162 Proceedings of the Royal Irish Acadetny. 



There was also obtained at ]iluraliig ina noMyet (tliis liere hand), or 

 nablget (this hand) for five ; naliget naliyet for ten : nahihoku (this 

 foot), for fifteen; and nalikohi nabiJcohi for twenty. Naliget can 

 hardly he said to be the name of the number five, but that there were 

 as many of the objects referred to as there are fiDgers on one hand.^ 

 In the same island maura was given for 100 (probably nmra " all "), 

 and Jcaiyasa for 1000 (Jcoi gorsar, a great many), hut these are not true 

 numerals. 



The words icara, itTca which appear in the Saibai its. and in the 

 Gospel for one, two, are probably the root forms of the numerals. 

 War a is also used for other, a certain, in the Gospels, and uha appears 

 as a verb, ukamoin, to double. Uha-modohigal, used for three in the 

 Gospel is also formed from ulca. Modohigal means " the fellow which 

 makes up (three) " from the verb rnodobia^ to answer, pay, i.e. give in 

 return, and the noun igal. Cf. Daubai modohe, to make up. 



The demonstratives i?w (singular), tpdl (dual), and ifa (plural), are 

 sometimes used with one, two, and three. One Muralug informant 

 gave 1 = ino nrapuni (this one), 2 = ij)al ukosa (those two), 3 = ita 

 badagili (those not the other two), 4 -ipal nTcosa ulcosa, 5 = ipal ulcosa 

 ino urapi'Jii, and 6 = ipal ulcosa ukosa ukosa or tcara badagili. 



CoTinting is usually performed on the fingers, beginning with the 

 little finger of the left hand. This was probably the original method. 

 There was also a system of counting on the body by commencing at 

 the little finger of the left hand, kotodimura, then following on with 

 the fourth finger, kotodimura gornyozinga (or guruzinga) ; middle finger, 

 il get ; index finger, kJak-netoi-get (spear-throwing finger) ; thumb, 

 kabaget (paddle -finger) ; wrist, perta or tiap ; elbow joint, kudu ; 

 shoulder, zugu Tcwoik ; left nipple, susu madu (breast-flesh) ; sternum, 

 hosa, dadir ; right nipple, susu madu, and ending with the little finger 

 of the right hand. (These names were obtained at 3Iabuiag ; those 

 used in Tud and ICuralug are somewhat difPerent).^ This gives 

 nineteen enumerations, of which eleven to nineteen are merely inverse 



• These are suggestive of the Lifu vigesimal system, and are, perhaps, imitations 

 of it. 



2 Mac-farlane's its. gives a similar list for Saibai: — 1. urapon; 2. wardadim 

 (other finger) ; 3. (f(?rfa<fi>H (middle finger) ; 4. A-a/«Z:oni<«, spear thrower ; 5. Jcuiku- 

 <?iw(0, chief finger or thumb ; 6. j?«"ia, wrist ; 7. X-m/^j/ (elbow) : 8. r?/^f<, shoulder ; 

 9. sum, breast ; 10. habu, back ; 12. u:adegam zugu, shovilder on the Other side. 



