TROPICAL NUMBERS: MATHEMATICS, METAPHORS, AND THE PALIKUR

1
Alan Passes
1 is 1 and always 1 in any language; in English, of course, it is one;
in French something different.
(Jac !oody, The Domestication of the Savage Mind, 1"##$ 1%%&
'uch of my (ast wor on e)eryday s(eaing among the Paliur (Paiwen*& has focused on the
em+odied (ractice and sociological )alue of tchimap, which means +oth to hear and to
understand (Passes 1"",, %---, %--1, %--%, %--.$ ,&. /he (resent (a(er is concerned with
another form of Paliur understanding and nowledge, called pkh(a). Pkh(a) similarly
signifies to understand and also (ossesses a second meaning$ to count.
0n Paiwai, the Paliur )ernacular (Arawa language family&, one can use num+ers to
descri+e social +eha)iour, actions and states of +eing. /hus one can say of a withdrawn and
isolated man that he has one1ed himself, Ig pahavwihw, or that two indi)iduals ha)e two1ed
themsel)es, Egkis piyanmehw, i.e., they ha)e got married. /his (a(er will try to throw some
light on the (henomenon of mathematical meta(hor in indigenous s(eech. 0t will +e argued that
Paliur num+ers are 2ointly literal and figurati)e; that they ha)e, in other words, +oth a fi3ed
numerical significance and multi(le meanings that, while no less mathematical, relate to the
imagery associated with different classes of things. 4ith regard to the mathematical com(onent,
0 would lie to record my inde+tedness to the wor of a fellow researcher, the linguist 5iana
!reen (1""., %--1, %--6; Aihen)ald 7 !reen 1"",&.
%
/he +ul of the Paliur numerological
and mathematical material (resented here, including most e3am(les of num+er1word usage, is
the fruit of her la+our not mine.
Alan Passes, Tropical Numbers - 1
/he Enlightenment )iew of science, mathematics included, as a logical truth1+ased system
o+eying uni)ersal, o+2ecti)e, rational laws remains dee(ly em+edded in the 4estern
consciousness. From that (ers(ecti)e, the idea that science could +e meta(horical is a+surd, since
meta(hor is culturally s(ecific, su+2ecti)e, (oetical and, +y common assum(tion, irrational.
8owe)er, that meta(hor and science are not hostile o((osites +ut com(ati+le, and that meta(hor
itself is in fact a thing of reason and logic that informs and is instrumental in not 2ust the arts and
religion +ut (hiloso(hy and science as well, has +een (ersuasi)ely argued +y among others
8orton (1"9#&, :)ering (1",6a, 1",6+, 1""-& and ;aoff (1",#&. 'ore recently, ;aoff 7
<u=e> (%---& (osit a congruence +etween meta(hor and mathematics s(ecifically; they (ro(ose
moreo)er that the latter is de(endent on the former.
?
@ery little attention has +een (aid to num+ers and mathematics in +oth anthro(ology and
linguistics, whose (ractitioners tend to o)erloo the to(ic and dis(lay, to use Arum(s (1""#$
)iii& (hrase, a general +lindness to the meaning of num+ers. /his disregard is strange, gi)en the
im(ortance of num+ers in the cosmological, sym+olic and economic systems of so many di)erse
(eo(les and their wides(read use in e)eryday (ractical life cross1culturally. /hus, with a few
e3ce(tions (nota+ly, Arum( 1""#; ;ancy 1",?; Peat 1"".; Brton 1""#&, mathematics tends in
anthro(ology to figure less as a su+2ect of study than a study tool. As (art of the o+2ecti)ist,
scienticist a((roach, it is a((lied to com(le3 systems such as demogra(hics, inshi(, marriage,
economics and classification, in terms of formal a+stract re(resentations of argua+ly du+ious
sociological )alue. ;*)i1Ctrauss (1"9,$ 66ff& declared mathematics a wholly in)alid means of
anthro(ological inDuiry ecept, as is well nown, in res(ect of language when studied in the light
of structural linguistics and with (articular reference to (honemics. 8ere, 0 want to com+ine
mathematics and language in a different manner$ not in terms of structuralism and (utati)e
Alan Passes, Tropical Numbers - 2
unconscious +eha)iourism, +ut in the way they might together com(rise a tro(ic (rocess that is
constituti)e of the human +eings cogniti)e relations with the world.
0n the Platonic )iew, and as maintained +y moderns such as Frege, Eussell and 4hitehead,
mathematical facts are disem+odied, transcendent, e3isting inde(endently of the human world in
an a+stract realm +eyond mind and matter, though accessi+le through rational thought. A
contrasting )iew, which 0 su((ort, is that mathematics, e)en (ure mathematics that focuses on
theory and ignores (ractical a((lication, is initia!!y a way of concei)ing, understanding and
e3(ressing the world itself, +oth human and e3tra1human F and that it does so furthermore
through meta(hor.
Guantifying the world, measuring it, at source such actions are not a+stract +ut e3istential
and (ragmatic. /hey originate, are rooted in (erce(tion$ the (hysical, (sychological and sensory
e3(eriencing of the en)ironment that indi)iduals +egin in infancy, go on to a((ly to +asic
concrete concerns +oth social and (ractical, and (ro2ect on to e)en larger framewors such as
time and s(ace, the solar, lunar and stellar systems and the su(ernatural and cosmological
s(heres. 'athematical, including geometric and alge+raic, formulae are ways humans ha)e of
concei)ing the en)ironment +ased on their (erce(tual e3(loration and e3(erience of it. /he
(henomenological or sensory +asis to the mathematical sciences is not a new conce(t in 4estern
thining. 0n the late se)enteenth century, ;oce deemed geometry as much a matter of touch as
of sight, while for Hereley, at the +eginning of the eighteenth, it is an essentially tactile science
(E*e 1"""$ ??61#&.
;ie language, and lie music to which it seems to ha)e an affinity, mathematics is at one
le)el a+stract; lie words and notes, num+ers may +e formal codes and ar+itrary meaningless
signs (cf. E*e i+id., 119, %6,, %91&. Hut at another F and (rior F le)el they each o(erate
Alan Passes, Tropical Numbers - 3
meaningfully, within concrete and social and meaning1gi)ing conte3ts. Again, lie words (and
musical notes&, num+ers are also sounds. 0n fact, let us not forget, num+ers a"e words F s(oen
+efore they were e)er written, at least in the con)entional gra(hic forms they (ossess today (see
Arum( 1""#$ .1f&.
.
Cometimes e)en, num+ers are letters, as in 8e+rew where the same
soundI)isual sign is used for either. Bnlie written num+ers which are deconte3tuali>ed socially
and fi3ed +y the )ery act of annotation, s(oen num+ers in oral societies such as the Paliur still
o(erate in a world free of what !oody (1"##$ 1%%& terms gra(hic reductionism. As he notes, +y
re(lacing (honemes and le3emes, )isual gra(hic formulae such as logograms for num+ers ha)e
made things more a+stract. /his uni)ersali>ing tendency has also made num+ers more general at
the cost of their different cultural1s(ecific (articularities. /hus !oodys (i+id.& o+ser)ation that,
when inde(endent of any (articular (honetic system, the written sym+ol 1 is 1 in any language;
whereas English s(oen one is not the same as French s(oen one. /his of course is #n or #ne
de(ending of the gender of the item French one refers to. As we will see, there is a multi(licity
of (mor(hologically distinct& ty(es of Paliur one, de(ending on the classes of thing (including
gender& to which this num+er refers.
Parenthetically, it seems to me that, while stressing the monosemic character of numerical
signs, !oody o)erloos their (olysemic status as sym+ols that accord to num+ers meanings
+eyond the fi3ed mathematical one. 0n some cultures, for e3am(le, written numerals (ossess
se3ual or sacred or magical or other meta(hysical connotation$ -, 1, ?, ., 6, #, 999.
6
'ore
e3istentially, as Hettelheim (1",#$ 1-9& notes, 1 stands for, among other things, the self in
relation to the world, % the male and female (air and the (arental unit, and ? the mother and
father and child.
Alan Passes, Tropical Numbers - 4
'athematics should no more +e held a s(ecialism (articular to the so1called higher ci)ili>ations
(4estern, Asian10ndian, 'iddle1Eastern, Far1Eastern, e)en 'ayan or 0nca&, than the
mathematical nowledge of so1called (rimiti)e societies should +e (ortrayed as ty(ically
limited to an inferior, rudimentary arithmetic e3(ressed through adding u( fingers, shells or
coconuts (Arum( 1""#$ ?11.9; Ferreira %--%; !reen %--%; Peat 1"".$ 16?1%1,&. 0t seems to +e
the case, though, that some (eo(les do em(loy a )ery sim(le numerical system. @arious
Australian A+origine grou(s, for instance, 2ust ha)e three num+er words, one, two and a term for
many. /he Eomans had a similar (rocedure, the ;atin word te" meaning three times and
many (Joestler 1"9.$ 9%%&. According to Aam(+ell (1","$ ?%&, the 4aya(i, the Paliurs
neigh+ours, ha)e no words for num+ers greater than four. /he Paliur, +y contrast, eschew such
numerical minimalism. /hey ha)e terms for num+ers one to ten and a hundred, and +y
grammatically +uilding onto these +ases +y the use of classifiers they can am(lify their
numerical order from ten to ninety1nine and e3tend it from one1hundred1and1 one into the
thousands. At the other end of the scale, the Paliur also now >ero or nothing$ yma. /o Duote
!reen (n.d.$ %&, they ha)e (erha(s the most com(le3 KnumericalL system of all as far as the
indigenous (eo(les of Hra>il are concerned. Hefore descri+ing this system, there are two issues
to which 0 should (ay attention first, namely, classification and meta(hor.
;ie the Platonic )iew of mathematics mentioned a+o)e, classification is seen +y some as
(re1e3isting out there. /hus, in the 5urheimianI'aussian (ers(ecti)e, classification systems
are not rooted in the indi)idual +ut in the detached social F grounded not in any a p"io"i
uni)ersal human cogniti)e ca(acity, +ut in social organi>ation, institutions and functions. Hut, as
<eedham (1"#-&, Herlin (1""%& and others ha)e said, this is to deny the e3istence in the human
+eing of innate (rinci(les of cognition that (re1socially and (re1culturally underlie, (redis(ose
Alan Passes, Tropical Numbers - 5
toward and allow for the act of classifying. According to Ellen (1""?&, classification de(ends on
in+orn cogniti)e sills and the cultural organi>ation of (erce(tion through language.
Alassificatory schema flow from the interaction of indi)idual e3(erience, cultural tradition,
social conte3t, material conte3t, language and, crucially, meta(horic transformation. /hus,
classification is not (rimarily a (roduct of the sociocultural, +ut of our e3(eriencing human +ody.
Cimilarly, for James Fernande> (see in Ea((ort 7 :)ering %---$ ."16-&, classification
systems are the em$odied ways in which humans (ro2ect their initially (sychosomatic
e3(eriences onto the world. Alassification and other cultural codes mae the inchoateness, or
)agueness, of these e3(eriences and relationshi(s more tangi+le and com(rehensi+le. As a
central (art of this (rocess, we use analogies F meta(hors and other tro(es F that we construct
into narrati)es to share with other (eo(le with the aim of com(aring our e3(eriences with theirs,
there+y achie)ing a more concrete identity and understanding.
For ;aoff (1",#; ;aoff 7 Johnson 1",-&, meta(hor is not a su((lementary, decorati)e feature
of language, as Aristotle held, +ut is integral to it. 'oreo)er, it is (hysically +ased and
constituti)e of conce(tuali>ation. /hat is, the first e3(eriential nowledge humans ha)e is of
their own +ody, and from this (erce(tion there deri)e conce(tual schemas relating to +asic
(henomena such as gra)ity, linage and mo)ement, i.e., notions of u(1down, front1+ac, in1out,
here1there. 4e transform these schemas +y meta(horically e3tending the root conce(t attaching
to the domain of +odily e3(erience to e3tra1+odily domains that fan out from the concrete and
social to the increasingly a+stract. For e3am(le, inter(ersonal relations are often e3(erienced in
terms of the (rime image of linage, the um+ilical cord attaching the new+orn child and mother;
thus, +reaing social ties, tying the not (in marriage&, etc. Another e3am(le$ (erce(tual
Alan Passes, Tropical Numbers - 6
e3(erience of ones rising +ody tem(erature leads to such meta(hors as flaring tem(ers and
hearts melting with lo)e.
'eta(hor, then, according to ;aoff, (lays a (i)otal cogniti)e role in defining e)eryday
realities, as manifested in the wides(read cross1cultural (resence of classification systems +ased
not on hierarchy, which is generally the case with 4estern ones, +ut on meta(horic association.
9

Also, +eing somatically grounded and instrumental in the conce(tuali>ation of reality, meta(hor
is therefore +oth e3(eriential, i.e., su+2ecti)e (+ut not su+2ecti)ist let alone soli(sistic&, and
imaginati)e, (ro(erties that ena+le many culturally differentiated nowledges of (erce(ti+le
reality as o((osed to the o+2ecti)e idea of a single true reality.
Physical groundedness is also central to ;aoffs more recent +oo, co1authored with <u=e>
(%---&, %he"e Mathematics &omes '"om(, which argues the meta(horical and (cont"a Plato& the
em+odied +asis of mathematics. /he em+odiedness descri+ed is significantly cor(oreal com(ared
to )iews of mathematical em+odiedness as a thoroughly +rain situated condition, ad)anced +y
among others ;*)i1Ctrauss and PolMnyi
#
(see also Arum( (1""#$ 1.f, %91,& on Piaget&. Hut
;aoff and <u=e> do not ignore the +rain, for their thesis is +ased on the fact that, (rior e)en to
s(eech, human infants ha)e a ca(acity for com(utation, +eing a+le to distinguish the si>e of
grou(s of u( to four items and recogni>e addition and su+traction. 'athematics deri)es from the
e3tension of this a+ility to larger num+ers +y the use and com+ining of +ody e3(erience
meta(hors.
According to ;aoff and <u=e>, there are four ey grounding meta(hors (roduced +y
+ody e3(eriences occurring in infancy. /o wit, (i& collecting (ty(ically e3(ressed in acti)ities lie
amassing grou(s of (e++les; this (ro)ides our first nowledge of adding and su+tracting&; (ii&
+uilding (in)ol)ing the construction of larger wholes from smaller o+2ects as in (laying with
Alan Passes, Tropical Numbers - 7
+locs&; (iii& measuring (+ased on gauging the heightI+readth of the en)ironment with ones own
+ody as we stretch our hands and learn to stand&, (i)& and motion (e3(erienced first through
crawling
,
then waling&. 4e internalise the inferences of this em+odied e3(eriential (rocess and
turn them into meta(hor when we (ro2ect them onto the larger world +eyond. 'easuring gi)es
>ero, and mo)ement negati)e num+ers (and also the notion of infinity&; +y +lending these
meta(hors we o+tain >ero and negati)e num+ers for collections. /hus, the innate a+ility to
distinguish Duantities, together with the understanding acDuired from our early +odily e3(erience
of )ertical orientation, (hysical force and mo)ement through s(ace F meta(horically e3(ressed
in images that we ma( onto the domain mathematicsF lead us to create e)er more com(le3 and
a+stract mathematical ideas.
0 mo)e on now to the ethnogra(hy. According to !reen (%--6&, there is e)idence to show that the
Paliur might originally ha)e had a #1+ased numerical system that was re(laced +y a 1-1+ased
one after Aontact and the esta+lishing of trade relations with Ar*oles. /erms for se)en (and also
si3& are a((arently rare in Hra>ilian indigenous languages, +ut se)en seems to ha)e had some
cultural significance for the Paliur, as suggested +y the recently la(sed (ractice where+y
mem+ers of a clan sent (eo(le in other clans artifacts called imti. /hese were a sort of calendar1
cum1in)itation1card featuring se)en decorated strings that were used for counting down the days
to im(ortant e)ents such as (among other things& the annual ceremony of mourning the dead.
8istorically, too, the Paliur counted in series of se)en days as well as ha)ing series of ten. /he
#1day series is called paka, which signifies wee and nowadays also means Cunday, the only
weeday to retain its nati)e name.
"
/his use of se)en (ossi+ly related to another im(ortant
Paliur date$ the +rief dry (eriod of some se)en days +etween the first and second rains (end
Fe+ruary1+eginning 'arch&.
Alan Passes, Tropical Numbers - 8
As stated, the Paliur numeral system today is +asically decimal. /en is madika#k)
meaning end (of& hands. /he term for tens is madikwa* twenty is two tens, pina madikwa,
and thirty is three tens, mpana madikwa) and so on till eighty and ninety where root
structure and affi3ing +oth get much more ela+orate. :ne hundred is either madika#k
madikwa (ten tens& or sah) a Ar*ole loanword. /erms for multi(les of a hundred are +ilingual,
e.g., four hundred is pashnika+pt sah, four times a hundred. /his is made u( of the nati)e
pashnika (four& N ,pt (mor(heme indicating multi(lication& N the im(orted sah. :ne
thousand is madika#k sah (ten hundreds&.
/he root for one is paha. /he root for two is pina. /he word for three is mpana.
/hese terms are consistent with (roto1Arawaan roots as reconstructed +y Payne (1""1&$ pa or
$a, pi or $i, mapa or mada. As we will see, Paliur one and two undergo e3tensi)e
mor(hemic transformations +y taing suffi3es and, in the case of two, infi3es that accord with
any gi)en class with which the num+ers are connected. /hree and four, pashnika, are also
modified +y affi3es according to class, though not as much. :ther numerals are modified e)en
less. /he Paliur word for fi)e is pohowk) which is made u( of paha (one& N (our& N wak
(hand&. Ci3 is pgnkna. Ce)en itself is ntnenk, and eight and nine are res(ecti)ely
ntnenk akak pahat a"a#na and ntnenk akak pitana a"a#na (etymologically se)en and one
more added and se)en and two more added&.
As the a+o)e e3am(les indicate, Paiwai, lie many Ama>onian languages, is
agglutinati)e. 'ost words are formed +y a root (lus one of a multi(licity of affi3es, or
mor(hemes, designatingIe3(ressing human conce(ts, +oth +asic and so(histicated, that show an
e3tremely de)elo(ed ca(acity for a+stract and analytical thought. /his includes in the field of
mathematics where Paliur notions are often similar to ours F and sometimes uniDue. 'ost
Alan Passes, Tropical Numbers - 9
Paliur num+er1words +etween one and a hundred carry affi3es (usually +ut not always in the
form of suffi3es& that modify the noun or )er+ to which a numeral refers. As a numeral can +e
used with an assortment of classifiers, modifiers, arithmetical affi3es, syntactical affi3es and, in
the case of one, gender agreement marers, many Paliur numerals ha)e more than two
hundred forms current in e)eryday con)ersation. 0 will not +e naming each and e)ery one of
them, or e)ery affi3. For num+ers one to ten alone there are more than a hundred terms, each
num+er1word modified +y a minimum of twel)e affi3es. /he affi3es ser)e as classifiers
identifying twenty1one different classes of things
1-
that relate to fi)e ma2or semantic categories
(ertaining to the following mathematical conce(ts, units, sets, fractions, a+stractions and series.
/here are ele)en tangi+le UNITS. /he first com(rises animate things$ (ersons, s(irits, animals,
+irds, fish, moon, sun, stars and )arious natural (henomena. /his units numeral classifier for
one is the suffi3 ,v or Fp (alternate (ronunciation&* the classifier for two is the infi3 Fya.
<um+ers from two onwards carry no classifiers, thus paha+v+ himano (one girl&; pi+ya+na
g+ke$yi+kis himano+pyo (two girls&; and mpana g+ke$yi+kis himano+pyo (three girls&. /he
term ke$yi means unit and, as we ha)e 2ust seen, is often affi3ed to num+ers o)er one when
referring to tangi+le units. 4ith animate things the term is inflected +y other (ronominal affi3es
that agree with the noun in gender, (erson and num+er, e.g., pashnika g+ke$yi+kis $akimnai)
four infant girls$ fourNfeminineNunitsN(luraliserNchildN(luraliser. For inanimate things the
term shifts to a+ke$yi) meaning neuter unit. /hus mpana a+ke$yi pa-t) three houses$
threeNneuter unitNhouse.
<um+er one also taes the suffi3 ,mp with dead items +elonging to the animate unit.
Again alone of all the num+ers, one agrees with the gender of li)ing things, e.g., pahavwi
awaig (one man&, pahav tchino (one woman&. 'en, large animals or fish, and +ad s(irits
Alan Passes, Tropical Numbers - 10
and +ad creatures such as snaes, rats and insects are male, as are li)ing entities considered to
+e mythical human +eings, such as the moon, sun, stars, thunder and lightning. /he nouns for all
these items are masculine. 4omen, small animals and fish, good s(irits and good creatures
such as +irds, turtles and +utterflies are female. /hus the nouns for these items are feminine.
8owe)er, other female things lie (lants and natural (henomena such as fire, ri)ers and
rain+ows, and )irtually all round, sDuare and conca)e o+2ects as well as those made of wood or
metal are classed as inanimate and so there is no gender agreement. /he gender of all other
inanimate things, such as other sha(es, a+stract ideas and actions, is neuter, and again theres no
gender agreement where num+ers are concerned.
11

/here are eight tangi+le inanimate units all classed in terms of geometric form according to
nati)e conce(tuali>ation of the three dimensions, height, +readth and de(th, (lus, when
a((ro(riate, a fourth +ased on the (erimeter of o+2ects (!reen %--6$ 1?116&. /hese units are$
1& Eound or sDuare o+2ects. Alassifiers , for one, and +so for two; none for other
numerals.
%& Eound and long (i.e., cylindrical& o+2ects. Alassifier Ft for one and two only.
?& Flat o+2ects. Alassifiers Fk for one and two, and ,$ for higher numerals.
.& Flat and dee( (conca)e& o+2ects and metallic o+2ects. Alassifier ,mk for all
numerals.
6& E3tended o+2ects (in terms of linearity&. Alassifier ,t"a for all numerals.
9& :+2ects that are e3tended and ha)e e3tremities (generally in terms of height or
de(th or +readth or (erimeter Ke.g., field, hole, waterfallL&. Alassifier ,ik for all
numerals.
Alan Passes, Tropical Numbers - 11
#& 0rregular o+2ects. Alassifiers ,a for one and ,sa for two; none for other
numerals.
,& 0rregular and foliform o+2ects. Alassifier ,kti for all numerals.
/here are also two tangi+le units relating to +odily (arts$
1& 8and(fuls&. Alassifier ,wak, for numerals one and two only.
%& 'outh(fuls&. Alassifier ,$iy for all numerals.
/here are si3 SETS of tangi+le units, animate or inanimate$
1& 0nherently unconnected items. Alassifier F$") alternate (ronunciation ,dg (for
grou(s of indi)idual units such as a herd of animals, floc of +irds, crowd of
(eo(le&.
%& 0nherently connected items. Alassifier Ftwi (for firmly connected items such as a
stal of +ananas or a +ead neclace&
?& <on1inherently connected items that are tied together. Alassifier Fki (for +undles
of things lie arrows and lea)es, a +room, a string of fish&.
.& <on1inherently connected items that are wra((ed together. Alassifier ,imk.
6& <on1inherently connected items that are 2oined in a +aset. Alassifier Fpsi.
9& <on1inherently connected items that are (otted together. Alassifier ,yap.
/he ABSTRACTIONS category (ossesses a single numeral classifier (affi3 ,t& for referring to
intangi+le things such as illness, wor, word, custom or any s(ecific action. /he names of
a+stract things often tend to occur with the aforementioned term for neutral units, a+ke$yi, e.g.,
pitana a+ke$yi ywit, two words.
Alan Passes, Tropical Numbers - 12
<um+ers in the SERIES category tae the classifying affi3 Fi. As the Paliur understand time in
terms of series rather than in cycles, the classifier is also used for time words (hour, day, night,
wee, monthO& and for sets of numerals. 0n addition, the multi(lication classifier, ,pt) is used
for indicating re(etition in relation to such things as actions and e)ents.

/he FRACTIONS category has the numeral classifier ,$ak for one and ,$kak for two, that are
for indicating the sides of an o+2ect. :ther num+ers ha)e no classifier. For indicating a (art or a
(iece of something, the classifier is ,h"i for one only.
:n to( of the aforesaid numeral classifiers relating to multi(lication and fractions, there are also
s(ecial affi3es for s(ecific use with other arithmetical conce(ts, namely$
<umerical order$ /he Paliur term for first, pitat+y) is not a numeral +ut an ad2ecti)e. /he
other ordinal numerals (second, third, fourth, etc.& are gi)en a (ronominal (refi3
(either gi, KhisL, or g, KhersL or a, KitsL& and a suffi3 that either indicates the gender
of or a geneti)e1lie relationshi( with the o+2ect +eing referenced. 4ith ordinal num+ers in
a noun (hrase, the con)entional ad2ecti)al suffi3es ,pi (indicating stati)e state& or ,y
(durati)e state& are reDuired. For terms greater than se)en one can use the (hrase, one
(noun& maing (reDuired numeral&, e.g., paha+i ha#k"i keh+pi+y ntnenk akak p+i+na
a"a#na$ one day maing se)en with two more, i.e., the ninth day.
<umerical limits$ mor(heme ,o or its allomor(h ,wo.
Addition$ mor(heme ,wa.
Cu+traction$ mor(heme ,
/otality$ mor(heme ,t
'athematical sets of units$ mor(heme ,t or its allomor(hs ,mat and ,it.
Alan Passes, Tropical Numbers - 13
'athematical sets of simultaneous actions$ mor(heme ,nam.
'athematical sets of seDuential actions$ mor(heme ,empi or its allomor(hs ,impi) ,"#mpi.
4hen 0 first encountered Paliur num+er1words, their hy(eracti)e (honetic transformati)ity,
their s(ectacular aggluti)eness and inflecti)eness, and the sheer (rofusion of the ta3onomy, all
this ama>ed and confused me.
1%
/rying to get a gras( on the system, 0 suddenly wondered
whether the num+ers might not +e e3am(les of meta(horic conce(tuali>ation. /his thought was
s(ontaneous, without conscious intellectuali>ation, and 0 did not (ursue it. Pears later, looing
around for a su+2ect for a (a(er, 0 found myself returning to my original Duestion$ is a Paliur
num+er a meta(horical e3(ressionQ 8as it +een meta(hori>ed +y the o+2ects in connection with
which it is usedQ 8a)e the Dualities of the referenced thing (as (ercei)ed +y the human referrer&
+een ma((ed onto the referring numerical oral sym+ol, thans to the )arious classifiers a((ended
to itQ /he answer, 0 +elie)e, has to +e in the classifiers themsel)es, for what are they if not
em+odied figurati)ity, encoded, meaningful imagesQ
!reen (%--1$ #1,& tells us that Paliur numeral classifiers are not Duantifiers +ut
Dualifiers. /his is +ecause Paliur suffi3es for Duantity and si>e are not classifiers +ut modifiers
as they can occur not 2ust with numerals +ut any noun. A numeral howe)er o(erates inside the
semantic (arameters of the twenty1one classes (ertinent to the fi)e categories of units, sets,
fractions, a+stractions and series. /herefore, it is not e3(ressing how many or how +ig.
Eather, it is Dualifying, or modifying, the things to which it relates +y +eha)ing syntactically lie
an ad2ecti)e. 0t achie)es this +y )irtue of the affi3es a((ro(riate to the function of ad2ecti)es that
su((lement any other rele)ant classifiers a numeral may ha)e in a gi)en conte3t. /he
ad2ecti)i>ing affi3es indicate such things as gender, negation, em(hasis, and conditions of
Alan Passes, Tropical Numbers - 14
action,
1?
and also e3(ress Dualities (ro(er to classes such as s(ace, sha(e, time and animation and
inanimation.
E3am(les of num+ers as ad2ecti)es$
1& .e"+as $akim+nai mpana+nen gi+ke$yi+kis$ ;iteral translation, /hose male children +eing
three, i.e., /hose three +oys. KAnalysis$ .e" (that& N Fas (affi3 for masculine (lural& N
$akim (child& N Fnai (suffi3 for (lural& N mpana (three& N Fnen (affi3 for continuous
action and durati)e state in relation to masculine& N gi+ (male& N Fke$yi (units& N Fkis
((luraliser&L. /hree is ad2ecti)e.
%& Ig ne" kai$n ig paha+iwotney$ ;iteral translation, /hat snae he one, i.e., /hat snae
Kis aL one time only KindL, i.e., (oisonous. KAnalysis$ Ig (he singular& N ne" (that& N
kai$n (snae& N ig (he& N paha (one& N Fi (affi3 for series class& N wot (affi3 for
limitedness& N Fn (affi3 for continuous action& N Fy (affi3 for durati)e in relation to
masculine&L. :ne is ad2ecti)e.
?& Paha+k+ap wash"i ait a+napi waik$ ;iteral translation, :ne )ast land there under
ground, i.e., K/here isL a )ast world under the ground KAnalysis$ Paha (one& N ,k (affi3
for flat class& N ,ap (affi3 for )astness& N wash"i (land& N ait (there& N a, (affi3 for
neuter& N ,napi (under& N waik (ground&L. Again, one is ad2ecti)e.
0n these cases, then, there is a two1way ad2ecti)i>ing. /he numeral is gi)en, )ia classifiers, the
characteristic(s& of an o+2ect, which allows it in turn to descri+e the o+2ect. /hus, in e3am(le %,
and in Paliur logic, numeral one carries within itself the idea of the snaes (oisonousness
through its se)eral suffi3es (series class, limitedness, continuous action, durati)e state&, rather
than there +eing a distinct word for (oisonous used in connection with the snae. 0nstead, it is
left to to3icity1inferring one to con)ey the animals condition.
Cyntactically, Paliur numerals also act as ad)er+s, (ronouns, nouns and )er+s when carrying
a((ro(riate classifiers for those (arts of s(eech, e.g., nominalisers for nouns, )er+alisers for
)er+s.
E3am(le of a num+er as ad)er+$
/sh ai pi+ya+nma+p$ 4ere +oth here together. KAnalysis$ /sh (we&
1.
N ai (here& N
pi (two& N Fya (infi3 for animate class& N +nma (two& N Fp ((lural classifier&L.
Alan Passes, Tropical Numbers - 15
E3am(le of a num+er re(lacing a noun in the manner of a (ronoun$
Donna g+pashnika+n ka+kagahiy$ ;iteral translation, 5onnas fourth Kmale childL has
illness, i.e., 5onnas fourth child is ill. KAnalysis$ Donna (5onna& N g (female& N
pashnika (four& N +n (relational affi3& N ka (ha)e& N kagahi (illness& N +y (affi3 for
durati)e state in relation to masculine&L.
E3am(les of a num+er as noun$
1& Igkis keh paha+t"a+min+ka a+dahan pa"ek+wiy$ ;iteral translation, R/hey mae one for
enter, i.e., /hey formed a line in order to enter. KAnalysis$ Ig (he& N Fkis ((luraliser& N
keh (mae& N paha (one& N Ft"a (affi3 for e3tended class& N Fmin (affi3 for am(lification&
N Fka (nominaliser& N a (affi3 for neuter& N dahan (for& N pa"ek (enter& N Fwiy (affi3 for
inchoati)e action&L.
%& Igkis pahadgp aig a+$et pahadghka$ ;iteral translation, /hey are one there in one,
i.e., /hey ha)e gathered together o)er at the meeting KAnalysis$ Ig (he&N,kis ((luraliser&
N paha, (one& N ,dg (affi3 for grou( class& N ,p ((luraliser& N aig (there&Na, (neutral&
N ,$et (in& N paha, (one& N ,dg (affi3 for grou( class& N ,h ()er+aliser&N ,ka
(nominaliser&L.
For numerals (erforming as )er+s, 0 shall refer +ac to the two e3am(les 0 ga)e at the start of this
(a(er$
a& Ig pahavwihw$ ;iteral translation, 8e one1ed himself, i.e., 8e withdrewIisolated
himself. KAnalysis$ Ig (he singular& N paha (one& N Fv (affi3 for animate class& N Fwi
(affi3 for male& N Fh ()er+aliser& N Fw (affi3 for refle3i)e& N F (suffi3 for com(leti)e
action&L.
+& Egkis piyanmehw$ ;iteral translation, /hey two1ed themsel)es, i.e., /hey married.
KAnalysis$ Che N suffi3 for (lural N two N infi3 for animate class N two N )er+aliser N
affi3 for refle3i)e N affi3 for com(leti)e action.L.
(/he (lural she is used here +ecause Paliur grammar demands that when you refer in the third
(erson (lural to grou(s of two or more (eo(le of +oth se3es, the female (lural form taes
(recedence o)er the male (unlie, for e3am(le, in French, where the re)erse is true&.
0n all these instances the inflectionality of Paliur num+er1words has not 2ust a syntactic +ut a
semantic function F and it also, it seems to me, ena+les semantic )alue. For a modified num+er
may +e said not 2ust to denote Dualification, +ut to connote something of the identity of the item
Alan Passes, Tropical Numbers - 16
it con2ugates with. 0 (ro(ose that what is ha((ening with the noun and )er+ num+ers is
essentially a (rocess of meta(hori>ation in which the (ercei)ed (ro(erties of one domain are
(ro2ected on to the domain of numerals. Each numeral is fi3ed semantically in terms of a
com(utational formula, +ut mor(hology allows it also the creati)e ca(acity for multi(le
Dualitati)e meanings. Each numeral is not merely a logical a+stract inde3; rather, it is also a
)ariety of logical images grounded in the (hysical world and concretely e3(ressed in s(oen
words.
As ;*)i1Ctrauss (1"#.&, :)ering (1",6, 1""-&, ;aoff (1",#& and others ha)e stated,
although the classification systems of so1called (rimiti)e (eo(les are meta(horical, it does not
follow that they are illogical and irrational. Pet des(ite this recognition of meta(hors rationality
and logic, meta(hor and classification often continue to +e regarded as mutually e3clusi)e. /his
is im(licit for e3am(le in statements such as Palmans (1"9,$ #1& remar a+out the conce(tual
tools of <ati)e a+stract thining, K0Lnstead of the p and 0 of mathematical thining, we KOL
ha)e Jaguars and 4ild Pigs related to each other in formal logic. Hut, as ;aoff 7 <u=e> (%---&
show, meta(hor is not the antithesis of mathematics, itself a ty(e of classification. Eather,
mathematics deri)es from meta(hor; the two are cogniti)ely interrelated. And as someone (0
forget who& once said, might not 4estern mathematics itself +e a form of meta(horQ
0t is true the Paliur do not re(resent mathematics in terms of (for us& e3otic 2ungle
creatures, let alone 4estern eDuations. 8owe)er, their (erce(tion and nowledge of the things,
+oth animate and inanimate, of their social, natural and su(ernatural en)ironment ha)e clearly
(ro)ided the conce(tual and linguistic de)ices, including meta(hor, with which to e3(ress the
world numerically and mathematically. Aonsider, for e3am(le, the figurati)e e3tensi+ility of the
Paliur notion of roundness, which has the numeral classifiers , for one and ,so for two,
Alan Passes, Tropical Numbers - 17
e.g., one orange$ pah wass, and two gourds$ pisoya tgk. <ow, these classifiers remain
the same for referencing sDuare1ness, there+y (ermitting a single inclusi)e class for +oth round
and sDuare o+2ects. /his identity is achie)ed +y adding a suffi3, Fpatip) which means eDual, to
the word root) hwi) which means round. /his (roduces hwipatip, round with all sides eDual,
i.e., sDuare. !i)ing hwi another suffi3, F$akp) which means uneDual, (roduces the word
round with uneDual sides, i.e., rectangular. Eectangular o+2ects though +elong to the class of
irregular o+2ects.
Eegardless, then, of whether one, two, three, four is paha) pina) mpana) pashnika rather than
+oa, armadillo, toucan and ta(ir, 0 suggest that meta(hori>ation is taing (lace in Paliur
mathematics. As 0 understand it, thans to its classifiers an indigenous num+er does not 2ust
enumerate or 2ust Dualify (or +oth&. 0t also e3(resses Dualities, originating in and transferred from
the o+2ects to which the num+er refers. /hus not all Paliur ones are necessarily the same. At a
le)el +eside a+stract counting or class Dualification, pahav) the Paliur one in one woman is,
0 s(eculate, Dualitati)ely different to pahamp, the one in one dead animal or pahakti, the
one in one flower.
0t is difficult to now to what e3tent the meta(horic (rocess is conscious or unconscious in
humans, and there is always danger, in anthro(ology, in (eddling uni)ersals. <e)ertheless,
meta(hori>ing does a((ear to +e a uni)ersal natural, innate as(ect of human cognition, al+eit not,
0 thin, in terms of ;*)i1Ctrausss (1"#.& a+solutist dichotomy$ sa)age mind meta(horic $
scientific mind metonymic. /his (a(er has argued that mathematics itself is meta(horical and
that the indigenous numerical terminology imaginati)ely descri+es the elements com(osing the
world 1#st as m#ch as it denotes and com(utes them.
Alan Passes, Tropical Numbers - 18
Finally, as 5iana !reen (%--6& (oints out, the Paliur case shows the close lin +etween
linguistics and mathematics, which has tended to +ecome o)ershadowed +y the world of written
mathematics. 0t also shows that mathematical conce(tuali>ation is, in some oral and so1called
(rimiti)e cultures, actually highly de)elo(ed, com(le3 and so(histicated (see also Aihen)ald
1""., %---; !reen n.d.&. /his degree of indigenous mathematical nowledge is of (otential )alue
to world mathematical science, as demonstrated +y the Paliurs notion (+riefly mentioned
a+o)e& of a Fourth 5imension +ased on (erimeter (!reen %--6$ 1?116&.
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Alan Passes, Tropical Numbers - 19
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Ac'n()*e+,e-en.s$ /o re(eat what 0 ha)e already stated a+o)e, 0 would lie to e3(ress my
thans to 5iana !reen, of the Cummer 0nstitute of ;inguistics, without whose research and
insights this (a(er could sim(ly not ha)e +een written (Any errors and misconce(tions ha)e to
+e mine&. 'y own research was conducted during my fieldwor with the Paliur, or Paiwen*,
a (eriod of some fifteen months co)ering 1""? to 1""6. /his article de)elo(ed from a seminar
(a(er 0 ga)e to the Aentre of 0ndigenous American Ctudies and E3change, at the Bni)ersity of Ct
Andrews, 1"th A(ril, %--6. 'y thans to Joanna :)ering, Pete !ow and Cu>anne !rant.
Alan Passes, Tropical Numbers - 21
1
N(.es$
The Palikur, or Paikwen to use the autonym, are an Amerindian people of North Brazil and French Guiana with a present
population of some 1500 members.
2
5iana !reen is a mem+er of the Cummer 0nstitute of ;inguistics who, together with her hus+and, 8arold, has li)ed with
the Paliur for many years.
3
A suggestion seemingly (refigured +y 'a3 Hlac, at least where alge+ra is concerned$ Perha(s e)ery science must start
with meta(hor and end with alge+ra; (erha(s without the meta(hor there would ne)er ha)e +een any alge+ra. (Hlac 1"9%$
%.%&.
4
In the Amerindian context one should note too the existence of non-written visual representations of numbers such as
quipu, the Andean knotted string devices (Urton 1997), while, in Native North America, numerals and systems of
mathematics were traditionally recorded on rocks, tree bark, wooden panels, talking sticks and wampum belts (Peat 1994:
155-6, 269).
5
- (>ero; etymologically em(tiness& has great sym+olic force in Ara+ ideology. /he numerals 1 and # (ossess magical
(ower in Jewish mysticism, as does 6, which indicates the (entagram. 999 is held to re(resent the 5e)il. Particularly
(olysemic, ? re(resents the 8oly /rinity in Ahristian lore, and Adam and E)e and the snae and thus carnal nowledge. ?
also sym+olises se3 as women and men each ha)e three )isi+le se3ual characteristics$ the )agina and two +reasts, or the
(enis and two testes. For the 'ohaw and may other <ati)e Americans in <orth America the gra(hic re(resentation of
num+er . em+odies the four Duarters of the Cacred 8oo(, e3(ressing a state of +alance and harmony and also the dynamic
mo)ement of s(iritual forces within the cyclical nature of time (Peat 1"".$ 1911%&.
6
0n (articular, ;aoff (1",#& cites non14estern classifications of nature where class mem+ershi( is attri+uted not according
to raning (as in our o+2ecti)ist ;innean model& +ut (rototy(e. /his wors on the (rinci(le of meta(horic association with
good e3em(lars lined radially with (rogressi)ely (oorer ones. 4e tend to do this informally in the 4est anyway$ e.g.,
s(arrow ((rototy(ical +ird&; al+atross ((oorer e3em(lar&; (enguin (e)en (oorer e3em(lar&. A(ro(os mathematics, for ;aoff
(i+id., ch."&, single digit num+ers, following the (rototy(e model (rinci(le, are +etter e3em(lars of num+ers than dou+le
digit, and dou+le digit +etter e3em(lars than larger num+ers.
7
For ;*)i1Ctrauss (1"#.$ %.,n&, mathematics resides in and unconsciously reflects the worings of the cere+ral corte3. For
PolMnyi (Duoted in Joestler 1"9.$ 6,,&, it is latently (resent in the +rains neural traces and reali>a+le through (hysico1
chemical acti)ity. /here is too the recent disco)ery that numerals are materially re(resented +y a line of neurons in the +rain
(Eamachandran re(orted in Anonymous %--%&.
8
It has been pointed out to me by Pete Gow (personal communication) that in some cultures, such as the Piro, children do
not crawl.
9
/he other days of the wee are Ar*ole loanwords.
10
!reen +uilds on Allans (1"##& cross1cultural study on numeral classifiers, which identifies se)en ma2or categories
descri+ing the semantic +ases of classifiers, (lus two more.
11
0n short, according to !reen ((ersonal communication&, Paliur gender is distri+uted along the following lines$ male
things tend to +e +ig and +ad, whereas female things are small, good and strong, and neuter things soft, fle3i+le and wea.
12
For a critiDue of the su((osed e3oticism of Ama>onian noun classification systems, see !rine)ald 7 Ceifart %--..
13
E.g., continuous action, com(leti)e action, inchoati)e action, durati)e state, stati)e state.
14
/sh (me and himIherIthem +ut not you& is one of three ty(es of Paliur we. /he other two are$ wis (you and me& and
wishwi (me, you, himIherIthem, i.e., all of us&.