﻿J. 
  T. 
  Thomson. 
  — 
  Uii 
  Barat 
  or 
  Barata 
  Fossil 
  Words. 
  159 
  

  

  The 
  j)reseiit 
  paper 
  is 
  thus 
  prmcipally 
  devoted 
  to 
  the 
  following 
  question, 
  

   viz., 
  by 
  analogy 
  in 
  fossil 
  words 
  or 
  radicals, 
  how 
  far 
  are 
  we 
  justified 
  in 
  

   denoting 
  Hindustan 
  as 
  the 
  original 
  seat 
  of 
  the 
  Malagas-malayo-polynesian 
  

   race, 
  which, 
  for 
  the 
  sake 
  of 
  brevity 
  and 
  distinction, 
  I 
  have 
  taken 
  the 
  liberty 
  

   to 
  term 
  Barata. 
  In 
  attempting 
  to 
  solve 
  this 
  question, 
  we 
  must 
  have 
  regard 
  

   to 
  other 
  theories 
  that 
  have 
  been 
  propounded 
  by 
  various 
  authors. 
  The 
  most 
  

   generally 
  accepted 
  theory, 
  viz., 
  that 
  the 
  Malagaso-polynesiaus 
  were 
  of 
  

   Malay 
  origin, 
  I 
  have 
  already 
  dealt 
  with 
  in 
  my 
  previous 
  essays. 
  Another 
  

   theory 
  I 
  have 
  since 
  observed 
  to 
  be 
  that 
  the 
  Malayo-malagasi 
  had 
  sprung 
  

   from 
  the 
  Polynesian, 
  the 
  supporters 
  averring 
  that 
  as 
  the 
  Polynesian 
  was 
  

   the 
  more 
  primitive 
  and 
  ancient 
  section, 
  he 
  must 
  have 
  been 
  the 
  progenitor. 
  

   To 
  this 
  the 
  following 
  considerations 
  suggest 
  themselves 
  : 
  1st. 
  Admitted 
  

   that 
  the 
  Polynesian 
  is 
  the 
  most 
  primitive 
  and 
  ancient 
  section, 
  this 
  only 
  

   denotes 
  that 
  he 
  was 
  the 
  first 
  to 
  migrate 
  from 
  his 
  original 
  seat, 
  when 
  that 
  

   seat— 
  whether 
  in 
  Africa, 
  Asia, 
  America, 
  or 
  Australia 
  — 
  was 
  in 
  possession 
  of 
  

   a 
  primitive 
  and 
  ancient 
  ancestry 
  ; 
  and 
  as 
  there 
  have 
  been 
  waves 
  of 
  migra- 
  

   tion 
  from 
  time 
  to 
  time, 
  the 
  most 
  primitive 
  have 
  stretched 
  out 
  furthest.* 
  

   2nd. 
  The 
  over-running 
  of 
  skilled 
  populous 
  and 
  armed 
  nations 
  by 
  the 
  

   simple 
  weak 
  and 
  defenceless, 
  is 
  contrary 
  to 
  all 
  experience, 
  ancient 
  or 
  

   modern. 
  3rd. 
  Another 
  theory 
  has 
  been 
  suggested, 
  that 
  Africa 
  was 
  the 
  

   original 
  seat 
  of 
  the 
  race, 
  another 
  that 
  it 
  was 
  in 
  Egypt 
  ; 
  but 
  as 
  these 
  have 
  

   had 
  little 
  acceptation, 
  I 
  merely 
  notice 
  the 
  same. 
  

  

  Before 
  entering 
  into 
  the 
  comparison 
  of 
  words 
  in 
  different 
  dialects 
  or 
  

   languages, 
  in 
  order 
  to 
  judge 
  of 
  the 
  connection 
  of 
  race 
  we 
  must 
  hold 
  in 
  view 
  

   this 
  fact, 
  that 
  the 
  radicals 
  bear 
  but 
  a 
  small 
  proportion 
  to 
  the 
  whole, 
  thus 
  in 
  

   an 
  Enghsh 
  dictionary 
  of 
  90,000 
  words, 
  not 
  more 
  than 
  4000 
  or 
  -^^ 
  part 
  are 
  

   Saxon. 
  Hence, 
  amongst 
  the 
  races 
  whose 
  languages 
  we 
  are 
  about 
  to 
  

   consider, 
  and 
  whose 
  dictionaries 
  do 
  not 
  count 
  over 
  5000 
  to 
  6000 
  words, 
  we 
  

   must 
  be 
  prepared 
  to 
  find 
  not 
  over 
  300 
  words 
  more 
  or 
  less 
  which 
  can 
  come 
  

   under 
  the 
  denomination 
  of 
  radical 
  terms 
  or 
  fossil 
  words. 
  This 
  fact 
  at 
  the 
  

   same 
  time 
  facilitates 
  the 
  investigation, 
  making 
  it 
  less 
  laborious. 
  

  

  The 
  number 
  of 
  works 
  that 
  can 
  be 
  compared 
  are 
  further 
  curtailed 
  by 
  the 
  

   subject 
  or 
  object 
  being 
  only 
  known 
  in 
  portions 
  of 
  the 
  regions 
  inhabited. 
  

   Thus 
  whUe 
  I 
  have 
  gone 
  over 
  many 
  full 
  vocabularies, 
  I 
  have 
  been 
  forced 
  to 
  

   strike 
  out 
  many 
  of 
  the 
  words 
  from 
  the 
  above 
  cause. 
  For 
  instance, 
  the 
  

   cocoa-nut 
  well 
  known 
  to 
  the 
  Malay 
  is 
  not 
  known 
  to 
  the 
  Maori. 
  In 
  a 
  similar 
  

   manner 
  the 
  deer, 
  elephant, 
  plantain, 
  rice, 
  &c., 
  are 
  weU 
  known 
  in 
  some 
  

   regions 
  but 
  not 
  in 
  others 
  — 
  hence, 
  though 
  they 
  come 
  under 
  the 
  designation 
  of 
  

   radical 
  terms, 
  they 
  are 
  inapphcable 
  in 
  our 
  enquiry. 
  

  

  * 
  See 
  Trans. 
  N.Z. 
  Inst., 
  Vol. 
  IV„ 
  1871, 
  p. 
  47. 
  

  

  