Australian Aboriginal enumeration

The Australian Aboriginal counting system was used to send messages on message sticks to neighbouring clans to alert them of, or invite them to, corroborees, set-fights, and ball games. Numbers could clarify the day the meeting was to be held (in a number of "moons") and where (the number of camps' distance away). The messenger would have a message "in his mouth" to go along with the message stick.

A common misconception among non-Aboriginals is that Aboriginals did not have a way to count beyond two or three. However, Alfred Howitt, who studied the peoples of southeastern Australia, disproved this in the late nineteenth century, although the myth continues in circulation today.

The systems below are those of the Wurundjeri (Howitt called them after their language, Woiwurung) and the Wotjoballuk. Howitt wrote that it was common among nearly all peoples he encountered in the southeast: "Its occurrence in these tribes suggests that it must have been general over a considerable part of Victoria". As can be seen in the following tables, names for numbers were based on body parts, whose names themselves were metaphorical and often quite poetic:

Wurundjeri counting system

Aboriginal name	literal translation	translation	number
Būbūpi-mŭringya	child of the hand	little finger	1
Būláto-rável	a little larger	the ring finger	2
Būláto	larger	the middle finger	3
Urnŭng-mélŭk	from Urnŭng = direction and Mélŭk = a grub found in the holes of some Eucalyptus	index finger	4
Babŭngyi-mŭringya	mother of the hand	the thumb	5
Krauel		the wrist	6
Ngŭrŭmbul	a fork	the divergence of radial tendons	7
Jerauabil		the swelling of the radial muscles	8
Thánbŭr	a round place	the inside of the elbow joint	9
Berbert	the ringtail possum, also the name of the armlet made of the pelt of that animal, hence used to designate that part of the arm where the armlet is worn.	biceps	10
Wūling		the shoulder joint	11
Krakerap	the bag place, or the place whence the bag hangs by its band	the collar bone	12
Gūrnbert	reed necklace, or the place where the necklace made of pieces of reed is worn	the neck	13
Kŭrnagor	the point or end of a hill, or of a spur or ridge	earlobe	14
Ngárabŭl	a range or the ridge of a hill	the side suture of the skull	15
Bŭndale	the cutting place, i.e., the place where a mourner cuts themselves with some sharp instrument, from bundaya=to cut	top of the head	16

Howitt writes "from this place the count follows down the equivalent places on the other side, thus giving a considerable scope for enumeration." and would therefore allow numbers up to 31.

Wotjoballuk counting system

Aboriginal name	literal translation	translation	number
Giti mŭnya	little hand	little finger	1
Gaiŭp mŭnya	from gaiŭp = one, mŭnya = hand	the ring finger	2
Marŭng mŭnya	from marung = the desert pine (Callitris verrucosa). (i.e., the middle finger being longer than the others, as the desert pine is taller than other trees in Wotjo country.)	the middle finger	3
Yolop-yolop mŭnya	from yolop = to point or aim	index finger	4
Bap mŭnya	from Bap = mother	the thumb	5
Dart gŭr	from dart = a hollow, and gur = the forearm	the inside of the elbow joint	6
Boibŭn	a small swelling (i.e., the swelling of the flexor muscles of the forearm)	the forearm	7
Bun-darti	a hollow, referring to the hollow of the inside of the elbow joint	inside of elbow	8
Gengen dartchŭk	from gengen = to tie, and dartchuk = the upper arm. This name is given also to the armlet of opossum pelt which is worn around the upper arm.	the biceps	9
Borporŭng		the point of the shoulder	10
Jarak-gourn	from jarak = reed, and gourn = neck, (i.e. is, the place where the reed necklace is worn.)	throat	11
Nerŭp wrembŭl	from nerŭp = the butt or base of anything, and wrembŭl= ear	earlobe	12
Wŭrt wrembŭl''	from wŭrt = above and also behind, and wrembŭl = ear	that part of the just above and behind the ear	13
Doke doke	from doka = to move		14
Det det	hard	crown of the head	15

Note that both numbers 6 and 8 here appear to be represented by the elbow. Howitt has perhaps misinterpreted the wrist in the translation of 6, since 7 is the forearm.

Other languages

Language	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
Anindilyakwa		awilyaba	ambilyuma	abiyakarbiya	abiyarbuwa	amangbala					ememberrkwa
Gumulgal		urapon	ukasar	ukasar-urapon	ukasar-ukasar	ukasar-ukasar-urapon	ukasar-ukasar-ukasar
Gurindji		yoowarni	garndiwirri	nga-rloo-doo
Kokata		kuma	kutthara	kabu	wima	ngeria
Kunwinjku		na-kudji	boken	danjbik	kunkarrngbakmeng	kunbidkudji					kunbidboken
Ngaanyatjarra		kutja	kutjarra	marnkurra	kutjarra-kutjarra	kutjarra-marnkurra
Nunggubuyu		anyjabugij	wulawa	wulanybaj	wulalwulal	marang-anyjabugij		marang-anyjabugij wula			marang-anyjabugij marang-anyjabugij
Tiwi		natinga	jirara	jiraterima	jatapinta	punginingita					wamutirara
Wangka		kuja	kujarra	kujarra kuju	kujarrakujarra	marakuju	marakujarra
Yolngu		wanggany	marrma'	lurrkun	marrma' marrma'	gong wangany					gong marrma'

See also

• Wurundjeri
• Alfred Howitt

Bibliography

• "Notes on Australian Message Sticks and Messengers", AW Howitt, FGS, Journal of the Anthropological Institute, pp 317–8, London, 1889, reprinted by Ngarak Press, 1998, ISBN 1-875254-25-0