Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 14.djvu/259

* NAHUATLAN STOCK. 221 NAIL. the :Maya. The calendar, which was the conniion propertj' not only of the southern Xalniatlan nations, Ijut also of several neighboring peoples, recognized the year of 305 days, and may have been of aMaya origin, although developed along dillVrent lims. The Xahuatlan are now repre- sented by nearly two million people, most of wliom, although subjugated and to a certain extent Christianized, still occupy their ancient territories in nearly their ancient fashion, having adopted but little oi the newer civilization in the place of that destroyed by the conqueror. The principal sources of information upon the historj' and civilization of the Xahuatlan tribes are: Sahagun, Historia general de his cosris de iiiieva Espafia (Jlexico, 1829-30), and Prescott, History of the Vonqucst of Mexico (Xew York, 1843). See CoETES ; Mexico; Montezuma; and tribal licadings. NAHXJEL-HUAPI, na-wal'wa-pe', or Tiger Lake, A lake on the eastern slope of the Andes Range in Argentina, on the boundary between the territories of Xeuqucn and Kio Xegro (Jlap: Argentina, C 12). It is 75 miles long, with an average width of 10 miles and an area of 309 square miles. It contains a number of islands covered with hixuriant vegetation, and its banks are fertile and well watered. It receives many streams, and discharges into the Atlantic Ocean through the Rio X'^egro, NAHUM. The seventh of the minor prophets according to the usual arrangement. Xothing is known of his life exce^Jt what may be gathered from the notice in the first verse of his prophecy, where he is called "the Elkoshite.' ^■here El- kosli was is uncertain. It has been located in Galilee and in Assj'ria ; a third identification is with Beit Jibrin (Eleutheropolis) in the Shephelah. Xalunn's prophecy consists of two parts, besides the introductory verse: (1) A psalm (i, 2-ii. 2), which describes the majesty of God and His punishment of His enemies in somewhat general terms; and (2) the prophecy proper (ii. 3-iii. 19), which foretells the doom of Xineveh, The style is full of animation and fancy, and, at the same time, clear and rounded. The te.xt is in part corrupt. The date of the prophecy cannot be fixed exactly, but must have been later than the capture of Thebes in Egj'pt (the "No" of iii, 8; see Xo- Amon), by Asshurbanipal, B.C. 664-663; and it must have been before the fall of Xineveh. about B.C. 606. The recent investigations of Bickell and Gunkel have established with certainty traces of an original acrostic arrangement in the psalm, and this artificiality points to a late date for this part of the hook : it fits in with the condi- tions existing during the Persian rule in Palestine, when the religions community of Jerusalem was struggling against great odds, and may have been prefixed by an editor to the genuine prophecy of Nahum as an appropriate introduction. If this be the fact, it would be qtiite in accordance with the free treatment to which older discourses were subjected by post-exilic compilers. Consult the commentaries mentioned in the article !MlNOR Pbophet.S; Bickell. Bcitriiqe zur .icmitischcn Metrik (Vienna. 1894) ; Gunkel, in Zcitschrift fiir alilciitanientliche Wissen.ichnft, vol. xiii. (1893) ; Nestle, in Zeitschrift dex deutschen I'alii- stinarcreins, vol. i. (1878) ; Davidson, "Xahuni, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah," in the Cambridye Bible for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge, 1890). NAHUYS VAN BXJRGST, na'hois van boorost, HcuERT Geraku^ Baron (1782-1858). A Dutch colonial soldier and geographical au- tlior, born in Amsterdam. In 1809 he went to Batavia, where he entered the army, and fought against the English in Bengal. In 1814 he was appointed commissioner to the Prince of Java, X'ahuys was pensioned in 1830, and nine years afterwards returned to Holland, settling at Breda, His writings, which are of no small geographical importance, include: Hchets van Benkoelen op dc tiestkiist !'«» het eiland tiumatra (1826) and lieschouunngen over Nederlandsch-Indie (1847; 2d ed. 1S4S). NAIADS, na'yadz (Gk. Nai'Ses, Naides, 'SiidSet, Xciadcs, from vav, nan, to flow; connected with Lat. naris. Gk, vaSs, nans, 8kt, ni'iu, ship). In tireek mythology, the nymphs of the springs, and hence also of rivers. Caves, especially with trickling water, were sacred to them and believed to be their dwellings. Owing to the medicinal qualities of some springs, the Naiads naturally appear as healing divinities, and as divination was associated with the water, they became prophetic. Under their influence the prophet became inspired or even mad. See also Nymph, NAIANT, mi'ant, or NAT ANT, n.-i'tant (OF. swimming I. An heraldic term a]iplied to a fish when borne horizontally across the shield in a swimming position. See HER.LDRy. NAIL (AS. iicegcl, OHG. nagal, Ger. Nagel, nail, Goth, ga-nagljan, to nail; connected with OChurch .Slav. nogt'ilJ, Lith. nagas, Skt. nakhu, nail). The terms nail, claw, and hoof are popu- lar names for dilTerent developments of the same epidermal formation. All are horny secretions formed from the outer layer of the skin, pri- marily to protect the tip of the digits in the higher vertebrates. Nails have retained this function, while claws have become specialized as weapons of ofl'ense or defense, and hoofs are specialized to protect the whole of the terminal joint of the digit. Hoofs are usually tliick, lieavy, and blunt, and are best developed where the number of digits is reduced; they are char- acteristic of the great group of herbivorous animals known as Ungulata, and reach their highest development in the horse. Nails are flattened, usually thin, and more or less rounded at the^ end. They are present in some reptiles, in certain birds (as the grebes), and in many mammals, especially the monkeys and man. Com- pare Horn, Human Nail.?. These are the elastic, horny plates placed as protective coverings on the dorsal surface of the terminal phalanges of the fingers and toes. Each nail consists of a root, or part concealed within a fold of skin; a body, or exposed part attached to the surface of the skin; and a free anterior extremity called the edge. The skin below the root and body of the nail is termed the matrix, from its being the part from which the nail is produced. This is thick and covered with highly vascular papilla-, and its color is seen through the transparent horny tissue. Near the root the papilla- arc smaller and less vascular; hence the portion of nail corresponding to this part is of a whiter color: from its form, this portion is termed the lunula. The chemical composition of the