159. Mende syllabary

 

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 run a school in Potoru to teach Ki-ka-ku. The syllabary became a popular method of keeping records and writing letters.
During the 1940s the British set up the Protectorate Literacy Bureau in Bo with the aim of teaching the Mende people to read and write with a version of the Latin alphabet. As a result, usage of Kisimi's syllabary gradually diminished and it was eventually forgotten.
Mende (Mɛnde yia) is a Mande language spoken by about 1.26 million people in Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Notable features

• Type of writing system: syllabary
• Direction of writing: right to left in horizontal lines.
• Number of symbols: 195
• Some syllables here several versions.

Mende syllabary

The Mende font used on this page was created by Jason Glavy

Sample text (Mende script)

Sample text (Latin alphabet)

Numuvuisia Kpɛlɛɛ ta ti le tɛ yɛ nduwɔ ya hu, tao ti nuvuu yei kɛɛ ti lɔnyi maa hɛwungɔ. Kiiya kɛɛ hindaluahu gɔɔla a yɛlɔ ti hun. Fale mahoungɔ ti ti nyɔnyɔhu hoi kia ndeegaa.

Translation

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
(Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)

Links

Information about Kisimi Kamara
http://www.sierra-leone.org/heroes7.html