This just does not make any sense, I can figure out b but rest are just wierd?

Question

Give explanations for the following primitive number words:

a)For a Papuan tribe in southeast New Guinea, it was found necessary to translate the Bible passage (John 5:5): " And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity 30 and 8 years" into "A man lay ill one man, both hands, 5 and 3 years."

b)In British New Guinea, the number 99 comes out as "four men die, two hands come to an end, one foot ends, and four."

c)The South American Kamayura tribe uses the word peak-finger as their word for 3, and "3 days" comes out as "peak-finger days."

d)The Zulus of South Africa use the following equivalents: 6 - "taking the thumb," 7 - "he pointed"

e)The Malinke of West Sudan use the word dibi for 40. The word literally means "a mattress".

f)The Mandingo tribe of West Africa use the word kononto for 9. The word literally means "to the one in the belly."

Answer 1

a) Consider base-5 counting done like this: count to 5 on one hand, transfer that 5 to the other hand as 1, repeat until all five fingers on the second hand (5*5) and all five on the first hand (5*1) are used. Both hands=30. This theory is reinforced by the "5 and 3".

f) 9 months gestation?

Answer 2

A linguist would be able to explain the numbering system of tribal people. We assume that 1 - 99 is easy. For tribes where there is not advancement and they are still living with no contact with the outside, then the numbering is primitive.

So, translating from a 'civilized' advanced language into the system of the people, so that they can grasp the meaning, requires using what they know. No point in saying "Jesus had 5 loaves" if the tribe only counts "One, two, three, a lot" (since there are no WORDS for 4, 5, 6, etc.). You would say "Jesus had some loaves, but not very many", or something similar.

Now for your examples, I am not familiar with those tribes, so I cannot help you.