122 LIGHT AFFORDED BY PHILOLOGY. 



Language," * that the presence of Arabic names for the months 

 and days taken from the constellations of the zodiac and the 

 principal stars in these constellations, gives " some conclusions 

 as to the time when the Arabic influence began to work its 

 way here," and along with it the introduction of the terms 

 in question, " at least as to the terminus ante, quern it could not 

 have taken place." Mr. Dahle adds that " about the end of 

 the eighth century the Arabs already began studying astronomy, 

 and translating Greek works on that subject, and consequently 

 they can scarcely have introduced their astrology here earlier 

 than the ninth century ; probably it took place much later." 

 It will be seen, however, that this refers not to the arrival of 

 the Malagasy in the island, but only to the introduction of 

 a certain element into the already-existing population. 



As to the Malagasy language as a whole, the Eev. W. E. 

 Cousins says : f " The fact that resemblances to the Malagasy, 

 both in its vocabulary and in its grammar, are found in such 

 widely-separated regions [the Malayan and Polynesian Archi- 

 pelagoes], sometimes where they are wanting in the Malay 

 itself, makes it probable, I think, that the Malagasy emigra- 

 tion must be placed far back at some period before the more 

 cultivated languages took their present forms. "We should 

 also give due importance ( i ) to the absence of Mohammedan 

 traditions in Madagascar, (2) to the presence of a few Sanscrit 

 words, and (3) I think, too, to the richness of the Malagasy 

 in derivative forms, as I judge that the Malagasy has a far 

 greater variety of such forms than the Malay." Mr. Cousins also 

 says that, from the examples he adduces of the affinities between 

 Malagasy and the Malayan and Polynesian languages, he is 

 " disposed to believe that the Malagasy represents an older 

 stage in the common language now so widely spread over the 

 Indian and Pacific Oceans, and has not been derived from 

 what is at present known as Malay." 



Thus, so far as philology goes, it seems to indicate that the 

 emigration of the Malagasy tribes from the east occurred at 

 a somewhat remote era in the history of the human race. 



* Antananarivo Annual, No. ii. p. 82. 



t " The Malagasy Language ; " Philol. Soc. Trans., 1878. 



