The Solomon Islands and Their Natives

by H. B. Guppy

[169] “The Melanesian Languages,” by R. H. Codrington, D.D. Clarendon Press, 1885.

[170] For instance, the Savo notation forms an exception to the decimal system of counting which prevails in the Solomon Islands.

The languages of the large islands of Choiseul, Bougainville, and Bouka and of the numerous smaller islands in their vicinity, or, in other words, the languages of the western portion of the Solomon Group have hitherto scarcely come within the cognizance of the philologist, and are therefore not referred to by Dr. Codrington in his comprehensive work. It is probable that that of the islands of Bougainville Straits may form the centre of another group of the Solomon Island languages, as it is spoken by a dominant tribe of natives who have extended their raids to the island of Bouka. Yet, it is a singular circumstance that the natives of Takura, a village on the adjoining coast of Bougainville, cannot understand the language spoken by the inhabitants of the islands of Bougainville Straits. I met twelve of the Takura men visiting the island of Faro, who were only able to make themselves understood by the Faro people through the medium of an interpreter.

Little communication appears to take place between the natives of the Straits and those of the islands of Vella-la-vella, Ronongo, and Simbo (Narovo) to the eastward; and judging from a vocabulary obtained by Captain Cheyne[171] in 1844 from the inhabitants of Simbo, or Eddystone Island as it is also called, a native of this island would be scarcely able to make himself understood by the people of Treasury Island nearly eighty miles away. As shown in the foot-note[172] where the numerals up to ten are compared, all the Simbo numbers with the exception of those signifying five, seven, and eight are apparently distinct. Many of the common terms are equally different; so that it would appear that the inhabitants of this island speak a language referable to a distinct group of the Solomon Island languages, probably to be classed with those spoken by the natives of Ronongo, Vella-la-vella, Kulambangra, and perhaps New Georgia.

[171] “A Description of Islands in the Western Pacific Ocean.” London 1852.

[172]

			One	Two	Three	Four	Five	Six	Seven	Eight	Nine	Ten.
Simbo			Kamee	Karu	Kuay	Mantee	Leema	Wouama	Weetu	Kalu	Seang	Manosa.
Treasury	-		Ilia	Elua	Episa	Efate	Lima	Onomo	Fito	Alu	Ulia	Lafulu.
			Kala

			Sun	Moon	Fire	Sleep	Spear	Bad	Star.
Simbo			Gawaso	Popu	Eku	Puta	Opuree	Ekarenah	Keenda.
Treasury	-		Feo	Ilella	Feli	Sueli	Portulu	Paitena	Bito-bito.
			Isang

I forbear from making many remarks on the general affinities of the language of the islands of Bougainville Straits, and prefer to leave such a comparison to those qualified to pronounce on the subject. There are, however, certain points to which I will briefly refer.

Professor Keane, to whom I sent a portion of this vocabulary, informs me that whilst the structure of the language and most of the words are distinctly Papuan, the numerals and several terms are Polynesian. However, whilst I was engaged in collecting plants and making general botanical notes in this locality, it occurred to me that by comparing the names of the common littoral trees with those of the same trees in other Pacific groups and in the Indian or Malay Archipelago, I might obtain some important additional clues as to the sources of the language. In so doing I have obtained some interesting results, to which I have briefly alluded on a previous page, and which go to show that the peoples who originally migrated from the Indian Archipelago to the various Pacific groups carried with them the names of several of their common littoral trees, some of which may still be found in the intermediate groups of islands, such as the Solomon Islands, which have served as stepping-stones or halting places along the line of migration. On [page 101] I have taken “Barringtonia speciosa” as an illustration. I will now refer to some other instances.