Tamil Months

Although the lunar calendar is by far the
most important means for determining
the Hindu religious calendar, these
lunar months are also set in the framework of a solar calendar. The latter is
used for the calculation of the intercalary month, which helps keep the
lunar and solar calendars in rough correspondence. In northern India the
months of the solar calendar correlate
with the zodiac, with each month
named after the sign into which the sun
is reckoned as entering at the beginning
of that month. In southern India the
divisions of the solar calendar are exactly
the same as in the north, but the twelve
months are given different names. The
Tamil months take their names from
some of the nakshatras, or features in
the lunar zodiac, or from modifications
of the lunar months. The Tamil year
begins with the month of Chittirai,
which corresponds to the northern
Indian solar month of Mesha (the zodiacal sign of Aries), which by the Indian
calculations, falls within April and May.
The eleven months following Chittirai
are Vaikasi, Ani, Adi, Avani, Purattasi,
Aippasi, Kartigai, Margali, Tai, Masi,
and Panguni. Such different calendars
are one clear sign of the continuing
importance of regional cultural
patterns. This regional culture is particularly important in the Tamil cultural
area because Tamil is one of the few
regional languages with an ancient,
well-established literary tradition.