epoch" is) the beginning of theSaka Era inIndia. It is used alongside the 210-dayBalinese pawukon calendar, and Balinese festivals can be calculated according to either year. The Indian Saka calendar was used for royal decrees as early as the ninth century CE.[4] The same calendar was used inJava untilSultan Agung replaced it with theJavanese calendar in 1633.[5]
The Balinese Hindu festival ofNyepi, the day of silence, marks the start of the Saka year. Tilem Kapitu, the last day of the 7th month, is known asSiva Ratri, and is a night dedicated to the godShiva. Devotees stay up all night and meditate. There are another 24 ceremonial days in the Saka year, usually celebrated atPurnama (full moon).[2]
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