No. 25 — 1882.] SINHALESE AND ARYAN VERNACULARS. 251 



NOTE.* 



Mdldive Numerals. 



u The inconvenient duodecimal mode of numeration was for- 

 merly exclusively used by the Maldivians — -the numerals from 

 1 to 12 being almost identical with the Sinhalese ; but, though 

 still in vogue here and there, it is gradually dying out, and rarely 

 employed in business calculations. Beyond 10 a modified form 

 of the Hindustani decimal numeration is that in common use. 

 Some confusion, however-, arises from the co-existence of the 

 two systems ; thus, fanas or fans as may be either 48 or 50 ; My a 

 or sat4ka,'9Q or 100." (" The -Maldive Islands," Sessional 

 Papers, Ceylon, 1881, p. 121.) 



Mr. Albert Gray in giving the Maldive numerals recorded 

 bv Pyrard with their Sinhalese equivalents, add s in a foot 

 note : — u After this number Pyrard has the following : — 1 Note 

 that they have the numbers up to twelve (as we have the in 

 up to ten) : then they go on by twelves, and their hundred 

 is 96; or eight times 12,' It will be seen by the numbers - 

 which follow that those only which are correct according to 

 Sinhalese enumeration are compounds of dolos, viz., tin (lotos, 

 passedolos, and ad dolos. They are simply, ' three dozen', ' five 

 dozen/, and 6 seven dozen.' On the other hand, those which 

 are not compounds of dolos are altered values of the ordinary 

 Sinhalese decimal numbers. Yet it is strange that Pyrard could 

 make mistakes with numbers so low as 6 twenty-four' and ' forty- 



'eight' which by analogy ought to be dedolos and hdradolos .. 



It seems that the Maldivians count much by dozens ; indeed, 

 Christopher (Trans. Bom, Geog. Soc. 1836-8, p, 69) says, 



* Mr, Rauasigha's paragraph (p. 241) on Maldive numerals justifies 

 this note. — B. Hon. Sec. 



