PDF Bulletin - Smithsonian Institution

In February 1953, while conducting archaeological reconnaissance in the Almirante Bay region, I had the good fortune to meet Reverend Ephraim S. Alphonso in Bocas del Toro. During the conversation with him, I learned that he prepared a grammar and vocabulary of the Guaymi language. After leaving fieldwork, he spent the next 10 years in Jamaica; he visited England and France and returned to Guayma. The Valiente Indians, whose dialect is covered by this publication, live on the Valiente Peninsula, which forms the southern border of the ChiriquI Lagoon, and in the valley of the Cricamola River and adjacent territory.

There is evidence that it was also the language of the original inhabitants of the islands in the Gulf of Panama. Guaymi, in turn, is a member of the Chibchan tribe, one of South America's most important linguistic groups. There is considerable disagreement among authorities as to whether some of the marginal groups in Costa Rica and eastern Panama should not also be included in the Guaymi dialects.

With the exception of the people in Costa Rica and the surrounding regions, who determined the political and linguistic connections to a considerable extent from Lothrop, very little reliable information has been published. A considerable amount of information can be found in Lehmann*s great work, but unfortunately it does not stand up to close analysis.

CONTENTS

WITH SOME ETHNOLOGICAL NOTES

BASIC ELEMENTS

THE SYLLABLE

Words are divided between a vowel and a consonant

PARTS OF SPEECH There are eight principal parts of speech

Nouns
Pronouns
Adjectives
Verbs
Adverbs
Prepositions (postpositional terms)
Interjections

A word that is placed at the end of a sentence and has the function of a preposition in other languages is called a postpositional term.

GENERAL RULES

Pronouns change form to indicate number

GENDER

The Masculine gender is distinguished from the Feminine by a different word, not by any change of sound or letter

CASE

The Nominative case with a verb in the present is used without any inflection

The Vocative case is the same as the Nominative

IDIOMS

THE ARTICLE

The article ni is used either with the Masculine or Feminine of persons

The article is never used with the Masculine or Feminine of any

When used with any name other than that of a person, the article denotes possession and becomes a Possessive Article

WORDS DENOTING GENDER

PRONOUNS

Pronouns are words used instead of nouns, and they change in

VERBS

ADVERBS

PREPOSITIONS (POSTPOSITIONAL TERMS)

CONJUNCTIONS

INTERJECTIONS

CAPITALIZATION

NOUNS

VARIOUS KINDS

GENDER Names change to denote sex

INFLECTION TO DENOTE TENSE

Alphonse] GUAYMI GRAMMAR AND DICTIONARY 7. 2) When the action is present or continuing, the name is not inflected.

DECLENSION OF PERSONAL PRONOUNS

HOW TO USE PRONOUNS

The Nominatives tiwe and te are used alternatively with verbs of the past tense

The Nominative tie is used with verbs in the present, the verb always preceding

The Possessive ti is used when it precedes a noun

REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS

Ara is equal to selj and is used with any pronoun or noun

The Demonstrative pronouns are

When the antecedent of the Demonstrative one is not referring to person, then the form must be according to the numeral form of

MASCULINE OR FEMININE

NEUTER

INTERROGATIVE

Medenwe ganama? Which of them won?

No nie, drekiia and errere:. nenie, that nenie, as drekua, that errere, as. o) Ne nie dorebare Judios Reye tau Where is he who is born king.

ADJECTIVES PROPER

Every score is repeated as so many scores
When numbering plants or bunches like bananas, etc., use dati
When numbering moneys, use kunti if it is whole dollars — or if
When numbering small coins, menani is used
When numbering heaps, use keteiti
When counting by spans, use taiti
When numbering by fathoms, use ungraiti

AU numbers take ti for one, bu for two, ma for three, huko or double two for Jour, riguie forJive, ti for six, kuo for seven, kuo foreight,jonkon for nine, enjoto forten.

SYNTAX OF NUMERAL ADJECTIVE

The object numbered must precede the number specifying

DEMONSTRATIVE ADJECTIVE

The Demonstrative Adjectives are

INDEFINITE DEMONSTRATIVE

DISTRIBUTIVE

ARTICLES

No mausar ti ni kadagiti banag malaksid kadagiti persona, mangted daytoy iti pangsandi a kaipapananna ti we orus. Saan nga umun-una ngem amin nga adjective a tumukoy kadagiti persona no maitured ti nombre. ket krire, ti nalinteg ket bori, ti naindaklan ket ita, patay.

COMPAKISON OF ADJECTIVES

There are two Degrees of Comparison: (a) Positive and

The word bori is the mark of the Comparative

VOCABULARY

USAGE OF NUMERALS

THE SIMPLE ADVERBS

Of Quality or Manner

Therefore: Words do not change forms for Adverbs

Of Quantity or Degree

INTERROGATIVE ADVERBS

Of Number

Of Cause

RELATIVE OR CONJUNCTIVE ADVERBS

Ni6boto, why

The Relative or Conjunctive Adverb always requires an antecedent. The verb it modifies is sometimes suppressed

COMPARISON OF ADVERBS

Adverbs are modified by the word bon

ADVERBIAL PHRASES

PREPOSITIONS ''

LIST OF PREPOSITIONS

CONJUNCTION

Sometimes the Conjunctive is suppressed

HOW TO USE THE CONJUNCTIVE

Awane, if

Awane, unless

Wane, when

Medente, whence, whither

Nioboto, why, wherefore

Ngomi, before, yet

Niokua, however

Awane, yet; amare, yet

CONJUNCTIVE PHRASES

MOODS

Transferred Imperative

Subjunctive

VERBAL FORMS OR GERUNDS

TENSE OR TIME

Immediate Past

Future

INFLECTION OF VERBS FOR TENSE

When a verb ends in a consonant, it drops the consonant and takes ai for the Future
The verbs Men, krien, nien retain the consonant n
When o is the dominant vowel or sound in a word, the Future is
When e is the dominant sound in a word, the Future is indicated
When u is the dominant sound in a word, the Future is formed by ui
When the combinations ai, oi, oa, are found in a word, the Future
To form the Immediate Past Tense change the last syllable to ni if the word ends in re, or ke; to n if the word ends in te or ke
Some verbs make no changes for the tense
The "Transferred Imperative" has a Future and a Past Tense
Some verbs change their forms entirely

To form the immediate past tense, change the last syllable to ni if the word ends in re, orke; to n if the word ends in te or ke. Regular conjugation verbs form the past tense by adding ani, ha {haas), ma, ni, mane, ra.

NUMBER

Verbs do not change for Number

AUXILIARY VERBS

CONJUGATION OF AUXILIARY VERBS

Sometimes dre is added to dabd when emphasis is needed

Ti bro noin I am going etc. (as for me)

Add awane to tau

Change the ending ne to di for the Future

Change noaine to noaimane

Change to noaimanena

Add awane

For Future, add dabai awane

Future: (a) Nonwunain

Past: (o) nonwunamane, (6) nonwunamaninta Subjunctive

Tiwe metawunamane moe I command it to be struck by you

ETYMOLOGY OR THE HISTORY OF WORDS

We use the phonetic method in writing words

There is no point in multiplying symbols when the correct sounds can best be got by careful hstening

Some nouns are derived from verbs. When the end of a verb is

When a Verb ends in ko, double ko to form a noun

When the Verb ends in ke, change to ko for the noun

When the Verb ends in re, ne, change to ko to form the noun

Adjectives are formed from Nouns by adding the suffix re

By adding te

Adjectives are formed from Nouns of Persons and Places by adding bu

Words borrowed from the Spanish aad from the traders finally

Words borrowed from English-speaking traders also became nativized

Sometimes foreign words are compounded

Sometimes unrelated words are combined to make a new one

Certain words are used both as nouns and as verbs

Certain verbs and nouns are not interchangeable without the addition of a word or a change of syllable

RULES FOR THE ARRANGEMENT OF WORDS, OR SYNTAX

MISCELLANEOUS

When Nouns are used to describe another Noun, they are said to be in apposition and of the same case

The Verbs driere (show appointment), kodekadre, nemenye (remain) , bo (seems) , nune (live) , nirien (grow) , ngotani (die) take the

A word or phrase can stand out as a Nominative apart from the nominative of the sentence. This is the Nominative Absolute

RedupHcate the first number of each definite cardinal number adjective to get the meaning of "each" etc. To give the sense of "neither", restore the definite cardinal number adjective after the prefix "Ni jukro itire" and also add the suffix nakare .

THE PRONOUN

Pronouns have no gender to distinguish them

Nie jondron dfun ne kurere He who does evil things like noaineawanenakaretoen- teh and will not stop doing, meter nakare dabd, neb6 will not pull them to heaven when koinbiti chi fiobe.

THE VERB

Finite verbs make no change in niunber, but simply agree with the noun in question
With an Active Transitive Verb, put the Nominative first, the Objective next, and the Verb last
The Complement. The following take one object and some- times require some word or words to make the predication complete
The Gerund as Noun and Verb,

If the main clause is in the past tense, the participle is put in the past tense. The following takes an object and sometimes requires one or more words to make the predicate complete. times require some word or words to make the sermon complete.

THE ADVERB

There is no change in the ending of Adverbs

Noun and Adjective phrases may be used as Adverbs

SERIES OF "DON'TS"

PASSIVE VOICE

Root (c) kojukauna to command to whistle kojuke. e) nomonouna to command to beg, ask nomonone. j) korouna to command to beg korore. fc) kodridwuna to command to preach kodriere. Any sentence or phrase can become ''ironic.''It is natural for Indians to speak with double meaning of their words.

NARRATIVE

DIDACTIC

Ti namani monso kia wane, monso kia erere tiwe blitabare, monso kia erere tiwejondrondukabagare, monsokia ereretewetoibikabare: akuati jantaniuno wanetiweniunlanejondronemikekobore. Metere nontauja tro toen fioyabukerete erere; akuanoire nun dabaja tro toen ja ngwore boto metrere; koenoire ti troe nio meter tod bik6 ti nore, nore toadre.

HORTATORY

TRANSLATION

MODELS OF PHRASES

Neyete ti kon lost from me
Tikaninkonti cut down, put out of power
Dunkuore some ways ahead or yonder
Mongone see menses for first time

Ab6kon or abukon perhaps; I do not know; perhaps, heher, him; in doubt; By the way; for her, him; in doubt; By the way; for this reason, cause, purpose.

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80 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY

At the foot of the crosses, they burn termites' nests and vine leaves, which give off an unpleasant odor as the smoke rises. When an Indian dreams, he believes that he will surely die, and the strange thing is that he actually dies. Estan velando por el fantasma, causa del mal o el sueno que ha tenido el enfermo.

Por las entradas de la casa donde está Velorio se colocan enredaderas anudadas para atrapar el espíritu causante.

BUREAU OF .\MERICAN ETHNOLOGY

96 BUREAU OP AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY

104 BUREAU OF AJVIERICAN ETHNOLOGY

GUATMI GRAMMAR AND DICTIONARY

118 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY

Alphonse] GUAYMI GRAMMAR AND DICTIONARY 119 To liim (The Sukya) the dream is retold by a friend of the sick person who had the dream. Careful retelling of the dream leads to finding the weed, bark or plant that will be effective against the evil spirit. They are taken with the medicine he gives, and are dried out in the hut and ground into a drink.

For five nights and as many days they gather in the dreamer's hut and drink cocoa diluted into a rare mixture, a little more colored than water; this is served all night. A kind of vine is placed as an arch under which the Spirit must pass. Jubu, kribu ngarobo, dikeko, ko nio biti, ko kri biti,jakain bori, akua abokon, nan dabd, kuorobe chi nobe—The house spirit, the tree spirit, the foolish spirit, walks all over the earth, boasting, and yet, no . he can win even a little bit.

BOIENE

PUBERTY

MARRIAGE

This dowry is paid to the woman's parents or brothers. (c) The man exchanges his services to the girl's parents forever. 34;Your son takes my daughter, and automatically my son will receive yours in return." This custom is mentioned.

MEDICINE CULT

If he is a smart guy, he will eventually come out with two or more sisters for wives. When there is a swelling in which there is pus, the nail is heated in the same way and pressed until the pus drains out. A hole is dug in the ground, the nest of the forest termite is broken and inserted, and a fire is set; this emits a heavy smoke that rises for hours.

When midwives are present at the birth, once the umbilical cord is cut, they burn a cork and rub the carbon over the cut umbilical cord.

BURIALS

TWINS AND MUBAIS

A hole is dug in the ground, the nest of the wood termite is broken and entered, and a fire lit; this gives off a strong smoke that rises for hours. are kept over the smoke for a whole day, while the patient lies still and prostrate. It is also the time when food is most abundant and the "pisba" or "pejebaya" palm - the most important food after corn and rice - is ripening. He prepares to lead the game by choosing a site and raising a supply of food for the "etebali," or the man he chooses to challenge, and his party.

Instantly, all who accept the challenge answer the horn with a similarly challenging blast, and the coming balseria is established. The women cook and chew the fruit of the pisba, which they put in avat, and then finally in your own fermentation. For the balseria, the men paint themselves according to fancy dictation, with paint made from the fat of a shell called "kuron." This shell is

The paste is then mixed with anotto (Bixa orellana) for red; with blue from the shops and also. Horns from the longhorn cattle are bought for as much as $40 each to make music. The game consists of dancing while 5-foot long balsa wood sticks are thrown at the dancer, who performs with his back turned to his opponent.

The kobobu is on one side and etebali and his group are on the other. Brani!" which means "Man, you say you are." To which the etebali who comes out with a stick aimed at the other's legs and dances rhythmically back and forth, replies in a challenging tone: "Man I. When the etebali, however, lands a blow and the challenger falls, he runs back for another stick and shouts, “Wau ki sha.

THE ULIKRON They sing

CIRI KLAVE They sing

INDEX