Arop, Sissano and now Kuni 'Lost Number Systems'

Wed Aug 15 20:29:51 UTC 2007

As a footnote to the Arop/Sissano/Warapu discussion, and following
John Nystrom's experience that the Sissano don't
have much more of a number system than one, two , and many.
(Thanks to Rene van den Berg)

  Here's another example of the same thing, a century old,
from Dr Strong in another corner of New Guinea:

"There is one quite exceptional Melanesian-speaking people 
who are strangely deficient as regards counting. In 1905 
I was in their country. They live on the south coast in 
the Kuni district, inland from Hall Sound. These people have, 
or at least in 1905 had, no trace of any numeral beyond three. 
For "two" they used lua, and for " three" koi. These words are 
both obviously of Melanesian origin. 

  In 1905 I was using a Motu-speaking Kuni native as guide. 

  On asking him how many times we would have to sleep on the road 
in going from Mafulu to Kabadi, he replied in Motuan, " three 
times, toi. Like many of the people around Hall Sound he was 
unable to say a "t" and pronounced all his "t's" as "k's."
  So his pronunciation of the Motuan word toi was really koi. 

  On my asking the names of the places we had to sleep at, he 
correctly mentioned five names, and these names I afterwards 
verified. On asking  him to explain why he said we had to sleep 
koi times and yet gave five names, he seemed quite unaware that 
the fact required explanation. 

  At the time, I discussed this with some of the missionaries who 
could talk the Kuni language, and they confirmed the fact that in 
practice  the Kuni people used the word koi to mean a few. 

  The Kuni people, in fact, really only counted one, two, a few, many.

  The Kuni are the only Melanesian-speaking people in British New Guinea
who have gone far inland. Their language is obviously a regular 
Melanesian one, very closely allied indeed to the Motu of Port Moresby, 
which has a well-defined system of numeration, going at least up 
to a thousand. 

  It is very difficult to see how the Kuni people can have lost numerals 
like " five," if they ever had them.

  I feel rather driven to the conclusion that the Melanesian numerals 
above toi are a comparatively recent introduction, subsequent to the 
arrival of the Melanesians in New Guinea. 
  The Kuni natives are by no means deficient in intelligence. 
  The Kuni guide I had was quite intelligent and particularly energetic".

  [ I would think he was "particularly energetic" if he spent 5 nights
  on the road, but only considered it worthwhile sleeping for 3 - RP] 

  Some Personal Experiences in British New Guinea. W. M. Strong
The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain 
and Ireland, Vol. 49. (Jul. -Dec., 1919), pp. 292-308.
http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0307-3114%28191907%2F12%2949%3C292%3ASPEIBN%3E2.0.CO%3B2-T

Later records for Kuni show:

  Strong 1905 kaona (1), lua (2), koi (few)   

  Ray 1929 kaona (1), lua(2), koi, or kuana kaona (3), 
luana ove luana (4) koi (5)

  SIL 1975 kaona(1), lua (2), koi (3), vani (4), ima beke (5), 
ima lua itobu, ogala (10), ogala nua-bona (20) 

  Ogala (10) looks like a loan from Toura ukara (10). Ima lua itobu means 
'hand two complete'.

  This example is almost exactly like the Arop/Sissano/Malol/Sera one that's 
been under discussion here, and shows very speedy 'evolution'  from virtually 
no number system at all, to an 'express train to decimalisation', presumably 
under the influence of 'peace and inter-group mixing' brought about by a 
paternal colonial government (even if the modern Kuni are 'making up numbers'
to satisfy and impress enquiring linguists). 

  The real question is: How did their almost complete absence of a number system 
come about?

  I feel a certain sympathy for Dr. Strong's opinion that 'the Melanesian numerals 
above toi are a comparatively recent introduction, subsequent to the arrival of 
the Melanesians in New Guinea'.

  The majority of An languages in the 'Melanesian' area (from Timor to Vanuatu)
  have number systems that owe little to the PAn or POC proto-language 
  'fully blown' decimal systems. 

  You can practically 'see' number systems evolving, with some using their own 
'hand' word for 5, 2 x 5 for 10, and 'all done' or 'man' for 20, 
meaning they counted their toes as well.

  'Tekau' is a frequent word for 20 in Polynesian (Marquesan, Tahitian (ta'au), 
Tongan, Niuean, Tokelauan, and Maori (before contact - it's now replaced 
'hanguru' as 10). 

  Perhaps someone could advise me whether tekau means 
'all done' or 'man'. 

  Whichever it is, it shows definite 'fossilised' evidence of pre-Polynesian 
toe-counting.

  As does the Taiwanese Saisyat sam?iyah, that also means 20 and 'man'. 
They'd be the last people you'd suspect of picking up bad habits from 
Mela- or Poly- nesians.

  Ray (1919) gives Sissano only two number words, bondanen 
and ildin, but in the same paper, he calls Arop a 'Papuan' language, 
with the full pontanan, entin, entin e pontenan...sequence.

  Ray counted Arop as a Papuan (Valman group) language, then on the Takon 
River, NW of Berlinhafen (Aitape), together with Malol, NW of Berlinhafen, 
on coast, and Varopu (Warupu) on two small islands in a lagoon, 
with Ser(a) and Sissano as Austronesian, located (at that time) on the 
'mainland west of Tumleo'.

  best regards

Richard Parker
Siargao Island, The Philippines. 

My website at www.coconutstudio.com is about the island and its people,  
coastal early humans, fishing, coconuts, bananas and whatever took my fancy at the time.

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