Numbers, etc...

[Sahla Autumn Yasmin Ajinqwai]

Well...guess I might as well throw Drhaqa numbers into this mix. Kinda
weird system- they've got two number systems. The Kyavntlqwai is base 8
and is used for everyday counting and minor arithmetic. This is also
generally the number system used for saying things like "13 fish" or
"lesson 1". It has vestiges of a 10-based counting system which was
reformed for some lost reason in ancient days. The number '4' is a
magical/holy number ('kala' means 4, and its not even a counting number,
kinda like our word 'dozen', but gets MUCH more play), so this may have
had something to do with it. The highest number in this system is 72.
The Keaslfeankwai (Keaslfehkehfoiqwai) is base 16, and is used for most
calculating, the calendar, religion, mysticism, science, and must be used
with certain Roots when counting ("13 people").

The weirdest thing about the number systems is that instead of
place-holding, in drhaqa convention the base number has its own number.
I.E. in Roman transcript, numbers would be written 1-8,11-18...88 and
1-G, 11-1G, 111-GGG, 1111 ... etc.

Kyavntlqwai numbers must always be used w/ a classifier when used for
purposes other than straight counting. (Thus the name:
" 'kyavn' -wants/needs + 'tl' -counting number classifier + 'qwai'-thing")

1 feh 5 meh
2 neh 6 xeh
3 deh 7 hya
4 weh 8 foi

9 bii
10 koe
(.. pattern starts here..) in this pattern
11 feh-keh-teh 'la-keh' replaces 'weh-keh'
12 feh-keh-weh 'mav-keh' --> 'meh-keh'
13 feh-keh-meh 'xav-keh' --> 'xeh-keh'
(however...)
17 feh-keh-bii
18 feh-keh-koe
(back again...)
19 neh-keh-teh
(10-base flashbacks....)
20 koe-koe
(..pattern again...)
21 ne-keh-meh
24 neh-keh-foi
25 deh-keh-feh
(exceptions...)
42 nehkwa-dan-nehkehmeh (2*21)
58 xav-keh-koe (instead of 'hya-keh-neh')
63 dehkwa-dan-nehkehmeh (3*21)
64 foe/foefoi

The Keavslfeankwai (keavslfehkehfoikwai) , meaning "system classifier + 16
+ thing", or 16-system is much more straight-forward:

Sixteens Ones English
-------- ------ -------
af/aif aifa/afa 1
na(i)(w) ane 2
du(w) duws 3
wi(') ir 4
mah(w) amwa 5
xu(w) xwewe 6
ih(w) ihwa 7
ofo ofo 8
feh'eh(w) feh'ehin 9
ivn(w) koe 10
da'eh(w) da'ehin 11
war wa'or 12
man main 13
xan xain 14
hyehia(n) hyehinu 15
fi(') fean 16

Thus, 17 is 'afa(i)fa' ; 32 is 'affean' ; 33 is 'na(i)waifa' ; etc.

So: 'fi-fean' is 272, 'afa(i)fa-yan-aifa' is 273 : -yan separates the
final pair from any longer string,
i.e.,
51,731,193,961,127,936 (FG.GG.GG.GG.GG.GG.GG) =
hyehianfean (hya'or) fifean (xor) fifean (mor) fifean (wor) fifean (dor)
fifean-yan-fifean...

The optional place-holders (hya'or, xor, etc.) are obviously derived from
the Kyavntlqwai.

Even though '0' holds no place, its amazing how the arithmetic still works
out...

The Kyavntlqwai numbers can be used as classifiers and Roots in
themselves, (e.g. 'nehkwai' - the thing manifest as a pair(2), or the
"two-ness", or "the number 2 itself" ). To represent an ordinal, simply
say that "X is at N". So, "1st Lesson" is "Seoktor fehk(wai)deat", or
"(The) Lesson at (the number) 1".

Unfortunately, 'fehkdeat /f^kh.death/' sounds like a Jamaican saying "f***
that" in English...I could imagine a high-school drhaqa class...Maybe
not :)

On that magical 4 thingy...(quick touch on opposites)...The
Drhaqakwai usually see things as being 4-aspected or 1-aspected (i.e., on
a continuum). This is not ALWAYS the case, of course, because that
would create a dichotomy (i.e., which is not right somehow to the drhaqa
mind). Thus, most things that we consider opposite are considered to be
either points on a continuum (e.g. sex, good-evil, etc.) or just 'others'
in a multistatial system (e.g. NSEW, and alot of other things :), etc.)
Aside: the experience of the recognition of the oneness of all creation
has a special word: 'fibal = all mental-aspect-of-a-being(mind)'.

For certain specific traits there is an otherness that could correlate to
'opposite'. They are 'tar = overall size', 'swor = quickness, speed',
'skal = resistance, endurance,etc.' These words are usually prefixed with
either 'av = greater manifestation' or 'wehi = greater non-manifestation'.
So 'avtar' means something close to 'large' and 'wehitar' means something
close to 'small', etc... These prefixes are also used when composing
comparitives, and are the only two morphemes in the 'cab that might come
close to being opposites... :)

Jiivn dan kwawr jula-measac
"Sorry about the novel..." :(

a bolobor,
.yasmin.