3. Where the Special Names in the Calendar of Isperih come from?

The Proto-Bulgarian names of the months were as follows:
 
 

First month	ALEM
Second month	TUTOM
Third month	CHITEM
Fourth month	TVIREM
Fifth month	VECHEM
Sixth month	SHEHTEM
Tenth month	ELEM
Eleventh month	ENIALEM
Twelfth month	ALTEM

 

The solution is unique and the names of the months were derived by a purely mathematical way and not under the influence of any linguistic or historical hypothesis. It is interesting to see, which peoples in the world have (or had) a similar system of months.

We cannot find a similar system among the Turkic peoples and the Turkic languages. For them the first month was BIRINCHI, the second - IKINCHI, the third - JUCHINCHI, etc. But the mathematical solution could be an artificial system which do not exist anywhere in the world. If it is indeed so, if that system was not known not only by the Turkic but by any other peoples in the world, it would compromise completely our mathematical exercises with the calendar. The obtained solution, although attractive, would be then unrealistic from a linguistic and historical point of view.

In our quest for peoples which have (or had) a similar numerical system it would be appropriate to look first at one little known but particularly interesting area - the Pamirs and the Hindu Kush, because according to the documentary sources it was the place where the Proto-Bulgarian people was formed. There one still meets the following cardinal numbers:
 

AL - one	OLAM - first, initial, ALIN - front
TU - two	TUOM, DUOM - second
CHIT - three	CHITEM, CHITAM - third
ZFIR - four	ZVIREM - fourth
VUCH, VOCH - five	VJUCHOM - fifth
SHEH - six	SHEHEM - sixth
IL - ten	ILEM - tenth

 

We have almost the entire numerical system, produced by the mathematical solution of the Proto-Bulgarian calendar terms, still present in the Pamirs and in the Hindu Kush. It was common in the mentioned area since oldest times - its signs were discovered in Khotan handwritings from the third, fourth century BC. The same system of counting is also found among peoples, emigrated from these areas a long time ago. It is partially preserved at present in the Eastern Caucasus, once affected by migration from the Pamirs. Some of the above cardinal numbers are used even as calendar terms.

Caucasian examples (Dagestani):
AL - one, ALHEN - first month
SHI - three
DIA - four
PHI, VID - five
EL - ten

In Caucasus and Dagestan, however, only the roots of these numbers were preserved, and they changed a lot: SHI instead of CHIT, DIA insted of TVIR, VID instead of VECH, etc. It shows they were taken from outside by the Caucasusian peoples, as individual words and not as a whole system.

Distant similarities are also found in the Georgian language, where ERT resembles our AL (one) and ERMETI corresponds to our ALEM (eleventh).

There are stronger parallels among some Celtic peoples, for example the Cymmrs, whose name reminds of the legendary eastern Cimmerians:

AL - one, ALEN - first, initial
TU, DU - two
PIS - five, FIS - fifth.

In earlier times the word EL - ten, was also used. It led to the English ELEVEN  - literally "ten and one".

The vestiges of the Proto-Bulgarian cardinal numbers are most pronounced in the Pamirs and in the Hindu Kush. Indicative is that traces of this system were found exactly in those areas, that were once populated by peoples from the Pamirs.

The mathematical deciphering of the Nominalia is completely harmonious with the characteristics of the Proto-Bulgarians derived from the other branches of science.

[Previous] [Next]
[Back to Contents]