183There are interactions between the rain cycle and the phenological cycle, which
have been lexicalised, and are used when discussing weather conditions on a fi ner
scale. The Solega characterise some periods of rain name d in their calendar as being
dominated by precipitation of a certain type—for example, the term a:dire ko:ḍe is
often used to talk about the a:dire rain period, as ko:ḍe ‘rain in foggy conditions’
more accurately describes the meteorological conditions prevailing at that time.
Similarly, teppa jiḍi falls during teppaso:ne in July, where jiḍi refers to ‘light driz-
zle’, while the period of sitte-sa:nti in October is normally dominated by gaṇḍu
maḷe ‘male rain’, which indicates heavy downpours accompanied by gusting winds.
The blooming of the baise fl ower in November is taken as a reliable indicator of the
approach of another type of rain—here, the precipitation is not named after the time
of year during which it occurs ( i.e. a:negampa:lu/anura:da ) but after the fl ower.
Baise hu:vina jiḍi ‘ baise fl ower drizzle’ is subsequently the lexicalised term for the
light drizzle falling in the winter months.
Discrete points in the phenological cycle may have a bearing on agricultural
terminology, once again as a result of observed co-incidences between two or more
events. For instance, the penultimate growth stage of the ra:gi plant (when the seed-
head is in the ka:sakki stage—see Excursus 6.2 ) is particularly susceptible to a dis-
ease (possibly blast), that can lead to a signifi cant loss in yield. The ka:sakki stage
usually co-incides with the fl owering of the beṇḍe trees, and as a result, the disease
is called beṇḍe hu:vina visa ‘ beṇḍe fl ower poison’ by Solega farmers. While this
represents a case of a phenological event having a perceived impact on agriculture,
the reverse, namely the impact of agricultural practice on phenological events, is
also noted. The most prominent example in this respect is the colonisation of land
cleared by fi re by all manner of grasses and other pioneer species. In the days when
such agricultural burning was widely practiced, the resulting ash bed or benda kari
(lit. ‘burnt black’) would become a rich substrate not only for cultivated crops, but
also for a range of other plants that were valued for their nutritional, medicinal and
aesthetic properties. These included plants like a:sa:ḍi be:ru ( Asparagus sp.), said
to be an effective remedy for problems of the gut; gi:jigana ambu ( Caesalpinia
mimosoides ), whose new growth has a pleasant smell, and is used to make sa:du , a
kind of chutney; many types of nela hu: ‘ground-cover fl owers’, the source of the
special honey mentioned above; and the sweet-smelling minciga fl ower (poss.
Exacum tetragonum ), a ready ally in the courting of women:
Ondu sari na:vu ka:ḍu benda:ga, minciga hu: andare gaṇava:da hu: buḍtittu a:ga, yelli
no:ḍdare biri minciga hu:. Adu namma avaru — namma hengisaru—alli ho:da:ga avarige
ishṭa bartittu, “idu ho:gu na:nu muḍiya be:ku”, a:genta a: hu: muḍdu uṭṭu ka:ḍiga
ho:gva:ga. I:ga hu:gaḷu ondu illa. A:ga da:rili ho:gta:idda:ga a: hu:vina ba:ri gamala bar-
tittu...a:va:ga ka:ḍella pu:ra ondu tara gamala bartittu. I:va:ga a: gamala onduve baralla.
After you lit a fi re , the fragrant minciga fl owers would bloom, wherever you looked, there’d
only be minciga fl owers. Among our people—our women—they would want the fl owers,
[so you’d say to yourself], “I need to go pick some”, and you’d do so when going to the
forest. You don’t get any fl owers now. Back then, while walking along a path, you could
really smell the perfume of the fl owers... the whole forest would smell like that. It doesn’t
anymore.6.2 Types of Signs