@article{oai:minpaku.repo.nii.ac.jp:00004313,
 author = {小馬, 徹 and Komma, Toru},
 issue = {1},
 journal = {国立民族学博物館研究報告, Bulletin of the National Museum of Ethnology},
 month = {Jul},
 note = {The Kipsigis of Kenya have been using, as a tradition, decimal
notation. However, they hate and try to avoid counting
not only their members but also domestic animals, just like many
other east African pastoral peoples. This could be the reason
why they seem to have had, at first, the notion of number
simply consisting of just the most basic numbers from one to ten.
This plain notion of number is closely linked with the verb's
aspect system of the Kipsigis language, and their views of time
and space.
In counting 1-5 on fingers, a Kipsigis uses the left hand
folding the fingers one by one. The little finger represents 1;
the third finger 2; the middle finger 3; the forefinger 4; the
thumb 5. In counting 6-10, he adds the fingers of the right
hand to the left fist, one at a time. Now, the little finger
represents 6; the third finger 7; the middle finger 8; the forefinger
9; the thumb 10.
According to old Kipsigis men, the most basic numbers of
1-10, at the same time, imply something more than the notion
of number. 1-5, which are shown by the thumb and fingers of
the left hand, symbolise oneself (1), oneself and the other, which
represents the community (2), conflictive situations existing
between oneself and the community (3), harmonious situations
existing between oneself and the community (4), and the completion
of the cosmic harmony (5), respectively. In other words,
the numbers represented by the thumb and fingers of the lefthand
(1-5) symbolise the development of one's consciousness by
steps from self-orientated state to community-orientated state.
On the other hand, each of 6-10, which are represented by
the thumb and fingers of right hand, just expresses linguistically
that the indicated number is big and difficult to comprehend.
Thus 10 (taman) literally means "It beats me" ( Taamenan).
Above all, 5 (mut) and 10 (taman) linked themselves with
the notions of past, present, and future on which Kipsigis view
time bases, as shown below. A transitive verb, mut, signifies
i) to encircle, and ii) to cut something into two. When a man
`clenches a fist' (mumut) with the left hand , to connote 5, this
divides the entire set of the basic numbers (1-10) into two, i.e.,
the already counted 5 (1-5) and the uncounted 5 (6-10). In
Kipsigis amut, which can literally mean 'I cut it into two , is for
yesterday. Mutai means morning in the Kipsigis language in
general, and yet it means to-morrow in the northern Kipsigis
dialect, just as in some other Kalenjin languages, including
Nandi and Terik. In addition, mutai can literally mean 'the
first (tai) five (mut). Here making a fist for counting 5 is associated
with a rotation of the sun, which causes day and night. And
therefore closing both hands to count 10 is connected with the
doubled rotation of the sun, and, as the result, with yesterday
(oin). Being the last number in the Kipsigis's basic numerical
counting system, 10 is also connected with the day after tomorrow
and the day before yesterday, which are the terminals in the
Kipsigis's day-counting system.
Taman (10) shares the common stem tam with a word tam,
which means 'to become difficult' as an intransitive verb, and
'every day' as an adverb . Then, koyoin (i.e., the day after
tomorrow) is closely associated with yoin or yoindet (i.e., the creator)
which is usually referred as Asis. Asis is the Kipsigis's omnipotent
God that can be the sun as its emblem. On the other hand,
oin (i.e., the day before yesterday) is closely associated with
oindet, which means a dead ancestor.
In Kipsigis view of time, the two-tiered mutai (tomorrow)/
koyoin (the day after tomorrow) set faces its counterpart, the
amut (yesterday) /oin (the day before yesterday) set, with ra or
raini (i.e., today) between. The verb's time-aspect system rather
faithfully reflects Kipsigis's view of time, for the two-tiered verb's
future-aspect set of tomorrow and the day after tomorrow
confronts the two-tiered past-aspect set of yesterday and the day
before yesterday with a today-aspect between.
In Kipsigis, the view of time is highly infiltrated by that of
space. Adverbs of time are formed on the basis of local adverbs.
Space is divided into three strata, i.e., over there (at a remote
place), there (out of reach of the speaker), and here (within reach
of the speaker), with the last one as the starting point. The
three strata are indicated by the suffixes, -i, -on, and -in, respectively.
Sets of pronouns also share a similar stratification.
Moreover, the binary opposition of koyoin (the day after
tomorrow)/oin (the day before yesterday) has firm association
with another binary opposition of east/west, through the intermediation
of yoindet (the creator God sensed through the sun)/
oindet (dead ancestor, who is in charge of death in its clan) binary
opposition. As the most important nucleus in the Kipsigis's
symbolism, east represents the creator, the sun, sunrise, life, sky,
future, and menfolk, whereas west represents ancestors, the
moon, sunset, earth, past, and womenfolk.
All in all, the Kipsigis system of counting on fingers is
considered to be well-embeded in their symbolism as a whole.},
 pages = {117--165},
 title = {両手の拳，社会，宇宙 : 手の指による数の指示法に組み込まれたキプシギスのコスモロジー},
 volume = {14},
 year = {1989},
 yomi = {コンマ, トオル}
}