At least 18 expressions are used in Tanii to distinguish stages of the day and night. As can be seen from the sketch below, these are particularly concentrated at points of transition such as dawn and the darking time of dusk.
- 1. paro ronge khonii : first crowing of the rooster before dawn
- 2. paro ronye khonii : second crowing of the rooster.
- 3. aro jimi jama : dawn (lit. "hazy morning")
- 4. aro konchi : early morning
- 5. danyi chadu : sunrise
- 6. aji indu : time for going to paddy field (8: 30-9:30 am)
- 7. alo apin diidu : lunch time
- 8. alo liipa : noon
- 9. alyin dalyi : afternoon
- 10. alyin apin piichan miidu : dinner cooking time (3-4 pm)
- 11. aji inii adu : returning from fields (5-6 pm)
- 12. danyi adu : sunset
- 13. alyin : evening
- 14. alyin jimi jama : late evening, dusk (lit. "hazy evening").
- 15. alyin kamo (lit. "dark evening")
- 16. piilo karlindo : moon is appearing in the sky.
- 17. ayo liipa : middle of the night/midnight
- 18. ayo-yolyan : late in the night (lit."late night").
The day is broadly divided into four periods: aro (morning), alo (day),alyin (evening), ayo (night), each of them further subdivided into several moments. As one may expect, Tanii language is much less specific about time during the night. It is to be noted that there is no specific word for "afternoon", that period of the day (alyin dalyi) being simply named in reference to the evening. The early stages of dawn are marked by a "first crowing of the rooster" (paro ronge khonii), followed by a second crowing (paro ronye khonii) which seems to mark the real dawn. In olden days both were probably important in directing domestic activities. Early morning (aro konchi) begins with a period of morning twilight between darkness and sunrise, and similarly evening begins with a period of evening twilight, when the sun has set but the darkness is not yet complete. Significantly, these moments are named respectively "hazy morning" (aro jimi jama) and "hazy evening" (alyin jimi jama), in reference to the mist cover which is a common sight of the Apatani Valley (see some pictures here) The "hazy evening" is followed by a "dark evening" (alyin kamo) that also marks the transition from day to night. The moment the sun is at its zenith is the "middle of the day" (alo liipa). Symetrically there is a "middle of the night" (ayo liipa), just as in English with "midday" and "midnight". The stages of the day are further delineated with references to routine tasks such as going to and from paddy fields, preparing of having meals.
PB & TT
