148 



This comparison seems to prove, that the ana- 

 logies observed in the roots of the Par en i and 

 the Maypure are not to be neglected ; they are 

 however scarcely more frequent, than those that 

 have been observed between the Maypure of the 

 Upper Oroonoko, and the tongue of the Moxoes, 

 which is spoken on the banks of the Marmora*, 

 from 15° to 20° of South latitude. The Parenis 

 have in their pronunciation the English t h, or 

 tsa of the Arabians, as I clearly heard in the 

 word Amethami, devil, evil spirit. I shall not 

 notice again the origin of the word camosL 

 Solitary resemblances of sounds are as little 

 proof of communication between nations, as the 

 dissimilitude of a few roots furnishes against 

 the incontestible affiliation of the German from 

 the Persian and the Greek. It is remarkable 

 however, that the names of the Sun and Moon 

 are sometimes found to be identical in languages, 

 the grammatical construction of which is entire- 

 ly different ; I shall cite as examples the Gua- 



complications of it's grammatical structure, is Teo-ro. The 

 name of the Sun is Teo-umasoi. The particle ro designates a 

 woman, umasoi a man. Among the Beto'i, the Maypures, 

 and so many other nations of both continents, the Moon is 

 believed to be the wife of the Sun. But what is this root 

 Teo ? It appears to me very doubtful, that Teo-ro should 

 signify God-woman, for Memelu is the name of the All-power- 

 ful Being in Beto'i. 



* Vater, in the Mithridatm, vol. iii, Abth. ii, p. 618. 



