ZAMUCO
5. tsuena yimana-ite = ended 1 hand.
10. tsuena yimana-die = ended both hands.
20. tsuena yiri-die = ended both feet.
PIKUMBUL
5. mulanbu.
10. bularin murra = belonging to the two hands.
15. mulanba dinna = 5 toes added on (to the 10 fingers).
20. bularin dinna = belonging to the 2 feet.
YARUROS.[239]
5. kani-iktsi-mo = 1 hand alone.
10. yowa-iktsi-bo = all the hands.
15. kani-tao-mo = 1 foot alone.
20. kani-pume = 1 man.
By the time 20 is reached the savage has probably allowed his conception of
any aggregate to be so far modified that this number does not present
itself to his mind as 4 fives. It may find expression in some phraseology
such as the Kiriris employ--"both hands together with the feet"--or in the
shorter "ended both feet" of the Zamucos, in which case we may presume that
he is conscious that his count has been completed by means of the four sets
of fives which are furnished by his hands and feet. But it is at least
equally probable that he instinctively divides his total into 2 tens, and
thus passes unconsciously from the quinary into the decimal scale. Again,
the summing up of the 10 fingers and 10 toes often results in the concept
of a single whole, a lump sum, so to speak, and the savage then says "one
man," or something that gives utterance to this thought of a new unit. This
leads the quinary into the vigesimal scale, and produces the combination so
often found in certain parts of the world.
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