Two Trips to Gorilla Land and the Cataracts of the Congo, Volume 2Burton, Richard Francis, Sir
History
Two Trips to Gorilla Land and the Cataracts of the Congo, Volume 2
Burton, Richard Francis, Sir
Africa, West -- Description and travel; Congo River -- Description and travel; Ethnology -- Africa, West
The language of the people on and near the Congo River is called
"Fiote," a term used by old travellers to denote a black man as
opposed to Mundele (white), and also applied to things, as
Bondefiote or black baft. James Barbot (p. 512) gives specimens
of some thirty-three words and the numerals in the "Angoy
language, spoken at Cabinde," which proves to be that of the
River. Of these many are erroneous: for instance, "nova," to
sleep (ku-núa); "sursu," a hen (nsusu): while "fina," scarlet;
"bayeta," baize; and "fumu," tobacco, are corrupted Portuguese. A
young lad, "muleche" (moleque), Father Merolla's "molecchas, a
general name among the negroes," for which Douville prefers
"moleke" (masc.) and "molecka" (fem.), is applied only to a
slave, and in this sense it has extended west of the Atlantic. In
the numerals, "wale" (2) should be "kwále," "quina" (4) "kúyá,"
and "evona" (9) "iowá." We may remark the pentenary system of the
Windward Coast and the Gaboon negroes; e.g., 6 is "sambano"
("mose" and "tano" 1 + 5), and 7 is "sambwale" ("mose" and
"kwale") and so forth, whilst "kumi" (10), possibly derived from
neighbouring races, belongs to the decimal system.
The first attempt at a regular vocabulary was made by Douville,
(vol. iii. p. 261): "Vocabidaire de la Langue Mogialoua, et des
deux dialectcs principaux Abunda (Angolan) et Congo" (Fiote); it
is also very incorrect. The best is that published in Appendix
No. I. to the Congo Expedition, under the name of "Embomma;" we
may quote the author's final remark: "This vocabulary I do not
consider to be free from mistakes which I cannot now find time to
discover. All the objects of the senses are, however, correct."
M. Parrot showed me a MS. left at Banana Point by a French
medical officer, but little could be said in its praise. Monteiro
and Gamitto (pp. 479-480) give seventeen "Conguez" words, and the
Congo numerals as opposed to the "Bundo."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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