162 Transactions. 



ngahuru was used for ten aud tekau for eleven, while in the 

 centre of the Island ngahurtc and tekmi both represent ten. 

 Judging from Polynesian comparatives, the use of tekau, both 

 for ten and eleven, seems to be of local origin, though it may, 

 strictly speaking, have meant ten pairs. He also gives a 

 variation in the form of the distributive prefix, or a plural 

 form thereof, where tataki is used for taki, the example 

 being, Kia tataki rua pu nga utit i te tangata (Let each man 

 have four payments). In speaking of the ordinals he gives 

 three ways of expressing such — (1) By tua prefixed to the 

 cardinal, as tna torn = third ; (2) by lohaka prefixed, as ivhaka- 

 tekau = tenth ; (3) by the simple cardinal with the definite 

 article, as te wha = the fourth. The first and third of these 

 modes have been given as in use among the Tuhoe Tribe, but 

 whaka I have not heard so used. Was it used before ten 

 only, or might it be used before any of the digits ? 



Having now (7th January, 1906) obtained some further in- 

 formation anent Maori numeration, I proceed to add the same 

 to above notes. 



Tekau. — Several old Natives of the Tuhoe and Ngati-Awa 

 Tribes confirm the statement that tekau was formerly used to 

 denote twenty, and was not used for ten. As kaii seems to 

 have been a Polynesian word meaning "collection" or " as- 

 sembly," then the expression would prooably have been ori- 

 ginally te kau = th.e whole, or the assembling of the ten fingers 

 and ten toes, te being the definite article singular. 



Table No. 1 : This shows the ordinary mode of counting 

 singly, as formerly used. It includes, in a singular way, 

 a vigesimal system — that is to say, it is partially vigesimal. 

 It has the special term for ten which, however, was not used 

 as a multiple. It has a special term for twenty, but none 

 for thirty ; a special term for forty, but none for fifty ; 

 for sixty, but none for seventy ; and so on. Thirty was 

 " twenty and ten." Thirty-one was " twenty, ten, and one " ; 

 and so on to thirty-nine. Forty was a distinct term (Jiokorua), 

 and then another twenty was commenced. It will be observed 

 that the vigesimal system was never carried beyond 180 {ho- 

 koiiva), or nine twenties, except in conjunction with the ra^t 

 (hundred): e.g., kotahi ran, hokoivhitu, for 310 — i.e., one 

 hundred twice told and seventy couples. A common form, 

 however, was to abbreviate such terms : as kotahi rail ma 

 whitu, or he rau ma ichittc, for 340 ; kotahi rail ma rua, for 

 120 doubled; and so on. 



I have consulted a great many Natives as to the value of 

 the prefix hoko, and the majority state that this prefix con- 

 veyed the meaning of twenty times the subjoined numeral. 

 Some, however, maintain that it merely implied ten times the 



