Culture and Language of the Turkana, NW Kenya

3. Numerals

It is noteworthy that only the numbers from one to five 4 and ten are
exactly designated; all other numbers are derived from these. The
numbers beyond 99 can also be expressed in words which have only
recently been borrowed from Swahili, i.e. 100 (amiot-apei) 5 , 200
(ngamiyo-ngarei), 1,000 (aluput-apeif and 2,000 (ngalupui-ngarei).

Every number has hitherto been verbalized and made unmistakeably
clear by means of simultaneous hand signs. Due to the increasing use of
higher numbers, the hand signs are inadequate and are becoming less
significant. My information and observations allow me to come to the
conclusion that the symbolic Turkana numbers can theoretically only be
effective up to the number 99; there is no appropriate sign for 100.

3.1 Cardinal Numbers

The cardinal numbers which have been considered here are all feminine.
This form has been chosen because it is used most frequently (also in
connection with money). The corresponding forms in the other genders
can easily be derived from the feminine form, whereby it can be seen that
the numbers are treated as adjectives and take the same prefixes as the
corresponding nouns, for example:

aberu apei one woman

ekile epei one man

ikoku ipei one child

ngaberu ngarei two women

ngikiliok ngiarei two men

ngide ngiarei two children

ngaberu ngakan-ka-arei seven women
ngikiliok ngikan-ka-arei seven men
ngide ngikan-ka-arei seven children

4 N. B. The numeral five (ngakan) is taken from the plural form of the word akan (hand).

5 In Swahili 100 is "mia".

6 In Swahili 1,000 is "elfu".

30

3. Numerals

Arabic
Numbers

Turkana Terms

Numerical Combinations

1

apei

2

ngarei

3

ngauni

4

ngomon

5

ngakan

6

ngakan-ka-apei

5 plus 1

7

ngakan-ka-arei

5 plus 2

8

ngakan-ka-uni

5 plus 3

9

ngakan-ka-omon

5 plus 4

10

ngatomon

11

ngatomon-ka-apei

10 plus 1

12

ngatomon-ka-ngarei

10 plus 2

13

ngatomon-ka-ngauni

10 plus 3

14

ngatomon-ka-ngomon

10 plus 4

15

ngatomon-ka-ngakan

10 plus 5

16

ngatomon-ka-ngakan-ka-apei

10 plus 5 plus 1

17

ngatomon-ka-ngakan-ka-arei

10 plus 5 plus 2

18

ngatomon-ka-ngakan-ka-uni

10 plus 5 plus 3

19

ngatomon-ka-ngakan-ka-omon

10 plus 5 plus 4

20

ngatomon-arei

2 tens

30

ngatomon-uni

3 tens

40

ngatomon-omon

4 tens

50

ngatomon-kan

5 tens

60

ngatomon-kan-ka-apei

5 tens plus 1 ten

70

ngatomon-kan-ka-arei

5 tens plus 2 tens

80

ngatomon-kan-ka-uni

5 tens plus 3 tens

90

ngatomon-kan-ka-omon

5 tens plus 4 tens

100

ngatomon-tomon

10 tens

101

ngatomon-tomon-ka-apei

10 tens plus 1

110

ngatomon-tomon-ka-ngatomon

10 tens plus 10

200

ngatomon-tomon-ngarei

10 tens (times) 2

300

ngatomon-tomon-ngauni

10 tens (times) 3

1,000

abunget

1,001

abunget-ka-apei

1,000 plus 1

1,010

abunget-ka-ngatomon

1,000 plus 10

2,000

ngabunge-ngarei

1,000 (times) 2

3,000

ngab unge-ngauni

1,000 (times) 3

8,000

ngabunge-ngakan-ka-uni

1,000 (times) 5 plus 3

10,000

ngabunge-ngatomon

1,000 (times) 10

100,000

ngabunge-ngatomon-tomon

1,000 (times) 10 tens

200,000

ngabunge-ngatomon-tomon-ngarei

1,000 (times) 10 tens (times) 2

300,000

ngabunge-ngatomon-tomon-ngauni

1,000 (times) 10 tens (times) 3

1 million

aurereme

2 millions

ngaureremia-ngarei

1 million (times) 2

3 millions

ngaureremia-ngauni

1 million (times) 3

innumerable nyiamarun

3.2 Ordinal Numbers 3 1

3.2 Ordinal Numbers

As we have already explained the numerical system of combinations in
dealing with the cardinal numbers, we need not repeat it here. All the
ordinal numbers to be found here are also feminine. The corresponding
forms in other genders will be demonstrated by a few examples:

aberu naekingaren the first woman

ekile loekingaren the first man

ikoku niekingaren the first child

aberu nangarei the second woman

ekile loangarei the second man

ikoku niangarei the second child

aberu nangakan-ka-arei the seventh woman

ekile loangakan-ka-arei the seventh man

ikoku niangakan-ka-arei the seventh child

1st naekingaren

2nd nangarei

3rd nangauni

4th nangomon

5th nangakan

6th nangakan-ka-apei

7th nangakan-ka-arei

8th nangakan-ka-uni

9th nangakan-ka-omon

10th nangatomon

1 lth nangatomon-ka-apei

12th nangatomon-ka-ngarei

13th nangatomon-ka-ngauni

14th nangatomon-ka-ngomon

15th nangatomon-ka-ngakan

16th nangatomon~ka-ngakan-ka~apei

17th nangatomon-ka-ngakan-ka-arei

1 8th nangatomon-ka-ngakan-ka-uni

19th nangatomon-ka-ngakan-ka-omon

20th nangatomon-arei

2 1 st nangatomon-arei-ka-apei

22nd nangatomon-arei-ka-ngarei

23 rd nangatomon-arei-ka-ngauni

30th nangatomon-uni

40th nangatomon-omon

32

3. Numerals

50th nangatomon-kan

60th nangatomon-kan-ka-apei

70th nangatomon-kan-ka-arei

80th nangatomon-kan-ka-uni

90th nangatomon-kan-ka-omon

100th nangatomon-tomon

101st nangatomon-tomon-ka~apei

1 10th nangatomon-tomon-ka- ngatomon

200th nangatomon-tomon-ngarei

300th nangatomon-tomon-ngauni

1,000th naabunget

2,000th nangabunge-angarei

10,000th nangabunge-angatomon

20,000th nangabunge-angatomon-arei

100,000th nangabunge-angatomon-tomon

200,000th nangabunge-angatomon-tomon-angarei

1 st million naaurereme

2nd million naangaureremia-angarei

3.3 System of Counting

The Turkana know addition, subtraction, multiplication and division
which, however, they only use in a rudimentary way. Counting using
higher numbers seems to be rather theoretical but demonstrates the prin-
ciples of the system of counting. No hand signs are used in counting and
the Turkana are also not familiar with either fractional arithmetic or deci-
mals. There is no existing terminus for the system of counting, to count
means akimar and the equals sign is ami. In Turkana the four types of
counting are as follows:

akimorianakin addition

akimorikin

to add

kimorik

plus 7

alemanar

subtraction

alemar

to subtract

tolema

minus

akidokonokin

multiplication

akidok

to multiply

ta

multiplied by

7 N. B. The term for "plus" in numbers beyond five is ka, for example ngakan-ka-uni
(eight, i.e. five plus three).

GUNTERBEST

BE!

Culture and Language of the Turkana

NW Kenya

HEIDELBERG 1983
CARL WINTER • UNIVERSITATSVERLAG