used by different Nations. 305 



oije fiandh, or those of both, or they add also the two fe^t tfliih^ 

 hands. This difierence in proceeding produces different resit- 

 ing-places, and thus are formed groups of 5, 10, or 20. It is, 

 however, worth observing, that among the nations of the new 

 continent, as among the Mandingas in Africa, the Biscayans, 

 and the GaeHc tribes of the old continent, groups of twenty 

 jBi^'e in prevaihng use *. i , . ; , , , ,,, 



•i;In the Chibcha language of the Muyscas, (who* lik^,th9 

 inhabitants of Japan and of Thibet had an ecclesiastical and a 

 laical chief ; and whose method of intercalating the 37th month 

 like tlie inhabitants of North India, has been pubhshed and 

 explained by mef), 11, 12, 13, are called foot one (quihieha 

 ata), foot two (quihieha bosa), foot three (quihieha mica), 

 from quihieha or quhieha (foot), and the first three unities, 

 attti bozha or bosa, and mica. The arithmetical signification 

 of foot is ten, because the foot begins to be taken into account, 

 when both hands are passed through. To express twenty, the 

 Muyscas use in their arithmetical language the expression foot 

 ten, or the small house (gueta), perhaps because they used, in 

 counting, grains of maize, and such a heap of maize reminded 

 them of the barn, where maize was laid up. By means of the 

 expression small house (or barn), and twenty (both feet and 

 hands) they formed the expressions for 30, 40, 80, by joining 

 them together, as, twenty plus ten ; twice twenty ; four times 

 twenty. Quite similar are the Celtic expressions which have 

 passed into the languages of Roman origin, as^ quatre vingt, 

 and quinze vingt, or those more rarely met with, as six vingt, 

 sept vingt, huit vingt. Deux vingt, and trois vingt are not 

 used in French ; but in the Gaelic or Celtic dialect of West 

 Britany, through which I passed a few years ago, twenty is 

 (Jelled ugent, forty daou-ugent^ or two twenty ; sixty fri-ugenf, 

 91^^ three twenty. It is even said deh ha nao ugent, or ten over 

 ^i^gj^w;^ty=19()+. fo iqu<pO .^-.^^\iimi. n.M5u>ii>u 



• Instances of such numeral jjproups of twenty unities are found iu America 

 im^tig the Muyscas, the Otomites, the Aztekes, the Cora Indians, &c. 

 •,^;(- Monupa. Americains, t. ii., p. 250 — 253. The Muyscas had some stones 

 covered vlth arithmetical hieroglyphs, which, hy being placed in a certain order, 

 facilitated to the priests (xeques) the intercalation of the ritual year. The figure 

 of a stoiid 'Which ser\'ed for that purjjose may be seen in my work, Tab. XLIV. 



X Daviess Ceitic Researches y 1804.p.321.LegodiuecGramniaireCelto-bretonne, 



