"Pasang" is a word for tide in Indonesia, and for ripple or wave in Korea. "Marea" means tide in Italian, similar to other latin languages.
The Pasang Marea calendar divides the year in 25 neaps (paksha in Sanskrit), which is between 14 and 15 days and represents the time between two major (spring) tides. It relates to the phases of the moon.
Neap name and length[]
Neaps are named after sea gods in various cultures.
| Neap | Neap name | Length | Deity | Mythological origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nu | 15 | Nu/Nun | Egyptian personification of the primordial waters |
| 2 | Danu | 14 | Dewi Danu | Balinese Hindu goddess of water |
| 3 | Mazu | 15 | Mazu | Chinese goddess of the sea and protector of seafarers |
| 4 | Neptu | 15 | Poseidon/Neptune | Olympian god of the sea |
| 5 | Namu | 15 | Nammu | Sumerian goddess of the primeval sea |
| 6 | Egi | 14 | Ægir | Ancient Germanic personification of the sea |
| 7 | Amansi | 15 | Amansinaya | Tagalog goddess of fishermen |
| 8 | Ebi | 15 | Ebisu | Japanese god of fortunes and fishery |
| 9 | Yami | 15 | Yam | Canaanite god of the sea |
| 10 | Velli | 14 | Vellamo | Finnish goddess of the sea, lakes and storms |
| 11 | Kimba | 15 | Kimbazi | Bantu goddess of sea storms |
| 12 | Kiwa | 15 | Kiwa | A Maori guardian of the seas |
| 13 | Varua | 15 | Varuna | Hindu god of the ocean, rains and water |
| 14 | Sedna | 14 | Sedna | Inuit goddess of the sea |
| 15 | Ligna | 15 | Alignak | Inuit lunar deity and god of tides |
| 16 | Ikate | 15 | Ikatere | Maori fish god, father of all the sea creatures |
| 17 | Sedse | 15 | Sedsed | Aeta god of the sea |
| 18 | Ague | 14 | Agwé/Goue | Haitian loa of the sea, fish and aquatic plants |
| 19 | Oke | 15 | Oceanus | Titan god of the Okeanos river in Ancient Greece |
| 20 | Noede | 15 | Nodens | Celtic god of the sea, of healing and hunting |
| 21 | Yemo | 15 | Yemoja | Yoruba orisha of the sea waves, metaphysical mother of all the Orishas |
| 22 | Bsompo | 14 | Bosompo | Akan primordial embodiment of the oceans |
| 23 | Kuko | 15 | Kukulcan | Mayan god of seas and storms |
| 24 | Cao | 15 (14) | Cá Ông | Vietnamese god that helps the ships |
| 25 | Aro | 15 | Aruna | Hittite god of the sea |
A note about English pronunciation:
- neaps ending in "u" are told with a short "oo" (flu)
- neaps ending in "i" are told with a short "ee" (mini)
- neaps ending in "a" are told with an open "ah" (panda)
- neaps ending in "e" are told with an open "eh" (karate)
- neaps ending in "o" are told with a full "oh" (piano)
There are six 14-day neaps: Danu, Egi, Velli, Sedna, Ague and Bsompo. There are also rare events when Cao is a 14-day neap, as discussed in the next section.
Leap year[]
Every four years, the neap of Aro is skipped. That matches leap years in the Gregorian calendar.
When a leap year is skipped in the Gregorian calendar (turn of the century when year is not multiple of 400), it is still a leap year in the Pasang Marea calendar with one neap missed and additionally the preceding neap loses one day: Cao has 14 instead of 15 days.
The leap year rule synchronises the two calendars after one year, so the Pasang Marea and the Gregorian calendar begin on the same day on the second year after a leap year. For example, a new Pasang Marea year starts on 1 January 2026.
With leap years the average length of a neap is:
days
It is close to half the average time between two new moons which is 14.7653 days, but there is a drift of one day every 5 years.