In the

Aztec The Aztecs ( ) were a Mesoamerican civilization that flourished in central Mexico in the Post-Classic stage, post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central ...

(Mexica) culture, the

Nahuatl Nahuatl ( ; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahuas, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller popul ...

word refers to a period of five intercalary days inserted between the 360 days labeled with numbers and day-names in the main part of the Aztec seasonal calendar. Their location was roughly around 5–18 March every Gregorian year.

Etymology

The word means "they fill up in vain". Spanish lexicographers glossed it as , "wasted days". The interpretation is that the Mexicas considered the days unlucky, and most activities (including even cooking) were avoided as far as possible during the period; however this interpretation is contested by Indigenous people. According to Meza Gutierrez, Indigenous people used the 5 day period to reflect over the past year, and that this contemplation often included a period of fasting.

Position in Aztec calendar

Each of the 18 Aztec "months" had 20 days, for a total of 360 days. The accounted for the remaining 5 whole days in the nearly 365 ¼ day

tropical year A tropical year or solar year (or tropical period) is the time that the Sun takes to return to the same position in the sky – as viewed from the Earth or another celestial body of the Solar System – thus completing a full cycle of astronom ...

(365.2422, actual). There were no "

leap day A leap year (also known as an intercalary year or bissextile year) is a calendar year that contains an additional day (or, in the case of a lunisolar calendar, a month) compared to a common year. The 366th day (or 13th month) is added to kee ...

s" or "

leap year A leap year (also known as an intercalary year or bissextile year) is a calendar year that contains an additional day (or, in the case of a lunisolar calendar, a month) compared to a common year. The 366th day (or 13th month) is added to keep t ...

s" per-se, so over the course of 52 calendar years of 365 days each, the calendar accumulated a deficit of 13 days, which the

Julian calendar The Julian calendar is a solar calendar of 365 days in every year with an additional leap day every fourth year (without exception). The Julian calendar is still used as a religious calendar in parts of the Eastern Orthodox Church and in parts ...

(for example) accommodates by adding

s once every four years. According to Tunnicliffe (1979) the Aztecs dealt with the remaining fractional-day discrepancy with the true tropical year length by adding a (13 days) after each bundle of 52 years. The 13 days were not considered unlucky, but they were not labeled using the count (numbers and symbol) combinations used for the rest of the Aztec calendar, as they have their own unique count. A notable Indigenous leader born in the Nemontemi, was the Cuauhtemoctzin, one of the last tlahtoani of Mexico-Tenochtitlan.

References

{{reflist, 25em, refs= {{cite book , first=Rafael , last=Tena , year=2008 , title=The Mexica Calendar and the Chronography , publisher={{lang, es,

Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia The Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH, ''National Institute of Anthropology and History'') is a Federal government of the United Mexican States, Mexican federal government bureau established in 1939 to guarantee the researc ...

– CONACULTA {{cite book , last=Tunnicliffe , first=K.C. , year=1979 , title=Aztec Astrology , place=Romford, UK , publisher=L.N. Fowler , oclc=5355273 , isbn=9780852433584 This work shows how the {{lang, nci, nēmontēmi days are calculated for each current year (around 5–10 April every year). Aztec mythology and religion Aztec calendars

Etymology

Position in Aztec calendar

See also

References