given. The children in the country places have a somewhat different custom, for they take meat with them to feast upon.
Before concluding this part of the subject, another children's amusement may be mentioned, although it is by no means confined to children, viz., songs and ditties intended to help in learning to count. Mr. Richardson, in the second number of the Publications of the Malagasy Folk-lore Society, gives ten specimens of these productions, one of them being a song of ten verses of four lines each, but most having only ten lines, and some only four. In some of these ditties there is a punning on the form of the different words for the numbers up to ten, some word of similar sound being brought in to help the memory. This is much the same as if we, to help to remember the number "one," brought in the word "won" in connection with it; or with "four," "before;" or with "eight," "abate," &c. Here is a specimen verse or two:—
1.E, Andrianisa! e Andrianisa!
Aza manisa ny ef a tsy nety e!
E, homba anao aho re!
E, ry izy aroy e!
1.O Mister One! O Mister One!
Do not count (lit. "do one ") the improper O!
O, I'll go along with you!
O, he's yonder there!
6.E, Andrianenina! e Andrianenina!
Aza manenina[1] alohanny, olona e!
E, homba anao aho re!
E, ry izy aroy e!
6. O Mister Six! O Mister Six!
Do not regret before people O!
O, I'll go along with you!
O, he's yonder there!
8.E, Andriambalo, e Andriambalo!
Mivalo[2] fanahy tsy haditra e!
E, homba anao aho re!
E, ry izy aroy e!
8. Mister Eight! Mister Eight!
Begging pardon will not be obstinate O!
O, I'll go along with you!
O, he's yonder there!
- ↑ Playing on the similarity of sound between the words énina, six, and manénina, to regret. The words are shewn by italics.
- ↑ A play on the words bàlo = vàlo, eight, and mivàlo, to abjectly beg pardon; on account of these similarities in sound to unpleasant ideas, both six and eight are considered unlucky numbers. See Folk-Lore Record, vol. ii. p. 38.
