1 in Oksapmin body counting
1 · thumb · first side
Begin at the thumb of either hand. The direction of travel is not fixed.
LIVING · 27 BODY POSITIONS
Oksapmin body counting
A 27-position body count, from one thumb to the opposite little finger.
Convert numbers- Place
- Oksapmin area, central New Guinea, Papua New Guinea
- Period / variant
- Traditional practice; ethnographic studies from 1978 onward
EXAMPLES
14 · nose · center
14 · 27 body positions
The nose marks the midpoint, after the first eye and before the eye on the other side.
Worked example
Show 14 in Oksapmin body counting
Touch one body position for each object, following the ordered path.
- 13 · eye · first side
The preceding position is eye · first side, which counts 13.
- 14 · nose · center
Move to nose · center for one more object: 13 + 1 = 14. This highlighted position is the requested total.
- 15 · eye · other side
To count one more, continue to eye · other side, position 15.
Check
13 + 1 = 14
Sources and notation notes
These are positions on a counting path. They do not act as digits with place values.
Geoffrey Saxe · Oksapmin Counting System · Saxe & Esmonde · Making Change in Oksapmin Tradestores (2004)
The 27 body positions
Follow positions 1–27 in order. Each close-up highlights the body part to touch; the dot marks the counting point. Begin on either side, pass through the nose at 14, then continue down the other side.
Watch the count and see the full-body chart ↗Geoffrey Saxe · field research
- 1thumbfirst side
- 2index fingerfirst side
- 3middle fingerfirst side
- 4ring fingerfirst side
- 5little fingerfirst side
- 6wristfirst side
- 7forearmfirst side
- 8inner elbowfirst side
- 9upper armfirst side
- 10shoulderfirst side
- 11side of neckfirst side
- 12earfirst side
- 13eyefirst side
- 14nosecenter
- 15eyeother side
- 16earother side
- 17side of neckother side
- 18shoulderother side
- 19upper armother side
- 20inner elbowother side
- 21forearmother side
- 22wristother side
- 23thumbother side
- 24index fingerother side
- 25middle fingerother side
- 26ring fingerother side
- 27little fingerother side
How the symbols fit together
Count along an ordered path of body parts. The place reached on that path gives the number.
- Begin at either thumb, then count the index, middle, ring, and little fingers: 1–5.
- Continue through wrist, forearm, inner elbow, upper arm, shoulder, neck, ear, and eye: 6–13. The nose is 14.
- Continue down the other side from eye to wrist: 15–22. Count the other thumb as 23, then index, middle, ring, and little fingers: 24–27.
- The highlighted point marks the total reached. Follow the path to count onward; its positions are not place-value digits.
14 in Oksapmin body counting
14 · nose · center
The nose marks the midpoint, after the first eye and before the eye on the other side.
27 in Oksapmin body counting
27 · little finger · other side
Finish on the opposite little finger. A completed traversal may be acknowledged with raised fists and tit fu!
The converter covers all 27 positions of the first traversal. Diagrams are modern teaching illustrations. Further counts need context; a 27-position path is not positional base 27.
History
Geoffrey Saxe’s field research documents both the counting practice and its changes through trade, currency and schooling. Traditional enumeration and later arithmetic strategies are related but historically distinct uses of the same body sequence.
How to read it
Count along an ordered path of body parts. The place reached on that path gives the number.
- Begin at either thumb, then count the index, middle, ring, and little fingers: 1–5.
- Continue through wrist, forearm, inner elbow, upper arm, shoulder, neck, ear, and eye: 6–13. The nose is 14.
- Continue down the other side from eye to wrist: 15–22. Count the other thumb as 23, then index, middle, ring, and little fingers: 24–27.
- The highlighted point marks the total reached. Follow the path to count onward; its positions are not place-value digits.
Limits
The converter covers all 27 positions of the first traversal. Diagrams are modern teaching illustrations. Further counts need context; a 27-position path is not positional base 27.
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