rogerburks
commented
1 year ago Who did and did not have a writing system? [Please note that citations here are scholarly only, meant to indicate the existence of a writing system. I do not necessarily endorse the wordings of titles cited].
The format of tags written below is in Name [unusual Tag name in Victoria 2 files] (Language)
Verified writing system by 1836: Did have a writing system although literacy was not widespread:
Angoche [Sultanate]: Swahili has written documents dating back to at least the 18th Century, although from Zanzibar. Given the proximity of Angoche to Zanzibar and the fact that Angoche had a predominantly Islamic culture, it is highly likely that an Arabic-based script was used to write Swahili in Angoche. Source: Bonate, L.J., 2016. Islam and literacy in northern Mozambique: historical records on the secular uses of the arabic script. Islamic Africa, 7(1), pp.60-80.
Aotearoa (Māori): 1815. Source: "A korao [kōrero] no New Zealand; or, the New Zealander's first book; being an attempt to compose some lessons for the instruction of the natives" by Thomas Kendall. A grammar was also published by Kendall in 1820.
Bone Sultanate [Sulawesi] (Bugis): The Bugis language used a writing system that was written in the Lontara Script, a Brahmic script which is still in use today though declining in popularity. In general, Sulawesi has many languages and local writing systems. Writings in the Lontara Script are known from much earlier than the 19th Century. There is also the Arabic-based Serang Alphabet that was probably more in favor officially. Source: Pelras, C. and Macknight, C., 2016. Orality and writing among the Bugis. Also regarding Serang script: Jukes, A., 2019. A Grammar of Makasar: A Language of South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Brill.
Bornu Empire [Kanem-Bornu] (Kanuri): At least 1669. An Ajami script, which is an Arabic-derived script that was frequently used in sub-Saharan Africa, has been used to write Kanuri for centuries. Source: Bivar, A. D. H. 1960. “A dated Kuran from Bornu”, Nigeria Magazine 65:199-205.
Botswana (Tswana): ~1808. In what is now Botswana, David Livingstone discussed a chief named Sechele who had an aptitude for learning to read, who translated the Bible into his own language, and who taught his wives. It is likely that some continuity exists from this event. Source: "Missionary Travels And Researches In South Africa" by David Livingstone.
Dahomey (Fon): Reported as early as 1727, in Ajami script but potentially more widespread than that. Source: "A New Account of Some Parts of Guinea" by William Snelgrave (1734). Also, Law, R., 1988. History and legitimacy: aspects of the use of the past in precolonial Dahomey. History in Africa, 15, pp.431-456.
Dendi: The Dendi Kingdom was Islamic, ruled by members of the Askia Dynasty after the collapse of the Songhai Empire. It is therefore extremely likely that an Ajami script was in use in pre-colonial Dendi. The Dendi language is sometimes referred to as a language, sometimes as a dialect of the Songhay Language. Given that the Songhay Language has a history of written literature from pre-colonial times (Source: Levtzion, Nehemia (1971). "A seventeenth-century chronicle by Ibn al-Mukhtār: A critical study of "Ta'rīkh al-fattāsh". Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies. 34 (3): 571–593.), I suggest that Ajami was in use in Dendi. While most writing systems mentioned here probably did not have libraries associated with them, the library at Timbuktu had documents written in Ajami in multiple languages.
Kongo (Kongo: Kikongo): 1593. Kikongo is a dialect of the Kongo language, and was an early example of a Latin-based writing script for an African language to help spread Christianity in the area. The capital of this kingdom would have been in Mbanza, which exists as part of Kongo in-game. Sources: Thornton, J. (2001). The origins and early history of the Kingdom of Kongo, c. 1350-1550. The International Journal of African Historical Studies, 34(1), 89-120. Also: Bostoen, K. and de Schryver, G.M., 2018. Seventeenth-century Kikongo is not the ancestor of present-day Kikongo. In The Kongo kingdom: The origins, dynamics and cosmopolitan culture of an African polity (pp. 60-102). Cambridge University Press.--this is largely a linguistic-phylogenetic study but gives good historical background on written Kikongo and the Kongo Kingdom.
Tidore Sultanate [Maluku] (Tidore): 15th century in either Arabic script or a modified form of it. "Ternate and Tidore are notable for being the only indigenous non-Austronesian languages of the region to have established literary traditions prior to first European contact." Source: "The coming of Islam and Moluccan-Malay culture to New Guinea c.1500–1920". Indonesia and the Malay World. 38 (110): 109–134. "From mantra to mataráa: Opacity and transparency in the language of Tobelo magic and medicine (Halmahera Island, Indonesia)". Social Science & Medicine. 27 (5): 430.
Xhosa (isiXhosa): 1823. Source: The Grammar of isiXhosa By J.C. Oosthuysen
Wolof: 18th century, in the Arabic-based Wolofal script: "Additionally, two other scripts exist: a traditional Arabic-based transcription of Wolof called Wolofal, which dates back to the pre-colonial period and is still used by many people." I have not tracked down an exact date for this, although it certainly appears to have origins that are pre-1800. Source: Diallo, I., 2012. Qur'anic and Ajami literacies in pre-colonial West Africa. Current Issues in Language Planning, 13(2), pp.91-104.
Unlikely to have a writing system by 1836 although a slim possibility exists:
Benin [Kingdom of] (Edo): In pre-colonial times, certainly before 1836 and probably dating back centuries before then, Uli designs were used for body art and the Ọdinani traditional cultural practices. It is still in use today, with decreased popularity. This is arguably a written language, although it is only comparable to what we are treating as writing scripts in this discussion. As far I as am aware, it was not used to keep official documents for leaders.
Kalimantan [numerous languages of the Dayak people]. It is possible that the Kawi Script was used in what corresponds to the tag Kalimantan, although I have not yet found solid evidence of this. While there are written inscriptions dating back to the 9th Century (Source: Griffiths, A., 2014. Early Indic Inscriptions of Southeast Asia. Dalam Lost Kingdoms: Hindu-Buddhist Sculpture of Early Southeast Asia. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art. Hlm, pp.53-57.), this may apply only to "lost" kingdoms, potentially having fallen to disuse by the 19th century.
Loango (Kongo). Here it is important to determine if Loango had any written tradition stemming chiefly from activity in Kongo. I have so far found no evidence of this. Older accounts, which may be biased, at least indicate no literacy. Source: Proyart, L.B., 1776. Histoire de Loango, Kakongo, et autres royaumes d'Afrique: rédigée d'après le mémoires des préfets apostoliques de la mission françoise; enrichie d'une carte utile aux navigateurs.
Mossi: The Mooré language may have used the Ajami script. What I want to find out is how early the Ajami Script was used for Mooré. In ccHFM, Mossi is an Animist tag, and therefore it is possible that the ruling class did not use Ajami. It was noted by travelers that in most of Mossi there was strong resistance to Islam, although there was a noteworthy presence of the religion in the northern parts of Mossi territory.
Probably did not have a writing system by 1836, or at least no clear guess exists of one. A verified newly made writing system exists after 1836:
Aro (Igbo): 1841 Ashanti Twi: late 19th century Bambara Empire [Segu] (Bamana/Bambara): 1887 Basotho (Sesotho): late 19th century Calabar (Efik): 1846 Equatorial Guinea (Fang) early 20th century. Kachin: 1890 Kong (Akan): 1884 Massina Empire (Fufulde/Fula): 1884 Oyo (Yoruba): mid 19th century Urundi (Kirundi): early 20th century Warri: late 19th to early 20th century. Zulu: 1883
Almost certainly did not have a writing system by 1836, but I do not know if a writing system existed or not:
Azande Gabu (Balanta-Kentohe) Gaza (Ronga) Kaffa (Kafa) Kazembe (Lunda) Kuba Luba (Luba-Kasai) Lunda Matabele (Ndebele) Mongo Namibia Ruanda (Kinyarwanda) Shilluk Kingdom Shona Sidama Suazi Yakutia-Sakha
This is a placeholder issue for a problem where some tags without a writing system had one historically, often much earlier than the 19th century. The Bone Sultanate is my flagship example of this, and any sultanate will receive serious scrutiny from me while investigating this. Some extenuating factors: