The Native Races [of the Pacific states], Volume 3, Myths and Languages

Chapter XII

Text size

LANGUAGES OF HONDURAS, NICARAGUA, COSTA RICA, AND THE ISTHMUS OF DARIEN.

THE CARIB AN IMPORTED LANGUAGE -- THE MOSQUITO LANGUAGE -- THE
POYA, TOWKA, SECO, VALIENTE, RAMA, COOKRA, WOOLWA, AND OTHER
LANGUAGES IN HONDURAS -- THE CHONTAL -- MOSQUITO GRAMMAR --
LOVE SONG IN THE MOSQUITO LANGUAGE -- COMPARATIVE VOCABULARY OF
HONDURAS TONGUES -- THE CORIBICI, CHOROTEGA, CHONTAL AND
OROTIÑA IN NICARAGUA -- GRAMMAR OF THE OROTIÑA OR NAGRADAN --
COMPARISON BETWEEN THE OROTIÑA AND CHOROTEGA -- THE CHIRIQUÍ,
GUATUSO, TIRIBI, AND OTHERS IN COSTA RICA -- TALAMANCA
VOCABULARY -- DIVERSITY OF SPEECH ON THE ISTHMUS OF DARIEN --
ENUMERATION OF LANGUAGES -- COMPARATIVE VOCABULARY.

In Honduras there is a long list of tribal names, to each of which is attributed a distinct tongue. Vocabularies have been taken of three or four only, and one, spoken on the Mosquito coast, has had its grammatical structure reduced to writing. It is therefore impossible to make comparisons and therefrom to determine how far their number might be reduced by classification. The first which I introduce is generally conceded to have been imported. It is the Carib, spoken on the shores of the bay of Honduras and on the adjacent islands, and has been proven to be almost identically the same as the one spoken on the West India Islands. From Cape Honduras to the Rio San Juan, and extending inland as far as Black River, the Mosquito language is in general use. Of it I shall insert a few grammatical remarks. In the Poya Mountains a like-named tongue is spoken; on the headwaters of the Patook River is the Towka, and on the Rio Secos, the Seco. Further in the mountains, near the boundary of Nicaragua, and extending into that state are the Valiente and Rama, said to be both separate tongues; and in the interior of the state there are the Cookra and Woolwa, the latter spoken in the province of Chontales. Others mentioned are the Tonglas, the Lenca, the Smoo, the Teguaca, the Albatuina, the Jara, the Taa, the Gaula, the Motuca, the Fantasma, and the Sambo. Of these nothing but the names can be given. The oldest authorities mention, as a principal language the Chontal, the name of a people and language met in many variations in almost every state from Mexico to Nicaragua. As there are no specimens of this language existing, it is impossible to say whether one people and language extended through all this territory or whether certain wild tribes were designated by this general name, as, according to Molina's Mexican dictionary, _chontalli_ means stranger or foreigner; and _popoluca_, which seems to be also used like chontalli, is defined as barbarian, or man of another nation and language. I am therefore of the opinion that no such nations as Chontals or Popolucas exist, but that these names were employed by the more civilized nations to designate people speaking other and barbarous tongues.[XII'-1]

[Sidenote: MOSQUITO ADJECTIVES AND DECLENSIONS.]

Of the Mosquito language, which is understood throughout the whole Mosquito Coast, and of which I here give a few grammatical remarks, Mr Squier remarks that "it is not deficient in euphony, although defective in grammatical power."[XII'-2] There is but one article, the numeral adjective _kumi_, one, used also for a and an. The adjectives are few in number, having no uniform termination, and are discovered only by their signification, except when participles, when they always terminate in _ra_ or _n_. Adjectives form the comparative by adding _kara_ to the positive and the superlative by adding _poli_ except in two words, _uia_ and _silpe_, which have distinct words for each degree of comparison, thus;--_silpe_, small; _uria_, smaller; _katara_, smallest; _uia_, much; _kara_, more; _poli_, most. Comparison is usually formed in the manner following;--_yamne_, good; _yamne kara_, better; _yamne poli_, best; _konra_, strong; _konra kara_, stronger; _konra poli_, strongest.

In composition, to express excess or diminution, comparison is sometimes formed in this manner;--_Jan almuk, Samuel almuk apia_: John is old, Samuel is not old.

ADJECTIVES.

Old almuk Bad saura
Every bane Green sane
Tight, close bitne Black sixa
Spotted bulne Small silpe
Greedy slabla Transparent slilong
Dull dimdim Slippery swokswaka
Circular iwit Sour swane
Less kausa Damp tauske
More kara Great tara
Hot lapta Thin, flat tanta
Rich lela-kera Thick twotne
Round marbra Poor umpira
Sharp mata Much uia
White pine Smaller uria
Red paune Weary wet
Most, very poli Heavy wira
Grey, light popotne Chief wita
blue etc.
New raiaka Good yamne

THE PERFECT TENSE USED AS AN ADJECTIVE.

Dry lawan Angry palan, or luan
Lazy shringwan Fearful sibrin
Slack, loose langwan Sore latwan
Wet buswan Sick, troubled warban
Dirty klaklan Dead pruan
Generous kupia-pine

The gender is commonly marked by adding _waikna_ for the male and _mairen_ for the female, or, for beasts, _wainatka_ for the male, and _mairen_, as before, for the female. Thus;--_lupia waikna_, a son; _lupia mairen_, a daughter; _bip wainatka_, a bull; _bip mairen_, a cow. In nouns relating to the human species the plural is formed by adding _nani_ to the singular; as;--_waikna_, a man; _waikna nani_, men; _yapte_, mother; _yapte nani_, mothers. Other nouns have the plural the same as the singular, although sometimes a plural is formed by adding _ra_ to the singular;--_inska_, a fish; _inskara_, fishes.

There are four cases, distinguished by their terminations, the nominative, dative, accusative, and ablative.

DECLENSION OF THE WORD AIZE, FATHER.

SINGULAR. PLURAL.

Nom. Father aize | Fathers aize-nani
Dat. To father aizera | To fathers aize-nanira
Acc. Father aize | Fathers aize-nani
Abl. With father aize-ne | With fathers aize-ne-nani

WITH AFFIX KE.

SINGULAR. PLURAL.

Nom. My father aize-ke | My fathers aizeke-nani
Dat. To my father aizekra | To my fathers aizeke-nanira
Acc. My father aizeke | My fathers aizeke-nani
Abl. With my father aize-ke-ne | With my fathers aizeke ne nani

WITH AFFIX KAM.

SINGULAR. PLURAL.

Nom. Thy father aizekam | Thy fathers aizekam-nani
Dat. To thy father aizekamra | To thy fathers aizekam-nanira
Acc. Thy father aizekam | Thy fathers aizekam-nani
Abl. With thy father aizekam-ne | With thy fathers aizekam ne nani

SINGULAR. PLURAL.

Nom. His people ai upla | Their people ai upla-nani
Dat. To his people ai uplara | To their people ai upla-nanira
Acc. His people ai upla | Their people ai upla-nani
Abl. With his people ai uplane | With their people ai uplane-nani

To form the possessive case of nouns, the word _dukia_, signifying 'belonging', is added. The word, being subject to a declension peculiar to itself, is on that account not put as an affix in the usual declension of nouns.

DECLENSION OF THE WORD DUKIA, BELONGING, POSSESSION.

Belonging, possession dukia
Belonging to him, to them ai dukiara
Belonging to thee, to you ai dukiamra
In my possession, belonging to me dukia-ne

SINGULAR. PLURAL.

Of me, mine yung dukia | Of us, ours yung-nani dukia
Of thee, thine man dukia | Of you, yours man-nani dukia
Of him, his, hers, its wetin dukia | Of them, theirs wetin nani dukia

There are twelve pronouns, mostly declinable. Six of them are personal.

I yung | Self bui
Thou man | Our wan
He wetin | He, his, her, hers, I, me, etc. ai

Three are relative, and three adjective.

ADJECTIVE. RELATIVE.

This baha | What naki
That naha | Which ansa
Other wala | Who dia

The first three are declined alike; thus

DECLENSION OF THE WORD YUNG, I.

SINGULAR. PLURAL.

Nom. I yung | We yung-nani
Dat. To me yungra | To us yung-nanira,
Acc. Me yung | Us yung-nani
Abl. In me yung-ne | With us yung-nani kera

DECLENSION OF THE WORD MAN, THOU.

SINGULAR. PLURAL.

Nom. Thou man | You man nani
Dat. To thee manra | To you man-nanira
Acc. Thee man | You man-nani
Abl. In thee man-ne | With you man-nani-kera

DECLENSION OF THE WORD WETIN, HE.

SINGULAR. PLURAL.

Nom. He wetin | They wetin-nani
Dat. To him wetinra | To them wetin-nanira
Acc. Him wetin | Them wetin nani
Abl. In him wetin-ne | With them wetin-nani kera

Affixes are also joined to pronouns to increase, vary, or change their signification, such as _sa_, _ne_, _ra_, _am_, and others, as well as prepositions and adverbs.

There are but three interjections: _alai!_ alas! _kais!_ lo! and _alakai!_ O dear!

[Sidenote: MOSQUITO ADVERBS AND PREPOSITIONS.]

Adverbs are numerous, and admit of certain variations in their signification by the use of affixes, thus;--_nara_, here; _narasa_, here it is; _lama_, near; _lamara_, nearer.

Quickly ane Never tara
When ankia Where ansera
Every bane Together aika-aika
Yesterday, the There bara
other day eua-wala There it is barasa
Presently kanara Yonder bukra
When kanka Near lama
Again kli Nearer, close lamara
Soon mit Further liwara
To-day naiua Here nara
Next, by and by naika Here it is narasa
Already put No more yulakane
Immediately tiske Yes au
To-morrow yunka Anything deradera
After to-morrow yawanka Sweetly dumdum
No, not apia Exactly kut
Only baman Strangely pale
For nothing barke Very, truly poli
Not, never para Enough sipse
Not sip Truly kosak
It is not sipsa

There are twenty-eight prepositions. Some of them are also used as conjunctions; and some, like the adverb, admit of a variation.

At, near, about baila For mata
To, there bara Beneath maira
In bela Below monunta
Into, within belara Under monuntara
Against dara Behind ninara
Beyond kau After ninka
With kera Without, destitute para
Through krauan Over, upon pura
With, together kuki Upon, above purara
In front lalma Before, anterior pus
Opposite, before lalmara Without, exterior skera
Unto, close lama Among tilara
Without, outside latara With wal
Between, centre lilapos From, out of wina

CONJUNCTIONS.

Then baha Until kut
Since baha-wina Now mek
Like bako How naki
Because, for bamna Next naika
So thus bun But sekuna
So it is bunsa Lest sia
If kaka And, also sin
Yet kau And wal
Still kause

CONJUGATION OF THE VEEB KAIA, TO BE.

PRESENT INDICATIVE.

I am, yung ne | The same, only placing _nani_ after
Thou art, man kam | the pronouns.
He is, wetin |

PERFECT. FUTURE.

I have been, kare | I shall be, kamne
Thou hast been, karum | Thou wilt be, kama
He has been, | He will be, kabia

IMPERATIVE.

Be thou, kama | Let us be, kape
Let him be, kabia | Be ye, man-nani-kama
| Let them be, wetin nani kabia

OTHER FORMS.

I have not been, kerus
Thou hast not been, kerum
He has not been, keruiskan
I shall not be, kamue-apia
Thou wilt not be, kama-apia
He shall not be, kabia-apia
We shall not be, yung-nani kamne-apia
Ye shall not be, man-nani kama-apia
They shall not be, wetin-nani kabia-apia
Shall I not be? kamne-apiake
Wilt thou not be? kama-apiake
Shall he not be? kabia-apiake

CONJUGATION OF THE VERB DAUKAIA, TO MAKE.

PRESENT INDICATIVE.

SINGULAR. PLURAL.

I make, daukisne | We make, yung-nani daukisne
Thou makest, daukisma | You make, man-nani daukisma
He makes, daukisa, or danki | They make, wetin-nani dauki,
or dankisa

IMPERFECT.

I did make, daukatne
Thou didst make, daukatma
He did make, daukata

In the same way every tense forms the plural, having no difference in the terminations.

PERFECT. FUTURE.

I have made, dankre | I shall make, daukamne
Thou hast made, daukrum | Thou wilt make, daukama
He has made, daukan | He will make, daukbia

IMPERATIVE.

Make, daux | Let us make, daukpe
Let him make, daukbia, or | Make ye, man nani daux
dautbiasika | Let them make, wetin nani daukbia
| or daukbiasika

OTHER FORMS.

I make not, daukrusne
I did not make, daukruskatne
I have not made, yung daukrus
I shall not make, daukamme-apia
Make not, daukparama, or man daukpara
Let him not make, daukiera, or wetin daukbiera
Let us not make, yung nani daukbiera
Make ye not, man nani daukpara, or daukparama
Let them not make, wetin nani daukbiera
I may or can make, yung shep daukisne
I should make, daukaiakatne
I may have made, yung shep daukre
I might have made, yung daukatnekrane
I shall have made, daukaiakamne
Do I make? daukisneke
Do I not make? daukrusneke
Dost thou not make, or
makest thou not? daukrusmake
Does he not make? daukruske
Shall I not make? daukamne apiake
If I make, yung daukikaka
If I had not made, yung daukruskaka[XII'-3]

[Sidenote: MOSQUITO LOVE SONG.]

As a specimen of this language I have the following love song:

Keker miren náne, warwar páser yamne krouekan. Coope nárer mi koolkun I doukser. Dear máne kuker cle wol proue. I sabbeáne wal moonter moppara. Keker misére yapte winegan. Koker sombolo barnar lippun, lippun, lippunke. Koolunker punater bin biwegan. Coope nárer tánes I doukser. Coope nárer mi koolkun I doukser.

* * * * *

Of this the translation is given as follows:

Dear girl, I am going far from thee. When shall we meet again to wander together on the sea-side? I feel the sweet sea-breeze blow its welcome on my cheek. I hear the distant rolling of the mournful thunder. I see the lightning flashing on the mountain's top, and illuminating all things below, but thou art not near me. My heart is sad and sorrowful; farewell! dear girl, without thee I am desolate.[XII'-4]

Following is a comparative vocabulary of some of the other languages.[XII'-5]

LENCA.

[Sidenote: OROTIÑA CONJUGATIONS.]

Besides the Aztec, which I have already spoken of in a previous chapter, there were four distinct languages spoken in Nicaragua:--The Coribici, Chorotega, Chontal, and Orotiña.[XII'-6] Of the Orotiña, which Mr Squier calls the Nagrandan, I have the following grammatical notes.

Neither articles nor prepositions are expressed. The plural is formed by the affix _nu_;--_ruscu_, bird; _ruscunu_, birds. Comparatives and superlatives are expressed by _mah_, better or more, and _pooru_ or _puru_, best or most;--_meheña_, good; _ma-meheña_, better; _puru-meheña_, best. Diminutives, or deficiency, are expressed by _ai_ or _mai_;--_ai-meheña_ or _mai-meheña_, bad or lacking good.

PRONOUNS.

I icu
We, masc. hechelu
We, fem. hecheri
Thou ica
You, m. hechela
You, f. hechelai
He icau
She icagui
They, m. icanu
They, f. icagunu
That cagui
Those caguinu
This, m. cala
This, f. hala
These, m. cadchinulu
These, f. cadchici
Mine, m. cugani
Mine, f. icagani
Yours, m. cutani
Yours, f. icatani
His cagani

CONJUGATION OF THE VERB SA, TO BE.

PRESENT INDICATIVE.

SINGULAR. PLURAL.

I am, sá | We are, so
Thou art, sá | You are, soa
He is, sá | They are, sula

IMPERFECT.

I was, caná | We were, cananá
Thou wast, caná | You were, cananoá
He was, caná | They were, lacananá

PERFECT.

I have been, sá cá | We have been, sá cuá
Thou hast been, sachu | You have been, sá cnahi
He has been, sacá | They have been, sa gahu

PLUPERFECT.

I had been, mucasini | Plural the same
Thou hadst been, mucanasini |
He had been, mucanasadini |

FIRST FUTURE.

I shall be, lamanambi | We shall be, lamananna

SECOND FUTURE.

I shall have been, malamana | We shall have been, lamana

CONJUGATION OF THE VERB AIHA, TIHA, AHIHA, TO COME.

PRESENT INDICATIVE.

SINGULAR. PLURAL.

I come, icunaha | We come, hechelunagubi

IMPERFECT.

I came, incunahalu | We came, hechelunagubalú

PERFECT.

I have come, icusanaha | We have come, hechelusagualalu

PLUPERFECT.

I had come, icuschisalu | We had come, hechelunigualalu

FIRST FUTURE.

I shall come, icugaha | We shall come, hecheluguha

SECOND FUTURE.

I shall have come, icuvihiluniha | We shall have come,
hechehivihiluingualalu

IMPERATIVE.

Come, ahiyaica | Let us come, ahiyohecheu

I should come, icugahalu | We should come, hechelugualalu

If I had come, icumahaluvihilu | If we had come,
hechelumainueamaguíha[XII'-7]

[Sidenote: NICARAGUA AND COSTA RICA VOCABULARIES.]

Of the Orotiña and Chorotega I also insert a short vocabulary.

OROTIÑA. CHOROTEGA. OROTIÑA. CHOROTEGA.

Man rahpa nuho Water eeia nimbu
Woman rapaku nahseyomo Stone esee, or esenu nugo
Head a'cu, or edi goochemo Wood bara nanguima
Face enu grote To drink mahuia boprima
Ear nau nuhme To go aiyu, or icu paya
Eye setu nahte Dead ganganu gagame
Nose ta'co mungoo White mesha andirume
Arm pa'pu deno I icu saho
House gua nahngu Thou, he ica sumusheta
Sun ahca numbu We hechelu semehmu
Fire ahku nahu [XII'-8]

More scanty still is the information regarding the tongues of Costa Rica. Only one vocabulary is at hand of the languages spoken by the Blancos, Valientes, and Talamancas, who inhabit the east coast between the Rio Zent and the Boca del Toro. Besides these there are mentioned, as speaking separate tongues, the Chiripos, Guatusos, and Tiribis. Of the language of the Talamancas I give a few words.

Man signa-kirinema Water dí-tzítá
Woman signa-arágre Stone ák
Head sa-za-kú Wood u-ruk
Face sa-kar-kú Dog tschi-tschi
Ear su-kú-ke Good buisi
Eye su-wu-ákétéi Bad be-so-i
Nose su-tshu-ko-tó I be-hé
Hand sa-fra-tzin-sek Thou tschi-si
House suhú He se-dé
Sun kan-hué We sa-ta-war-ke
Moon tu-lu You se-hetsch-te
Fire tschú-ko They be-zo[XII'-9]

[Sidenote: CHOLO, TULE, AND DARIEN LANGUAGES.]

On the isthmus of Darien there is nothing to be mentioned but the names of tongues said to have been spoken there, and of specimens nothing but a few scanty vocabularies exist. Oviedo, speaking of Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and the ancient province of Tierra Firme, thinks there were as many as seventy-two distinct tongues spoken in that region. He specially mentions the Coiba, the Burica, and the Paris.[XII'-10] Andagoya speaks of a distinct language in the province of Acla; another called the Cueva as spoken in the provinces of Comogre and Biruqueta, on Pearl Island, about the gulf of San Miguel, and in the province of Coiba; at Nombre de Dios the Chuchura; to each of the provinces of Tobreytrota, Nata, Chiru, Chame, Paris, Escoria, Chicacotra, Sangana, and Guarara, a distinct language is assigned.[XII'-11] Another tongue spoken of by an old writer is that of the Simerones.[XII'-12] To the different surveying and exploring expeditions of later years we are indebted for a few notes on the languages spoken in Darien at this day. The Tules, Dariens, Cholos, Dorachos, Savanerics, Cunas, and Bayamos, are new names not mentioned by any of the older writers; of some of them vocabularies have been taken, but otherwise we are left in darkness.[XII'-13]

CHOLO. TULE. WAFER'S DARIEN VOCAB.

Water payto tee doola
Fire tuboor cho
Sun pesea ipé
Moon hedecho nee nee
Tree pachru chowala (pl.)
House dhé neka
Man mochina mastola
Woman wuèna pundola poonah
Thunder pá marra
Dog achu
Ear uwa
Eye ibia
Nose an uchuu
Mouth kagya
Father tautah
Mother naunah
Brother roopah
Go chaunah
Sleep cotchah
Fine mamaubah
One quenchaqua hean
Two pocoa dìv
Three pagwa tree
Four pakegua caher
Five aptali cooig
Ten ambe deh[XII'-14]

Although from a perusal of what has here been gathered we might wish to know more of the weird imaginings that floated through the minds of these peoples, and to follow further the interminable intermixture of tongues and dialects, spoken, grunted, and gestured between the Arctic Ocean and the Atrato River, we must content ourselves with what we have. I have gathered and given in this volume all that I have been able to find; and from the readiness with which the Americans were wont to adopt the dogmas and creeds of Europeans, supernatural conceptions supposedly superior to their own, and insist upon their being aboriginal, and from the rapid and bewildering changes that so quickly mar and destroy the original purity of tongues, there is little hope of our learning further from living lips, or of our ever being able to study these things from the scattered and degraded remnants of the people themselves.

[Sidenote: CONCLUSION.]

He who carefully examines the Myths and Languages of the aboriginal nations inhabiting the Pacific States, cannot fail to be impressed with the similarity between them and the beliefs and tongues of mankind elsewhere. Here is the same insatiate thirst to know the unknowable, here are the same audacious attempts to tear asunder the veil, the same fashioning and peopling of worlds, laying out and circumscribing of celestial regions, and manufacturing, and setting up, spiritually and materially, of creators, man and animal makers and rulers, everywhere manifest. Here is apparent what would seem to be the same inherent necessity for worship, for propitiation, for purification, or a cleansing from sin, for atonement and sacrifice, with all the symbols and paraphernalia of natural and artificial religion. In their speech the same grammatical constructions are seen with the usual variations in form and scope, in poverty and richness, which are found in nations, rude or cultivated, everywhere. Little as we know of the beginning and end of things, we can but feel, as fresh facts are brought to light and new comparisons made between the races and ages of the earth, that humanity, of whatsoever origin it may be or howsoever circumstanced, is formed on one model, and unfolds under the influence of one inspiration.

FOOTNOTES:

[XII'-1] A classification has been made by Mr Squier, but in the absence of reliable data on which to base it, it cannot be accepted without reserve. He says: 'it appears that Honduras was anciently occupied by at least four distinct families or groups.' These he names: the Chorti or Sesenti, belonging to the Maya family, the Lenca, under the various names of Chontals and perhaps Xicaques and Poyas;--in the third he includes the various tribes intervening between the Lencas proper and the inhabitants of Cariay, or what is now called the Mosquito shore, such as the Toacas, Tonglas, Ramas, etc., and lastly in the fourth, the savages who dwelt on the Mosquito shore from near Carataska Lagoon southward to the Rio San Juan. _Cent. Amer._, pp. 252-3. See also _Squier_, in _Palacio_, _Carta_, note iii., pp. 100-5; _Froebel_, _Aus Amerika_, tom. i., pp. 399-403; _Id._, _Cent. Amer._, pp. 133-36; _Boyle's Ride_, vol. i., p. 287; _Squier_, in _Nouvelles Annales des Voy._, 1858, tom. clx., pp. 134-5; _Palacio_, _Carta_, p. 20. 'Variis et diversis linguis utebantur, Chontalium tamen maxime erat inter eos communis.' _Laet_, _Novus Orbis_, p. 337. 'Tenian diferencias de lenguas, y la mas general es la de los Chontales.' _Herrera_, _Hist. Gen._, dec. iv., lib. viii., cap. iii.; _Juarros_, _Hist. Guat._, p. 62; _Galindo_, _Notice of the Caribs_, in _Lond. Geog. Soc., Jour._, vol. iii., p. 290-1; _Orozco y Berra_, _Geografía_, p. 20. 'Die Karaiben bedienen sich noch gegenwärtig ihrer ganz eigenthümlichen Sprache, welche bedeutend von allen übrigen abweicht, und von den anderen Indianerstämmen nicht verstanden wird.' _Mosquitoland_, _Bericht_, pp. 19-20, 140; _Bell's Remarks on Mosquito Ter._, in _Lond. Geog. Soc., Jour._, vol. xxxii., pp. 258-9; _Wells' Explor. Hond._, pp. 552-3.

[XII'-2] _Bard's Waikna_, p. 363. 'Die Sprache ... der Sambos oder eigentlichen Mosquitos, am meisten ausgebildet, allgemein verbreitet und wird im ganzen Lande von allen Stämmen verstanden und gesprochen. Sie ist wohlklingend, ohne besondere Kehllaute aber ziemlich arm und unbeholfen.' _Mosquitoland_, _Bericht_, p. 140.

[XII'-3] _Mosquitoland_, _Bericht_, pp. 241-68; _Alex. Henderson's Grammar, Moskito Lang._, N. York, 1846.

[XII'-4] _Young's Narrative_, pp. 77-8.

[XII'-5] _Squier's Cent. Amer._, pp. 253-6; _Id._, in _Nouvelles Annales des Voy._, 1858, clx., p. 135; _Froebel_, _Aus Amerika_, tom. i., pp. 400-1.

[XII'-6] 'Ay en Nicaragua cinco lenguajes muy diferentes: Coribici, que loan mucho, Chorotega, que es la natural, y antigua: y assi estan en los que lo hablan los heredamientos, y el Cacao, que es la moneda, y riqueza dela tierra.... Chondal es grossero, y serrano. Orotiña, que dize mama, por lo que no otros (nosotros). Mexicano, que es la principal.' _Gomara_, _Hist. Ind._, fol. 264. 'A quatro ó çinco lenguas distintas é diverssas las unas de las otras. La prinçipal es la que llaman de _Nicaragua_, y es la mesma que hablan en México ó en Nueva España. La otra es la lengua que llaman de _Chorotega_, é la terçera es Chondal.... Otra hay ques del golpho de Orotiñaruba háçia la parte del Nordeste, ó otras lenguas hay adelante la tierra adentro.' _Oviedo_, _Hist. Gen._, tom. iv., pp. 35, 37. Herrera, who has copied from Gomara almost literally, has made a very important mistake; he speaks of five languages and only mentions four. As Herrera mentions a place Chuloteca, some writers, and among them Mr Squier, have applied this name to a language, but seemingly without authority. Herrera's copy reads: 'Hablauan en Nicaragua, çinco lenguas diferentes, Coribizi, que lo hablan mucho en Chuloteca, que es la natural, y antigua, y ansi estauan en los que la hablauan.... Los de Chondal son grosseros, y serranos, la quarta es Orotina, Mexicana es la quinta.' _Hist. Gen._, dec. iii., lib. iv., cap. vii. Purchas has copied Gomara more closely, and cites the five like him. _Pilgrimes_, vol. v., p. 887. Mr Squier makes the following division: Dirian, Nagrandan, Choluteca, Orotina, and Chondal. Those speaking the Aztec dialect he names Niquirans and also counts the Choluteca as a dialect of the same. _Nicaragua_, vol. ii., p. 310-12; _Buschmann_, _Ortsnamen_, p. 132; _Froebel_, _Cent. Amer._, p. 59, et seq.; _Boyle's Ride_, vol. i., p. 267, vol. ii., pp. 286-7; _Hassel_, _Mex. Guat._, p. 397; _Palacio_, _Carta_, p. 20.

[XII'-7] _Squier's Nicaragua_, vol. ii., pp. 315-319.

[XII'-8] _Id._, pp. 320-23.

[XII'-9] _Wagner and Scherzer_, _Costa Rica_, p. 562; _Scherzer_, _Vocab._, in _Sitzungsberichte der Akad. der Wissensch._, _Wien_, vol. xv., no. i., 1855, pp. 28-35.

[XII'-10] 'Pienso yo que son apartados del número de las septenta y dos.' _Oviedo_, _Hist. Gen._, tom. i., lib. ii., cap. xliii. 'En tierra firme ... ai mui diversas, i apartadas Lenguas.' _Oviedo_, _Proemio_, in _Barcia_, _Historiadores_, tom. i., p. 12. 'Ai entre ellos lenguas diferentes.' _Fernando Colon_, in _Barcia_, _Historiadores_, tom. i., fol. 106. 'Son trà lor diuerse lingue.' _Colombo_, _Hist. Ammeraglio_, p. 405.

[XII'-11] _Andagoya_, _Relacion_, in _Navarrete_, _Col._, tom. iii., p. 393, et seq.; _Herrera_, _Hist. Gen._, dec. iv., lib. i., cap. xi.

[XII'-12] _Baptista Antonio_, _Relation_, in _Hakluyt's Voy._, tom. iii., fol. 554.

[XII'-13] _Vater_, _Mithridates_, tom. iii., pt ii., p. 707; _Cullen's Darien_, p. 65; _Fitzroy_, in _Lond. Geog. Soc., Jour._, vol. xx., p. 164; _Latham_, in _Id._, pp. 189-90; _Seemann's Voy. Herald_, vol. i., p. 312; _Bidwell's Isthmus_, pp. 33-38; _De Puydt_, _Explor._, in _Lond. Geog. Soc., Jour._, vol. xxxviii., p. 91.

[XII'-14] _Cullen's Darien_, pp. 99-102; _Latham_, in _Lond. Geog. Soc., Jour._, vol. xx., p. 190; _Wafer's New Voy._, pp. 185-188.

END OF THE THIRD VOLUME.

Comments

The Native Races [of the Pacific states], Volume 3, Myths and LanguagesChapter XII

0%17 min left in chapter