The names of months of the year in ChiShona are derived from various beliefs and terms of significance to the Shona people. 

January is Ndira which is the ChiShona name of a black beetle

February and March are Kukadzi and Kurume which are derived from the words for Woman and Man respectively

April is Kubvumbi which is derived from the word mubvumbi meaning persistent drizzle. April signals the end of the rainy season and therefore light showers are experienced ahead of the harvest season

May is Chivabvu and it is named after the last maize before the harvesting season begins. Bandwe is another term to refer to the month of May

June is Chikumi. The origin of the word is not well documented. Mandundu is another term to refer to the month of June

July is Chikunguru and it is believed to be named after a fruit that grows well in the winter months called nhunguru or the governor’s plum

August is Nyamavhuvhu which is derived from the word kuvhuvhuta meaning blowing with strength in ChiShona. This month is the windiest month of the year in Zimbabwe and it coincides with the time at which households complete their crop storage activities.

September is Gunyana derived from the ChiShona word nyana for a nestling chick that has not yet left the nest. During this month, one can find chicks in abundance

October is Gumiguru which is derived from the word gumi meaning ten. This is fitting as October is the tenth month of the year. The direct translation of Gumiguru is “big ten”

November is Mbudzi named after a goat. It is believed that most goats are pregnant around this time hence it is taboo to kill goats in November. It is also taboo to get married or to host any rituals and ceremonies in November in order to avoid accidentally killing pregnant livestock which would be associated with a bad omen.

December is Zvita is derived from the ChiShona word mazvita which translated to “thank you”. The final month of the year is associated with thanksgiving and ceremonies as it follows the month of November where ceremonies were suspended due to traditional beliefs against killing pregnant livestock.

The seasons of the year are called Mwaka. Zimbabwe has relatively warm weather all year round and a rainy season over the summer months