THE NATURAL GENESIS

NOTES TO SECTION 4

[1] [Koelle, Outlines of the Grammar of the Vei Language, p. 30. 'For when both the fingers and the toes were counted, they said, "A person (mo) is finished (bande)," and hence mo bande came to mean twenty.'
Koelle, Polyglotta Africana, p. 14.]

[2] [Koelle, Polyglotta Africana.]

[3] [Latham, Elements of Comparative Philology, p. 381. 'The numerals are preceded by prefixes (as may be seen in the specimen) throughout the Papuan languages; and in comparatively distant localities these prefixes coincide e.g. in the Louisiade and New Caledonia.

Traces of this, however, may be found within the Malay area.']

[4] [Is. 66:17. 'They that sanctify themselves, and purify themselves in the gardens behind one tree in the midst, eating swine's flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith the LORD.']

[5] [Theal, Kaffir Folk-Tales, p. 1. See p. 6.]

[6] [Chips From A German Workshop, vol. 2, p. 292. 'He points out, first of all, a fact which had been neglected by all previous writers, namely, that the Arabs have two sets of figures, one used chiefly in the East, which he therefore calls the "Oriental;" another used in Africa and Spain, and there called "Gobar." "Gobar" means "dust," and these figures were so called because, as the Arabs say, they were first introduced by an Indian who used a table covered with fine dust for the purpose of ciphering.' Or p. 287, the 1890 ed.]

[7] [Hieroglyphica, bk. 1:11. 'To denote a mother, or vision, or boundary, or foreknowledge, or a year, or heaven, or one that is compassionate, or Athena [Neith], or Hera [Saté], or two drachmas, they delineate it a mother, because in this race of creatures there is no male. Gignuntur autem hunc in modum. Cum amore concipiendi vultur exarserit, vulvam ad Boream aperiens, ab eo velut comprimitur per dies quinque, during which time she partakes neither of food nor drink, being intent upon procreation. There are also other kinds of birds which conceive by the wind, but their eggs are of use only for food, and not for procreation; but the eggs of the vultures that are impregnated by the wind possess a vital principle. The vulture is used also as a symbol of vision, because it sees more keenly than all other creatures; and by looking towards the west when the sun is in the east, and towards the east when the god is in the west, it procures its necessary food from afar. And it signifies a boundary [landmark?] because, when a battle is to be fought, it points out the spot on which it will take place, by betaking itself thither seven days beforehand:—and foreknowledge, both from the circumstance last mentioned, and because it looks towards that army which is about to have the greater number killed, and be defeated, reckoning on its food from their slain: and on this account the ancient kings were accustomed to send forth observers to ascertain towards which part of the battle the vultures were looking, to be thereby apprized which army was to be overcome. And it symbolizes a year, because the 365 days of the year, in which the annual period is completed, are exactly apportioned by the habits of this creature; for it remains pregnant 120 days, and during an equal number it brings up its young, and during the remaining 120 it gives its attention to itself, neither conceiving nor bringing up its young, but preparing itself for another conception; and the remaining five days of the year, as I have said before, it devotes to another impregnation by the wind. It symbolises also a compassionate person, which appears to some to be the furthest from its nature, inasmuch as it is a creature that preys upon all things; but they were induced to use it as a symbol for this, because in the 120 days, during which it brings up its offspring, it flies to no great distance, but is solely engaged about its young and their sustenance; and if during this period it should be without food to give its young, it opens its own thigh, and suffers its offspring to partake of the blood, that they may not perish from want of nourishment:—and Athena [Neith], and Hera [Saté], because among the Egyptians Athena [Neith] is regarded as presiding over the upper hemisphere, and Hera [Saté] over the lower; whence also they think it absurd to designate the heaven in the masculine, τν ορανν, but represent it in the feminine, τν ορανν, inasmuch as the generation of the sun and moon and the rest of the stars, is perfected in it, which is the peculiar property of a female. And the race of vultures, as I said before, is a race of females alone, and on this account the Egyptians over any female hieroglyph place the vulture as a mark of royalty [maternity?]. And hence, not to prolong my discourse by mentioning each individually, when the Egyptians would designate any goddess who is a mother, they delineate a vulture, for it is the mother of a female progeny. And they denote by it (οραναν) heaven, (for it does not suit them to say τν ορανν, as I said before,) because its generation is from thence [by the wind]:—and two drachmas, because among the Egyptians the unit [of money] is the two drachmas, and the unit is the origin of every number, therefore when they would denote two drachmas, they with good reason depict a vulture, inasmuch as like unity it seems to be mother and generation.'
See also BB 1:142.]

[8] [Lake Regions of Central Africa, vol. ii. p. 333. 'When the African negro cries out in fear or wonder mama! mama!' From Tylor, Primitive Culture, vol. 1, p. 176.]

[9] [Wilson, Brahma Vaivartta Purana. I can find no trace of the word 'Voga' in any of Wilson's works, but see following:
Wilson, Essays and Lectures on the Religion of the Hindus, p. 174. 'Even the Bhagavat makes no particular mention of her amongst the Gopis of Brindavan, and we must look to the Brahma Vaivartta Purana, as the chief authority of a classical character, on which the pretensions of RADHA are founded; a circumstance which is of itself sufficient to indicate the comparatively modern date of the Purdha.
    According to this work, the primeval being having divided himself into two parts, the right side became KRISHNA, and the left RADHA, and from their union, the vital airs and mundane egg were generated. RADHA being, in fact, the Ichchhd Sakti, the will or wish of the deity, the manifestation of which was the universe.
    RADHA continued to reside with KRISHNA in Goloka, where she gave origin to the Gopis, or her female companions, and received the homage of all the divinities. The Gopas, or male attendants of KRISHNA, as we have formerly remarked, were in like manner produced from his person.'
Ibid., p. 244. 'These mythological fancies have been principally disseminated by the Puranas, in all which Prakriti, or Maya, bears a prominent part. The aggregate of the whole is given in the Brahma Vaivartta Parana, one section of which, the Prakriti Khanda, is devoted to the subject, and in which the legends relating to the principal modifications of the female principle are narrated.
    According to this authority, BRAHMA, or the supreme being, having determined to create the universe by his super-human power, became twofold, the right half becoming a male, the left half a female, which was Prakriti.']

[10] [Koelle, Polyglotta Africana.]

[11] [Commentaries on the Gallic and Civil Wars (bk. 1.1?). 'All Gaul is divided into three parts, one of which the Belgae inhabit, the Aquitani another, those who in their own language are called Celts, in our Gauls, the third. All these differ from each other in language, customs and laws. The river Garonne separates the Gauls from the Aquitani; the Marne and the Seine separate them from the Belgae. Of all these, the Belgae are the bravest, because they are furthest from the civilization and refinement of [our] Province, and merchants least frequently resort to them, and import those things which tend to effeminate the mind; and they are the nearest to the Germans, who dwell beyond the Rhine, with whom they are continually waging war; for which reason the Helvetii also surpass the rest of the Gauls in valour, as they contend with the Germans in almost daily battles, when they either repel them from their own territories, or themselves wage war on their frontiers. One part of these, which it has been said that the Gauls occupy, takes its beginning at the river Rhone; it is bounded by the river Garonne, the ocean, and the territories of the Belgae; it borders, too, on the side of the Sequani and the Helvetii, upon the river Rhine, and stretches toward the north. The Belgae rises from the extreme frontier of Gaul, extend to the lower part of the river Rhine; and look toward the north and the rising sun. Aquitania extends from the river Garonne to the Pyrenaean mountains and to that part of the ocean which is near Spain: it looks between the setting of the sun, and the north star.' This is the closest I can come to Massey's ref.]

[12] [Hieroglyphica, bk. 2:52. 'When they would symbolise a man who is weak and audacious, they pourtray a BAT, for she flies though destitute of feathers.']

[13] [1 Chron. 1:19. 'And unto Eber were born two sons: the name of the one was Peleg; because in his days the earth was divided: and his brother's name was Joktan.']

[14] [Moor, Hindu Pantheon, pl. 24.]

[15] [Mallery, Collection of Gesture-signs, pp. 176-7. 'With the forefinger of the right band extended, and the hand shut, describe a line, beginning at the pit of the stomach, and passing down the middle of the body as far as the hand conveniently reaches, holding the hand a moment between the lower extremities. (Dunbar.)
    A finger held vertically. (Long.)
    Elevate the index finger and turn the hand hither and thither. (Wied.) I have seen only the sign of the erect finger without the motions to which he refers. (Matthews.) The turning of the hand hither and thither probably was to convey more than the simple idea of man. It might have meant only one man, or that a man was alone.
    A finger directed toward the pubis. (Macgoican.) Hold the index-finger erect before the face. (Dodge.)
    Generally, any sign as a Sioux, a Cheyenne, etc., is understood to refer to the male, unless the sign for a Squaw or Woman follows. (Arapaho I.)
    Right-hand palm inward, elevated to about the level of the breast, forefinger carelessly pointing upward, suddenly pointed straight up ward, and the whole hand moved a little forward, at the same time taking care to keep the back of the hand toward the person addressed. (Cheyenne I.)
    The right hand is held in front of the right breast with the forefinger extended, straight upright (J), with the back of the hand outward; move the hand upward and downward with finger extended, etc. This is general. White man has a special sign, also negro, and each tribe of Indians. (Dakota I.)
    First, the extended right index, pointing forward, back upward, is to be placed horizontally in front of the privates, or a little higher, and the hand suddenly lowered about an inch. Then carry the hand (index still extended) to the right and upward through an arc, and bring it up right to a position a foot or so in front of the right shoulder, its back forward, and the index pointing upward, and suddenly move it forward an inch or so. While making these movements the middle, ring, and little fingers are to be closed and the thumb against the middle finger. (Dakota IV.) "Male one."
    Elevate the extended index before the right cheek, and throw the hand forward, keeping the palm toward the body. (Dakota VI.)
    Place the extended index, pointing upward and forward, before the lower portion of the abdomen. (Dakota VII.)
    The right hand in the position of an index-hand, pointing upward, is held a few inches in front of the abdomen or chest, the outer edge of the hand being usually forward. (Mandan and Hidatsa I.)
    The left arm is elevated and the hand, in type position (S 1, horizontal), is drawn across before the body on a level with the shoulder. . The right arm is then raised and extended before the body with the hand, in position (J 1), more stiffly extended. (Oto and Missouri I.) "A being with projecting sexual organ."
    Raise the closed hand, with the index only extended and elevated, pointing upward to the front of the right breast (cheek or shoulder) keeping the back of the hand to the front. (Kaiowa I; Comanche III; Apache II; Wichita II.)
    The forefinger of either hand is brought before the body, pointing upward. (Pai Ute I.)
    Pass the extended right hand downward, forward and upward from the hip, then lay the extended forefinger across the back of the right wrist. ( Ute I.) "Male genital organ and length of."']

[16] [Ibid., p. 153. 'Husband. (Compare Companion; Same; Married.) The two forefingers are extended and placed together with their backs upward. This sign is also used for Companion. (Long.)
    Make the sign in front of the privates for Man and then move the right fist, back outward, forward a foot or eighteen inches from six inches in front of the navel. (Dakota IV.) "Man I have."']

[17] [History of the Jews, p. 190.]

[18] [Kenealy, The Book of God. The Apocalypse of Adam-Oannes, intro., vol. 1, p. 327.]

[19] [Hahn, Tsuni-Goam, p. 14. '!Nona, three, comes from !no-na-s or !no-ma-s, the root, the radix of a tree.']

[20] [Gill, Myths and Songs from the South Pacific, p. 65-6. 'Close to where he stood watching the futile cooking of Ina-the-Blind grew four nono trees (morindo citrifolia). Taking up a stick, he gently struck the nearest of the four trees. Ina-the-Blind angrily said, "Who is that meddling with the nono belonging to Maui the Elder?" The bold visitor to nether-world then walked up to the next tree and tapped it gently. Again the ire of Ina-the-Blind was excited, and she shouted, "Who is this meddling with the nono of Maui the Second?" The audacious boy struck a third tree, and found it belonged to his sister Inaika. He now exultingly tapped the fourth and last nono tree, and heard his old grandmother ask, "Who is this meddling with the nono of Maui the Third?" "I am Maui the Third,' said the visitor. "Then," said she, "you are my grandson, and this is your own tree."
    Now when Maui first looked at his own nono tree, it was entirely destitute of leaves and fruit; but after Ina-the-Blind had spoken to him, he again looked and was surprised to see it covered with glossy leaves and fine apples, though not ripe. Maui climbed up into the tree, and plucked one of the apples. Biting off a piece of it, he stepped up to his grandmother and threw it into one of her blind eyes. The pain was excruciating, but sight was at once restored to the eye which had so long been blind. Maui plucked another apple, and biting off a piece of it, threw it into the other eye of his grandmother and lo! sight was restored to it also. Ina-the-Blind was delighted to see again, and, in gratitude, said to her grandson, "All above, and all below"(= all on earth and all in spirit-land) "are subject to thee, and to thee only."'
Ibid., p. 232, note. 'Its root is wonderfully tenacious.']

[21] [Comparative Grammar of the Sanskrit, Zend, Greek, Latin, Lithuanian, Gothic, German and Slavonic Languages (3rd ed.), vol. 1. p. 427. 'I do not think, at least that any language whatever has produced special original words for the particular designation of such compound and peculiar ideas as three, four, five, &c.; and as the appellations of numbers resist all comparison with the verbal roots, the pronominal roots remain the only means by which to explain them.']

[22] [Ps. 139:3. 'Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.']

[23] [Source.]

[24] [Source.]

[25] [Stanley, The History of Philosophy, pt. 9, 'Pythagoras,' (1687 ed.), p. 557. 'Some things likewise he spoke in a mystical way symbolically, most of which are collected by Aristotle; as when he calleth the Sea, a tear of Saturn; the two Bears, the hands of Rhea; the Pleides, the lutes of the Muses; the Planets, the dogs of Prosperine; the eyes, the gates of the Sun.'
See also BB 2:148, NG 1:356, NG 2:290 for same refs.]

[26] [Tylor, Primitive Culture, vol. 1, p. 351. 'Thus, answering the question 'How much did your master give you?' a Zulu would say 'U kombile ' 'He pointed with his forefinger,' i.e., 'He gave me seven/ and this curious way of using the numeral verb is shown in such an example as 'amahasi akombile' 'the horses have pointed,' i.e., 'there were seven of them.'']

[27] [Mallery, A Collection of Gesture Signs and Signals of the North American Indians, p. 292. 'Another: Wave the hand from the mouth, extending the thumb from the index and closing the other three fingers. (Burton.).' Mallery says this gesture represents Yes, Affirmation, It is so, and compares it with the signs for Good and Truth.
See also Tylor, Early History, p. 38. '"Good," wave the hand from the mouth, extending the thumb from the index, and closing the other three fingers. This is like kissing the hand as a salutation, or what children call "blowing a kiss," and it is clearly a natural sign, as it is recognized by the deaf-and-dumb language. Dr. James gives the Indian sign as waving the hand with the back upward, in a horizontal curve outwards, the well-known gesture of benediction.']

[28] [Du culte des dieux fétiches.]

[29] [Hieroglyphica, bk.2.29. 'SEVEN LETTERS INCLUDED WITHIN TWO FINGERS [RINGS?] symbolize a song, or infinite, or fate.' The fig. is from Cory's ed. of Horapollo, p. 106.]

[30] [As above note. De Pauw's note on the above is quoted by Cory.]

[31] [Tylor, Primitive Culture, vol. 1, p. 188. 'The Camacan Indians, when they wish to express the notion of 'much' or 'many,' hold out their fingers and say hi. As this is an ordinary savage gesture expressing multitude, it seems likely that the hi is a mere interjection, requiring the visible sign to convey the full meaning.']

[32] [Source. See also NG 1:59.]

[33] [Antiquities of Ireland, p. 328.]

[34] [Williams, The Barddas. See pp. xl, 74-5, etc.]

[35] ['Epistle of Abulafia' in Jellinek, Auswahl Kabbalisticher Mystik, p. 13, pt. 1.]

[36] [Williams, The Barddas. See pp. 40-52.]

[37] [Source.]

[38] [Rit. ch. 40. 'Thou art [hast been] tormented betwixt hatred and love of the Gods in the Land of Tap Tu; I come forth as his child, from his sword, having been stopped and accompanied by the Eye of Horus.' Birch's tr. Cf. Renof's.]

[39] [Jer. 46:16. 'Declare ye in Egypt, and publish in Migdol, and publish in Noph and in Tahpanhes: say ye, Stand fast, and prepare thee; for the sword shall devour round about thee.'
Jer.  50:16. 'Cut off the sower from Babylon, and him that handleth the sickle in the time of harvest: for fear of the oppressing sword they shall turn every one to his people, and they shall flee every one to his own land.']

[40] [Herbert, Nimrod, vol. 1, p. 13.]

[41] [Hale, 'Ethnography and Philology,'—in vol. 6 of Wilkes, Narrative of the United States Exploring Expedition During the Years 1838-1842, pp. 172, 289. From Tylor, Primitive Culture, vol. 1, p. 256. 'They start with tauna, 'a pair,' which thus becomes a numeral equivalent to 2; then they count onward by pairs, so that when they talk of takau or 10, they really mean 10 pair or 20. For bread-fruit, as they are accustomed to tie them up in knots of four, they begin with the word pona, 'knot,' which thus becomes a real numeral for 4, and here again they go on counting by knots, so that when they say takau or 10, they mean 10 knots or 40.']

[42] [Rit. ch. 30. 'My heart was my mother—my heart was my mother—my heart was my being on earth, placed within me, returned to me by the Chief Gods, placing me before the Gods, nor did it make [show] weakness to me before the Great God, Lord of the West, Hail, this heart of the Osiris, Lord of the West! hail, the lungs! Hail, ye Chief Gods dwelling in the locks placed on their sceptre! Say ye, Excellent is the Osiris, give him to Nahab. When I have been assembled in the region of the Great Quarter, the greatest of the heaven. I flourish on earth, I never die in the West, I flourish as a Spirit there for ever.
    Said over a scarabaeus of hard stone. Cause it to be washed with gold, and placed within the heart of a person. Make a phylactery anointed with oil, say over it with magic: My heart is my mother, my heart in my transformations.' Birch's tr. Cf. Renof's.]

[43] [I.e.. Medhurst, Chinese and English Dictionary.]

[44] [Asser, Life of Alfred. This word does not appear in any ed. of this work, but see Stevenson's ed. of 1904, and his notes, p. 231. 'For Snotengaham does not mean 'house of caves,' no such word as snoting or snoteng, 'cave' being known in Old English. Moreover, the suffixes -ing, -eng are not found in any of the Germanic dialects with any function corresponding to such a formation. The name is a patronymic or possessive from a personal name. 'Snot' probably connected with the adj. snofor, 'wise.' The Old Welsh Tigguocobauc does, however, mean 'dwelling of caves' (literally 'cavy house'), being a compound of tig (Modern Welsh ty, 'house,' and wraw (Modern Welsh gogofawg), an adjective derived from gogof, 'cave.' Whatever was the source from which the author derived the name, it is certainly applicable to Nottingham, which has long been famous for the houses excavated out of the soft sandstone upon which it stands. Possibly his information about the cave-dwellings there came from Alfred. There is no record in Welsh of any town bearing the name of Tigguocobauc, and ty is not applied to towns or villages.']

[45] [Smyth, The Aborigines of Victoria, vol. 1, p. 424. 'The Melbourne blacks say that Pund-jel made of clay two males. This was in long, long ages past; and the two first breathed in a country towards the north-west (Oodi-yul-yul mootiinno per-reen N'gervein). Pund-jel made of clay two male blacks, in the following manner:—With his big knife he cut three large sheets of bark. On one of these he placed a quantity of clay, and worked it into a proper consistence with his knife. When the clay was soft, he carried a portion to one of the other pieces of bark, and he commenced to form the clay into a man, beginning at the feet; then he made the legs, then he formed the trunk and the arms and the head. He made a man on each of the two pieces of bark. He was well pleased with his work, and he looked at the men a long time, and he danced round about them. He next took stringy-bark from a tree (Eucalyptus ohliqua), made hair of it, and placed it on their heads—on one straight hair and on the other curled hair. Pund-jel again looked at his work, much pleased (Bul-li-to monomeetli), and once more he danced round about them. To each he gave a name: the man with the straight hair he called Ber-rook-hoorn; the man with the curled hair, Koo-kin Ber-rook. After again smoothing with his hands their bodies, from the feet upwards to their heads, he lay upon each of them, and blew his breath into their mouths, into their noses, and into their navels; and breathing very hard, they stirred. He danced round about them a third time. He then made them speak, and caused them to get up, and they rose up, and appeared as full-grown young men—not like children!']