I wonder if I am the only one that gets seriously disturbed when I see claims that ancient Africans (excluding the Egyptians of course) were not using any writing systems before Arabs came into the continent bringing Arabic script. I believe such an assumption taken as fact is not only erroneous but is also one in several attempts to paint Africans as “lesser” in that everyone else in the world had writing systems except ancient Africans.
The truth of the matter is that ancient Africans were writing and there are several African writing systems even though most of them may be forgotten now. I have been following with keen interest Naijablog’s posts on the Nsibidi script yet the Nsibidi is not the only script that I’ve come across, there is also Tifinagh or Shifinagh, the written form of Tamasheq which is the language spoken by the Tuareg a nomadic people scattered through West and North Africa. Tamasheq is a southern Berber language and apparently bears significant resemblance to Pharaonic Egyptian. The roots of the Tamasheq writing system can be traced directly to the ancient Berber script that was used by the Numidians in pre-Roman times.
And we cannot forget the Ethiopian script, Ge’ez used in community that speak Amharic, Tigrinya and other Semitic and Cushitic languages. The Mande and Manding speaking people also invented their own writing systems.
I recall reading about the Opa Orayan, an ancient obelisk that still stands in Ile-Ife. Though I have never seen the staff, I’ve read that the staff is inscribed with what seems to be hieroglyphics. The author of the book I read was trying to establish an ancient Yoruba-Egyptian connection but it is entirely possible that back in the day Yoruba used writing systems.
Writing systems rise and fall while the hieroglyphs may be the most famous, there was also the Meroitic script developed around 300 B.C.E but overtaken by the Coptic alphabet with the coming of Christianity in Nubia in the 6th century A.D. Tellingly, no one has yet translated Meroitic script and it is referred to as a ‘little understood sub-Saharan language’.
I wonder why in the presence of all this, I grew up believing that Africans did not have any indigenous writing systems and still even today, it is generally accepted that Africans never invented any writing systems.
While it can only be guessed why these systems of writing eventually died off, I believe it can be generally accepted that despite any sort of popular belief ancient Africans were writing and communicating through symbols and different types of script. I believe that it is necessary for us to realise that some ancient Africans actually used one form of script or the other and not be surprised that some people thought it was a good idea to transcribe something and communicate within themselves.
I always remain devoted to deconstructing erroneous conceptions of African history. We live in a world that has placed more importance on certain histories at the expense of others so there’s always work to do!
I’m always fascinated by languages – great article here!
I know – I understand how they develop over time but how did they start, why so many and why are they are different are the questions I ask. And when we dont speak them they die – I did a post on dying languages sometime ago – it was as if a whole people died well I guess they did which is why so many languages are no longer with us.
my main problem is how to “define” what is African.
Language, language, language, dear old language… was the thought that drifted through my mind as I read this. I have been close up to the staff, “Opa Orayan!” and how fascinating to find the markings on it. The idea that they were not just decorative but communicative is intriguing. At the time however I was more nostalgic to be experiencing a new culture from the European one I was born into. Having said all this one thing that amuses me about Yoruba as a language even today is the subtlety of its construction. How did it come into being is another question altogether. As a user of laguages, I’m at one significant loss. I’d love to use the language (Yoruba, that is) but it is impossible on a European QWERTY keyboard. I would love to use the oral tradition that is prevalent among Yoruba bards but I also love the markings of modern Yoruba and the performances, sound and images it evokes.
Imagining language on an African-wide scale, how those languages started and the demise of some of the said languages is a vast undertaking but Sokari, as always, carried this off spectacularly. As to what is Africa? Perhaps we need to think; what is earth and the various beings interacting with a rich diversity of sounds on it -the planetary imperative, that is… Hahahaha!
Ops, correction! Thank you both! Eccentric Yoruba for writing this…
Just came here via Emeka’s tweet on the Zimbabwe book on “Afrikan Alphabets”. I’ve neglected my feed reader lately, Sokari, even missed Jepchumbas blog post on it…
I think other important questions are why we had written languages in African societies, what they were used for and how/why they then disappeared. It would be interesting to know if their purpose was any different to those who managed to survive in history, and also how they were valued by society. Because it’s not just a written language, but also about the stuff associated with it, like laws and a “systematic development beyond a local level”. This is also interesting in regard to the still open question of Intellectual Property Rights in Africa. Maybe we shd feature this on AfriGadget?
Juergen @ Thanks for your comment and the questions you raise. I really dont have answers so I need to think around the questions carefully. I do agree that the importance also lies in the kind of things people wrote about for eg did they write stories are was language used to document events, traditions, laws etc. Will get back on this
I believe we had written scripts in African societies for the same reason there were written scripts elsewhere. People need to communicate with each other in ways that are not limited to speech. These scripts were particularly important to travellers who would have needed symbols to aid in finding their destinations, traders who would have needed to note down prices and their stock and secret socieites that would have needed to communicate with members using symbols unique to them. Not that this is mostly speculation, I linked to a .pdf article on the Mande script in the OP and that essay stressed the need for a script among traders in order to record their businesses. Script was also necessary to preserve religious doctrines and obituaries.
I agree with you on it not being ‘just a written language’. A bunch of stuff must have been attached to written scripts back in the day which makes it even sadder that there is not much out there on African writing systems. Tbh, I’m still perplexed as to how these writing systems disappeared. When I think of the Merotic script and how it disappeared, I believe it was due to being replaced by a new and different writing system. While I don’t want to blame colonisation for this, I think there is that possibility.
Thank you Mia!