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148
THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
[JUNE, 1898.
This shows that the Karens have adopted wholesale the British system of enumerating opper coinage. That they actually do so I gather from my informant, who, on being asked to write down how he enumerated pice, proceeded straight on end from one to thirty pice, thus:18+ number + bé! That is, he wrote: one pice
tôtabê ...
... ... (ta , one) two pice ... ...
.. tôk'ibê... ... ... ... (k'i, three) three pice ... ... ...
tôböbê ... ... ... ... (bo, three) and so on.
This shows that he is really a numeral coefficient for "copper coin," as one also gathers to be the case from the Anglo-Karen Dictionary, which gives istabs for "one copper coin."70
For silver, ie, the rupee and its parts, be gave the following tablo :
English,
Kаrеn.
Sense of the Terms
1 bghe 1 egho 3 bgbd
1 bi
one anna two annas three four five six seven eight mine ten eleven » twelve thirteen , fourteen , fifteen rupee ...
tabgbe... tas'gh8... böbghè tabi ... yèbghè... ķubghd nwibghe tapo kwibghe hghetus't B'Itabghè 8'ik'ibghà s'ibobghè s'llwibghè s'fyèbghè tabà ..
5 bghà 6 bghe 7 bghd 1 po 9 bg hè bghè a ten 11 bghe 12 bghe 13 bghe 14 bghe 15 bghè 1 bà
..
.
...
The Sqau Dictionary djecloses confusion of mind ampng the Karens as to metals. not altogether surprising in tribes situated as they have been. Thus, we have, p. 495, sé, money of gold or silver, but clearly usually of silver :80 p. 760, tô, brass and copper, also silver and superior brass : p. 1014, p'ghá hosóņó, tin, lead, 82 pewter, and spelter generally : p. 1224, Turètolò, "precious kind of copper," lpoètá, "precious kind of iron;" here locê is a precious stone, tá is iron (p. 793), and bò is yellow (p. 1105).
I may mention that my teacher only recognised Iwet d as iron and t8b8 as brass.88 Distractions between brass, copper and spelter seem to be töbò, ne above, yellow to, and tókayo, golden tó (p. 115) for brass : tôglò,84 red to (p. 395) for copper : tíud, white tó (p. 1224) for spelter.
I bave no means of locating the qualities of Karen (terms for) silver to any scale, but that there are qualities vaguely undersood there can be little doubt. Witness the words löase (p. 499), touchstone; sép'ò, silver refiner, and pghak'òsébé, silver assayer (p. 1015); pwesá
59 Anglo-Kiren Vocab, has tight for "copper coin," pgha being "tin."
* E. g., Awylo. Karen Vocab. gives the words for "silver" as those for "money," "cash :" p. 27. See also Anglo-Karen Dict. p. 381.
81 P"gh and pighan (scu, white) in Anglo. Karen Vocab. See also Anglo. Karen Diel., 8. v. $: Mr Karen teacber gnve me sins lead, spellipg it S: the Dict. p. 1014, gives pigha lead or tin. # So also Anglo-Kuren Vocab. p. 23, and Angle. Karen. Iict., 8. 1.
So also Anglo-Karen Diet., . t.
