Illustrated comparisons of Group I and Group III number prefixes

72 Buying and Selling 2 mas „plantains‟ mas chagla bo ‗two plantain plants‘ mas chagla bo ‗two stalks of plantain‘ mas tak bo ‗two hands of plantain‘ mas wal bo ‗two plantains‘ 3 win „beads‟ win mata bo ‗two bead necklaces‘ win kia bake ‗four strands strings of beads‘ 7.4 Grammar 73 4 tagar „wild banana leaves‟ tagar kuk bo ‗two bundles of thatch‘ tagar ka bo ‗two leaves of wild banana‘ 5 mam „manioc‟ mam chagla bo ‗two manioc plants‘ mam wal bo ‗two manioc tubers‘ 6 negchaled „fields‟ ob negchaled tanbo ‗two fields of corn‘ ob ila bake ‗four rows of corn‘ Exercise 8 . Numeral prefix substitution frame drill The teacher repeats the frame and selects a word from the list below to substitute in the frame and says it. The student then substitutes the word in the frame, selecting the correct collective noun or measurement prefix for the object involved. 74 Buying and Selling Examples Teacher: Ob karpapá takcha. Teacher: chin Student: Chin chogpá takcha. Teacher: Chin chogpá takcha. Teacher: wawadun Student: Wawadun walpá takcha. Frame Ob karpapá takcha. ‗She saw three baskets of corn.‘ 1. ob ‗corn‘ 2. tagar ‗wild banana plant‘ 3. chin ‗pig herd‘ 4. wawadun ‗banana‘ 5. ostigid ‗sugar‘ 6. chia ‗cocoa‘ 7. win ‗bead necklaces‘ 8. negchaled ‗fields‘ Exercise 9 . Numerals formation drill The student looks at the picture and says a phrase describing it. Example Figure 2. Student: Tule walbo. 1. 2. 7.4 Grammar 75 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

7.4.1.3 Money units

Money units function in a different way from other measurement prefixes and need to be discussed individually. The five prefixes andor words used to describe money by the Kunas of the Darién are: 1. mani- ‗five centsone nickel‘ 2. ton- ‗fifty cents‘ 3. karta ‗dollar bills‘ 76 Buying and Selling 4. olmani- ‗dollar bills‘ 5. tula- ‗twenty‘ These five terms form the basis of the five-way distinction used to describe money units below. 1 Money unit prefixes used to describe quantities less than one dollar Two prefixes used by Darién Kuna for money valued at less than one dollar are mani- ‗five centsnickel‘ and ton- ‗fifty cents‘. a Mani- ‗coin‘ Mani - ‗five centsone nickel‘ is the smallest unit of money used for trade in the Darién. 30 In describing the cost of items valued between five and forty-five cents, the Kunas describe the cost as a multiple of five cent pieces. For example, if an item costs twenty-five cents, the Kunas would interpret the cost of the item as five five-cent units, or five nickels. The prefix mani- uses two forms of the numeral phrase. If an item costs from five to thirty cents i.e., one to six nickels, the form of the numeral phrase is mani- + basic number stem. If the item costs from thirty-five to forty-five cents seven to nine nickels, the form of the number phrase is mani- + kwa- 31 + basic number stem. Example 1. manibake ‗20 cents four five-cent units‘

2. maniatal

‗25 cents five, five-cent units‘

3. manikwakugle

‗35 cents seven, five-cent units‘

4. manikwapabak

‗40 cents eight, five-cent units‘ Exercise 10 . Money unit drill The teacher writes on the board one of the money quantities listed in the lesson. The teacher then says the Kuna money unit. The student repeats the money unit after the teacher. This exercise should be repeated several times. Examples Teacher writes: 5¢ Teacher says: manigwen Student says: manigwen Teacher writes: 10¢ Teacher says: manibo Student says: manibo 1. 5¢ manigwen ‗five cents‘ 2. 10¢ manibo ‗ten cents‘ 3. 15¢ manipá ‗fifteen cents‘ 4. 20¢ manibake ‗twenty cents‘ 5. 25¢ maniatal ‗twenty-five cents‘ 6. 30¢ maninerkwa ‗thirty cents‘ 7. 35¢ manikwakugle ‗thirty-five cents‘ 8. 40¢ manikwapabak ‗forty cents‘ 9. 45¢ manikwabakebak ‗forty-five cents‘ 30 mani kollogwad ‗cent‘ lit., yellow money is used only in the city and in larger towns. 31 kwa- is a Group I shape prefix see 5.4.1.3.