Limbu / Kirati alphabet
Origin
The Limbu or Kirati alphabet was probably modelled on the
Lepcha alphabet, which is thought to
have derived from the Tibetan
alphabet. According to many historians, King Sirijonga invented
the “Kirat-Sirijonga Script” in the late 9th century. It disappeared
for many years and was then reintroduced by Te-ongsi Sirijonga
(believed to be reincarnation of King Sirijonga), in the 17th century.
In 1925, Iman Singh Chemjong, a Limbu scholar, named the script
after Sirijonga who had laid down his life for the preservation
and promotion of script in 1743.
Source:
http://www.chumlung.org.np
Notable features
- Type of writing system: syllabic alphabet – each letter has an inherent
vowel /a/. Other vowels are indicated using diacritics. When words begin
with a vowel, a special vowel carrier is used. - Direction of writing: left to right in horizontal lines.
- Used to write: Limbu (a.k.a. Yakthungba Pan/Yakthungpan) a
Tibeto-Burman language spoken by about 280,626 people in eastern Nepal,
Bhutan and northern India. The word limbu means an archer.
Vowel diacritics
Consonants
Final consonants and punctuation marks
Numerals
Sample text
Source: http://www.xenotypetech.com/samplepdfs/LB_Sample.html
Links
Information about the Limbu language and people
http://members.fortunecity.com/dharantimes/limbu.htm
Kirat Yakthung Chumlung – an organisation dedicated to the
promotion and preservation of the Limbu language and culture:
http://www.chumlung.org.np
Kirat Rai – information about the Kirat peoples and languages
http://meropaila.wordpress.com/kirat-rai/
Fonts including Limbu letters
http://www.chumlung.org.np
http://www.wazu.jp/gallery/Fonts_Limbu.html
http://www.xenotypetech.com/osxLimbu.html