Tibetan Calendar - Months

Months

During the time of the Tibetan Yar-lung Dynasty (7th – 9th century) Tibetan months (zla-ba, ཟླ་བ་ ) were named according to the four seasons:

First spring month (dpyid-zla ra-ba), middle spring month (dpyid-zla 'bring-po), last spring month (dpyid-zla mtha'-chung),

first summer month (dbyar-zla-zla ra-ba), middle summer month (dbyar-zla 'bring-po), last summer month (dbyar-zla mtha'-chung),

first autumn month (ston-zla ra-ba), middle autumn month (ston-zla 'bring-po), last autumn month (ston-zla mtha'-chung),

first winter month (dgun-zla ra-ba), middle winter month (dgun-zla 'bring-po) and last winter month (dgun-zla mtha'-chung).

From the 12th century onwards each month has been named by the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac:

stag (Tiger), yos (hare), 'brug (dragon), sbrul (snake), rta (horse), lug (sheep),

spre'u (monkey), bya (bird), khyi (dog), phag (pig), byi (mouse) and glang (ox).

With the introduction of the calendar of Kalacakratantra in the second half of the 11th century, months were also named via lunar mansions within which, roughly speaking, a full moon took place each month:

mchu, dbo, nag, sa-ga, snron, chu-stod, gro-bzhin, khrums, tha-skar, smin-drug, mgo and rgyal.

In the second half of the 13th century the famous ruler chos-rgyal 'Phags-pa introduced the system of counting the month by ordinal numbers, the so-called Hor (=Mongolian)-month:

All these systems of counting or naming months were used up to modern times.