#kpelle

Kpelle person in ritual garments from Guinea

So after seeing a tweet by Montel informing everyone that the Yoruba language now unofficially has a written non-Latin syllabary (I kept saying syllabus in the video by mistake) to compliment the oral language I was intrigued.

Note: here is the audio version of my reaction via SoundCloud:

I remember being informed that the Fulani (aka Fula) & Kpelle had similar syllabaries so I was very excited to discover that Yoruba had one too.

After further research I discovered that most of the African tribes I am related to have their own syllabary. All of them except Temne developed their own non-Latin written language.

A website called Omniglot catalogues these languages (as well as many around the world) so all I had to do is visit the Omniglot search page, type in my various tribes & become reintroduced to a world I never knew existed.

So here is what I discovered (I encourage everyone to visit Ominiglot for more details about the origins & history of each syllabary).

Yoruba: Odùdwà Alphabet

The Odùduwà alphabet was invented by Chief Tolúlàṣẹ Ògúntósìn from Benin as a way to write the Yoruba language. He claims that he was inspired to create the alphabet in dreams between 2011 and 2016. He also believes that the alphabet was used back in the 12th century by King Odùduwà, who is regarded as the father of the Yoruba people, and was then lost. (Omniglot.com)

Kpelle: Kpelle Syllabary

The Kpelle syllabary was invented during the 1930s by Chief Gbili of Sanoyea in Bong County in Liberia. He was apparently inspired to create it in a dream. It was used by a number of Kpelle chiefs, their scribes and a few others. They used it to write messages, keep records of taxes, stores and debts, and to write a recipe book. Very little of this material survives because of the civil wars in Liberia. It was used at least until the 1980s. (Omniglot.com)

Fula (aka Fulani): Adlam

The Adlam alphabet was created in the 1980s by Ibrahima and Abdoulaye Barry, two brothers from Guinea who decided that their language, Fulani, needed its own alphabet. The name of the alphabet comes from the first four letters, A, D, L, and M. (Omniglot.com)

Mende: Mende Syllabary (Kikakui)

The Mende syllabary was invented in 1921 by Kisimi Kamara (ca. 1890-1962) of Sierra Leone. Seeing how the British managed to take over his country, Kisimi concluded that their power was partly a result of their literacy. He decided to give his own people that ability. Kisimi claimed he was inspired in a dream to create the Mende syllabary, which he called Ki-ka-ku. During the 1920s and 1930s he ran a school in Potoru to teach Ki-ka-ku. The syllabary became a popular method of keeping records and writing letters. (Omniglot.com)

Mandinka: N’Ko

The N'Ko alphabet was invented by Soulemayne Kante of Kankan, Guinea, in 1949. It is mainly used by speakers of Maninka, Bambara, Dyula and their dialects in Guinea, Côte d'Ivoire and Mali. (Omniglot.com)

Although I was disappointed to not discover a Temne Syllabary, I did find out that the Igbo people (I have friends who are Igbo) did have a Syllabary of their own (albeit with a certain dialect).

Igbo: Nwagụ Aneke

The Nwagụ Aneke Script is a syllabary for the Umuleri dialect of Igbo. It was developed in late 1950s by Ogbuevi Nwagụ Aneke, an illiterate land owner and diviner from Umuleri, a village in Anambra State in the southeast of Nigeria. He claimed that spirits of his ancestors revealed the symbols to him. (Omniglot.com)

There are many other African tribes with the own Syllabaries, although unfornately they have faced aggressive resistance from African governments (odd but true) or colonial powers who feared a cultural separation.

The Lord our Protector (KPELLE, LIBERIA: Bible)

KPELLE, LIBERIA: Bible Psalms (Wule-woo-ŋa) 121 1 Ŋa pâi ŋɛ́i pîlanii ǹyée kɛ́tɛi ma. Mí ƃe ŋá kpɔŋ mâi a pâi kulai naai? 2 Ŋá kpɔŋ mâi a pâi kulâi Yâwɛɛ yêei, nyii ŋ̀elei kpɛ̂tɛ da ǹɔii. 3 Vé pâi ǹɛɛ̂i naa ítoo, íkpɔŋ mâ nuui káa a ŋ̀ɛ́i a tãi kélee. 4 Eezuɛ maa kɔ̃ɔ nuui fá nyîi a ŋuŋ, kpaa máŋ é láa é nyíi. 5 Yâwɛɛ ƃa ímɛi káa-nuui. Gáa íkɔlɛ ma, gɛ́ ímaa kɔ̃̂ɔ. 6 Vóloi fé pâi íkerenîi a ɣele…

The Lord our Protector (KPELLE, LIBERIA: Bible)

KPELLE, LIBERIA: Bible Psalms (Wule-woo-ŋa) 121 1 Ŋa pâi ŋɛ́i pîlanii ǹyée kɛ́tɛi ma. Mí ƃe ŋá kpɔŋ mâi a pâi kulai naai? 2 Ŋá kpɔŋ mâi a pâi kulâi Yâwɛɛ yêei, nyii ŋ̀elei kpɛ̂tɛ da ǹɔii. 3 Vé pâi ǹɛɛ̂i naa ítoo, íkpɔŋ mâ nuui káa a ŋ̀ɛ́i a tãi kélee. 4 Eezuɛ maa kɔ̃ɔ nuui fá nyîi a ŋuŋ, kpaa máŋ é láa é nyíi. 5 Yâwɛɛ ƃa ímɛi káa-nuui. Gáa íkɔlɛ ma, gɛ́ ímaa kɔ̃̂ɔ. 6 Vóloi fé pâi íkerenîi a ɣele…

The Lord our Protector (KPELLE, GUINEA: Yálá laawoo hɛɓɛ Bible)

KPELLE, GUINEA: Yálá laawoo hɛɓɛ Bible Psalms (Mąątɛ̨nɛ̨) 121 1 Ŋą́ nwún muhəɠə, ŋį́ ɲɛ̨́i hee ɲeeɠaa diɛ, mįnɛ̨ ɓə nwɔ́ kpɔnmąą a pɛli həɠəi laa? 2 Nwɔ́ kpɔnmąą a həɠə Yai-Laa pɔ, Yai yələkɔlɔn da lɔi di pɛli. 3 Hva ə́ lɛɛ laa ə́ kɔ́wɔ hvo talaan! Yíi hva tɛɛ a ə́ mąąkpɛmun! 4 Hvó gaai, nui ɲɛ̨i kaa yɛ́, hva yíi a nwun, nui ɲɛ̨i kaa Israɛlə ɓa, yíi hva tɛɛ la. 5 Yai-Laa ɓə a ɲɛ̨i kɛ…

The Lord our Protector (KPELLE, GUINEA: Yálá laawoo hɛɓɛ Bible)

KPELLE, GUINEA: Yálá laawoo hɛɓɛ Bible Psalms (Mąątɛ̨nɛ̨) 121 1 Ŋą́ nwún muhəɠə, ŋį́ ɲɛ̨́i hee ɲeeɠaa diɛ, mįnɛ̨ ɓə nwɔ́ kpɔnmąą a pɛli həɠəi laa? 2 Nwɔ́ kpɔnmąą a həɠə Yai-Laa pɔ, Yai yələkɔlɔn da lɔi di pɛli. 3 Hva ə́ lɛɛ laa ə́ kɔ́wɔ hvo talaan! Yíi hva tɛɛ a ə́ mąąkpɛmun! 4 Hvó gaai, nui ɲɛ̨i kaa yɛ́, hva yíi a nwun, nui ɲɛ̨i kaa Israɛlə ɓa, yíi hva tɛɛ la. 5 Yai-Laa ɓə a ɲɛ̨i kɛ…

The Fruit of the Spirit (KPELLE, LIBERIA: Bible)

KPELLE, LIBERIA: Bible Galatians (Galesiɛŋ) 5:22-23 22 Kɛ́lɛ, M̀ɔlêŋ ŋɔƃá-ŋai ƃa, wɛli-kɛ-maa, lii-nɛ̃ɛ, lii-sêe, lii-kpele, sɔŋ-lɛlɛ, mɛni lɛ́lɛɛ kɛ́ɛ, kili-kɛ-maa, 23 maa-yeŋ, da núu kpîŋ mɛi káa; ǹyaŋ tɔ̂ŋ fé nyíi-ŋai ŋí dîa.