NELSON] SYSTEM OF NUMERATION 237 



until the right thumb, or immber five, is reached. Passing thence to 

 the little finger of the left hand for six, the fingers of this hand are 

 opened successively until the left thumb and ten are reached. As ten is 

 said the two hands, thumbs near together and fingers all outstretched, 

 palms down, are extended a little from the body. Then the right foot is 

 advanced a little and the right forefinger points at the little toe of that 

 foot as the counter says at-kJtakh -tdk. This word ordinarily means &quot;it 

 goes down, and is used here both to indicate the descent in counting 

 from hands to feet as well as having, at times, an acquired meaning in 

 this connection of eleven. The toes are counted from right to left until 

 the right great toe is reached, when both hands with open fingers, 

 palms down, are extended toward the right foot, which is advanced a 

 little more as the counter announces fifteen. The counter then lets the 

 left hand fall by the side and points at the left great toe, saying, yukh -tok, 

 meaning &quot;it goes over,&quot; and sometimes conveying in this connection 

 the acquired meaning of sixteen, as well as the going &quot;over&quot; of the 

 count from one side of the body to the other. The other toes of the left 

 foot are then enumerated from right to left, and as the small toe is 

 reached, if the person be sitting, he extends both feet in front of him, 

 doing the same with his hands, palms down, and says twenty; if he be 

 standing, then the open hands are extended downward with a slight 

 motion and the number is spoken. 



The use of (it-khakh -tok and giikh -tok for numerals, as given above, 

 is not uncommon among the intelligent people who are able to count 

 readily up to twenty in a single series of numerals. Among the igno 

 rant and slow-witted twenty is reached by making up four series of num 

 bers running from one to five. In cases of this kind these two words 

 are used between ten and eleven and fifteen and sixteen, simply to 

 convey their regular meaning. They are most commonly used in count 

 ing the fingers and toes, when their application is quite natural; but 

 often they are used in counting various other objects, and seem to be 

 in a transitional state toward becoming the regularly recognized numer 

 als. When used as numerals, as noted above, their meaning in that 

 sense seems to be recognized by everyone. 



Two is usually mal -u-ghuJc, but it is often replaced by ai -pa, which 

 means second, or a pair. This latter word is used commonly to desig 

 nate one of a pair, such, for instance, as in speaking of the close friend 

 of another person, who is referred to as his ai -pti. The name for the 

 right arm and hand taken together is ta-hUk -pik. 



The term for five is ta-hli -mtk. The right hand alone is called 

 ta-hlik -phn ai -M (ai -Mk = hand, either right or left). 



Nine is Jeo -ltn-o-gho-tai -Un-un, from ko-lln , ten, and tai -tiik, not, or 

 lacking; i. e., ten lacking one. 



Ko-Un , ten, is from ko-hli , the upper half or the upper part of the 

 body, or the count of the fingers. The word half is ko -kan. 



Twenty is yu-i -niik, from yuk^ man, and means &quot;a man completed.&quot; 



