TheAustralian Aboriginal counting system was used together withmessage sticks sent to neighbouring clans to alert them of, or invite them to,corroborees, set-fights, andball 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,[citation needed] although the myth continues in circulation today.[1]
The system in the table below is that used by theWotjobaluk of the Wimmera (Howitt used this tribal name for the language calledWergaia in the AIATSISlanguage map). 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, which were counted starting from the little finger. In his manuscripts, Howitt suggests counting commenced on the left hand.
| Aboriginal name | literal Translation | Translation | Number |
|---|---|---|---|
| Giti mŭnya | little hand | little finger | 1 |
| Gaiŭp mŭnya | fromgaiŭp = one,mŭnya = hand | the Ring finger | 2 |
| Marŭng mŭnya | frommarung = 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 | fromyolop = to point or aim | index finger | 4 |
| Bap mŭnya | fromBap = mother | the thumb | 5 |
| Dart gŭr | fromdart = a hollow, andgur = the forearm | the inside of the wrist | 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 | fromgengen = to tie, anddartchuk = the upper arm. This name is given also to the armlet ofpossum pelt which is worn around the upper arm. | the biceps | 9 |
| Borporŭng | the point of the shoulder | 10 | |
| Jarak-gourn | fromjarak = reed, andgourn = neck, (i.e. is, the place where the reed necklace is worn.) | throat | 11 |
| Nerŭp wrembŭl | fromnerŭp = the butt or base of anything, andwrembŭl= ear | earlobe | 12 |
| Wŭrt wrembŭl'' | fromwŭrt = above and also behind, andwrembŭl = ear | that part of the head just above and behind the ear | 13 |
| Doke doke | fromdoka = to move | 14 | |
| Det det | hard | crown of the head | 15 |
A similar system but with one more place was described by Howitt for theWurundjeri, speakers of theWoiwurrung language, in information given to Howitt by the elderWilliam Barak. He makes it clear that once counting has reached "the top of the head. From this place the count follows the equivalents on the other side."
| Language | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anindilyakwa[2] | awilyaba | ambilyuma | abiyakarbiya | abiyarbuwa | amangbala | ememberrkwa | |||||
| Gumulgal[2] | urapon | ukasar | ukasar-urapon | ukasar-ukasar | ukasar-ukasar-urapon | ukasar-ukasar-ukasar | |||||
| Gurindji[3] | yoowarni | garndiwirri | nga-rloo-doo | ||||||||
| Kokata[2] | kuma | kutthara | kabu | wima | ngeria | ||||||
| Kunwinjku[2] | na-kudji | boken | danjbik | kunkarrngbakmeng | kunbidkudji | kunbidboken | |||||
| Ngaanyatjarra[4] | kutja | kutjarra | marnkurra | kutjarra-kutjarra | kutjarra-marnkurra | ||||||
| Nunggubuyu[2] | anyjabugij | wulawa | wulanybaj | wulalwulal | marang-anyjabugij | marang-anyjabugij wula | marang-anyjabugij marang-anyjabugij | ||||
| Tiwi[2] | natinga | jirara | jiraterima | jatapinta | punginingita | wamutirara | |||||
| Wangka[2] | kuja | kujarra | kujarra kuju | kujarrakujarra | marakuju | marakujarra | |||||
| Yorta Yorta[5] | iyung | bultjubul | bultjubul iyung | bultjubul bultjubul | bultjubul bultjubul iyung | bultjubul biyin-n | |||||
| Yolngu[2] | wanggany | marrma' | lurrkun | marrma' marrma' | gong wangany | gong marrma' |