Vocabulary of the Indians of San Blas and of Caledonia Bay
Alternate Title:
Darien--San Blas and Caledonia Bay
Name:
Lull, Edward Phelps, 1836-1887
Date:
1873
Description:
C. Hermann Berendt's transcription of a vocabulary of words, numbers, and conversational phrases in English and the language spoken by the Indians of the San Blas Coast of Panama, today called Cuna (or: Kuna), collected by Edward P. Lull while participating in the Darien Exploring Expeditions, to the Isthmus of Darien (eastern Panama), in 1870 to 1871, with preliminary remarks by Lull (p. 3-4). The transcription closely corresponds to an article published by Lull under the title Vocabulary of the language of the Indians of San Blas and Caldonia Bay, Isthmus of Darien, in the Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association, 1873 (Hartford, 1874; p. 103-109); Lull's remarks are dated from Nicaragua, 9 May 1873 (p.3), as in the printed article, and the text is nearly identical to the printed version. Lull indicates that he communicated with the Indians in Spanish, and took every opportunity to check the accuracy of what he recorded. The vocabulary, which includes approximately 370 words (p. 5-23), numbers for counting 1 to 1000 (p. 24-25), and 23 conversational phrases (p. 26-29), also appears very similar in both content and arrangement to the one presented by Lull in his article, although with some differences in the sequence of entries and, occasionally, a variation in the rendering of the Cuna word (e.g. warra for tobacco, p. 9, vs. wawa in the printed version; often, a substitution of the letter c for k, or vice versa). Berendt makes a few annotations in red ink; and in separate remarks at the end (p. 30-31), expands on those points (in citing vocabulary entries in the remarks he uses numerical references whose connection to the text at hand is not apparent); he also questions whether the fact that the author names two different locations that are separated by a considerable distance might mean that the vocabulary actually represents a mixture of dialects spoken by the Indians in the different localities. In a paper entitled The Darien language, delivered before the American Ethnological Society in November 1873 (American Historical Record, vol. 3, no. 26, Feb. 1874, p. 54-59), Berendt makes reference to this vocabulary and to a forthcoming report by Lull.
Language:
English
Provenance:
From the collection of C. Hermann Berendt, later acquired by Daniel Garrison Brinton (ex libris stamp on verso of front free endpaper of bound volume).; Berendt, C. Hermann 1817-1878, former owner.; Brinton, Daniel G. 1837-1899, former owner.
20 leaves : paper; 208 x 130 (160-175 x 100) mm bound to 215 x150 mm
Geographic Subject:
Panama -- Languages; Panama
Rights:
http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0/
Notes:
Ms. component part.; Title from component title page (p. 1).; Item 163, in contemporary paper covers, is the first of 15 manuscripts (Items 162-165, 167-171, 172-175, 218, and 219) bound together in a volume with the spine title: Languages of Chiriqui and Darien.; Pagination: Paper, 20 leaves; fol. ii (paper endleaves) + 16 + ii (paper endleaves); [1-3], iv [i.e.: 4], [5], 6-25, [26-27], 28-29, [30-31, 32 (blank)]; contemporary pagination in ink, upper center (p. iv), or upper outer corners.; Layout: Vocabulary written in two columns of 19-22 lines, with English on the left and San Blas dialect (Cuna) on the right.; Script: Written in the hand of C. Hermann Berendt.; Watermark: PIRIE'S Old Style.; Origin: Written ca. 1873, probably in New York.; English and the San Blas dialect of Cuna.
Physical Location:
Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, Manuscripts, Ms. Coll. 700 Item 163
Collection:
Languages of Chiriqui and Darien; Berendt-Brinton Linguistic Collection
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