Makasar script
The Makasar script, also known as the Old Makassarese script or ukiri' jangang-jangang ("bird script"), is a left-to-right abugida derived from the ancient Brahmi script family and historically used to write the Makassarese language (basa Mangkasara') in South Sulawesi, Indonesia.[1] It comprises 18 consonant letters, each with an inherent vowel /a/ that can be modified by four dependent vowel signs positioned to the left, right, above, or below the consonants to indicate other vowels such as /i/, /u/, /e/, and /o/.[2] Additional features include a consonant reduplicator mark (angka) for repeating syllables without vowels and limited punctuation, such as danda-like strokes for sentence breaks and ornamental tammat marks (borrowed from Arabic) to denote text endings.[1] Texts are written in scriptio continua without word spacing or modern punctuation, often on palm leaves (lontara), paper, or other media, and incorporate occasional Arabic loanwords or numerals in their native right-to-left direction embedded within the main left-to-right flow.[2] The script's origins lie in the broader tradition of Indic-derived writing systems that spread to the Indonesian archipelago, likely via trade and cultural exchanges from South Asia or intermediate Sumatran scripts, with possible influences from Gujarati or other regional variants, though the precise pathway remains a subject of scholarly debate.[3] In South Sulawesi, it developed as one of two indigenous systems—the other being the closely related but distinct Buginese script—emerging around the 14th to 17th centuries amid the rise of agrarian kingdoms like Gowa and Tallo'.[4] By the 17th century, it was actively employed for official and literary purposes, including the recording of royal chronicles (such as the Lontara Bilang), treaties like the 1667 Bungaya Agreement, genealogies, legal codes, and prose works on history, religion, and even indigenous knowledge like sexuality (assikalaibineng).[5] This written tradition complemented a strong oral culture, with manuscripts often serving as aides-mémoire for recitation rather than standalone texts.[4] The Makasar script was used exclusively for the Makassarese language until the 19th century, when it was gradually supplanted by the unified Lontara script (also called Bugis-Makassar script), which accommodated both Makassarese and Buginese with shared characters and adaptations.[5] Its decline accelerated under Dutch colonial rule in the late 19th and 20th centuries, as Romanized orthographies and the Indonesian national language (bahasa Indonesia) in the Latin script became dominant for education and administration.[5] Today, native literacy in the script is virtually extinct, with surviving examples preserved in archives, museums, and digitized collections, such as those from the Gowa Sultanate.[4] Scholarly transliterations into Latin or modern Lontara facilitate study, and the script's encoding in Unicode version 11.0 (2018) in the block U+11EE0–U+11EFF has enabled digital revival for research and cultural heritage projects.[6]Origins and History
Development and Influences
The Makasar script, also known as the jangang-jangang or Old Makasar script, traces its origins to the ancient Brahmi script developed in India by the 5th century BCE, from which many South and Southeast Asian writing systems derive. Like other regional scripts, it likely evolved through intermediaries such as the Kawi script used in Java and its satellite regions, or a closely related form, possibly transmitted via a Sumatran intermediary during early cultural exchanges in the Indonesian archipelago. This Indic heritage is evident in its abugida structure, where consonants inherently carry an implied vowel sound, a feature shared with Brahmic descendants across maritime Southeast Asia. In South Sulawesi, the script's development occurred in a pre-Islamic context, predating the arrival of Islam in the region around 1605 CE, as a writing system was already established for recording historical and cultural narratives among local communities. Its emergence likely stemmed from broader trade and cultural interactions in the archipelago, where maritime networks facilitated the adaptation of external scripts to local linguistic needs, though no single direct precursor has been definitively identified. By the early 16th century, the script had matured sufficiently to support systematic documentation, reflecting influences from the dynamic socio-political environment of the Gowa and Tallo' kingdoms. Early adoption of the Makasar script was primarily among the Makassarese elites, who employed it for administrative records, chronicles, and literary works, distinguishing it from predominant oral traditions in society. A key figure in this institutionalization was Daeng Pamatte', the harbor master of Gowa in the early 16th century, credited with formalizing its use for lontara'—palm-leaf manuscripts—thus embedding it in elite practices for preserving governance and heritage. This selective uptake underscored its role in consolidating power and cultural identity prior to broader regional shifts.Key Historical Periods and Manuscripts
The earliest known example of the Makasar script is found in the signature of delegates from the Sultanate of Gowa on the Treaty of Bongaya, signed in 1667 between Gowa and the Dutch East India Company (VOC). This document, now held in the National Archives of Indonesia, marks the script's initial documented appearance in a diplomatic context amid the Makassar War. The script attained its peak prominence during the 17th and 18th centuries, when it served as the primary medium for official records, chronicles, and administrative texts in the courts of Gowa and Tallo'. This era coincided with the height of Makassarese political and cultural influence in South Sulawesi, prior to the full consolidation of Dutch colonial control. A key artifact from this period is the Gowa-Tallo' chronicle, a comprehensive historical narrative compiled in the mid-18th century and preserved in the manuscript KIT 668/216 at the National Library of Indonesia; it details the genealogies, reigns, and events of the ruling dynasties, exemplifying the script's role in preserving royal historiography.[7] Usage of the Makasar script began to wane by the late 19th century, largely due to profound political transformations in the region. The fall of Gowa's prestige after its defeat in the Makassar War and the subsequent Treaty of Bongaya (1667), coupled with the ascendant influence of Buginese polities and their simpler Lontara script, accelerated this shift. By this time, the Lontara Bugis script had supplanted the Makasar script entirely for writing Makassarese, reflecting broader cultural and administrative adaptations under colonial pressures and inter-ethnic dynamics. No native speakers or writers of the script remain today.Script Structure and Form
Basic Consonant Letters
The Makasar script functions as an abugida, where its core structure relies on 18 basic consonant letters, each inherently representing a syllable consisting of a consonant followed by the vowel /a/.[8] This inherent vowel can be altered through diacritics to denote other vowels, but the base forms establish the script's syllabic foundation.[8] The script is written from left to right, aligning with its Southeast Asian Brahmic heritage, and each letter visually encodes a consonant-vowel (CV) unit by default.[8] These letters derive their rounded, cursive forms from adaptations suited to engraving on palm leaves with a stylus, resulting in fluid, interconnected strokes that prioritize legibility on the medium.[8] The phonetic inventory covers the primary consonants of the Makassarese language, including stops, nasals, fricatives, approximants, and a vowel carrier for syllable-initial vowels. While orthographic variations exist across manuscripts, the standardized Unicode encoding captures the essential shapes based on historical sources.[8] The following table lists the 18 basic consonant letters, their conventional names, Unicode symbols, and corresponding International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) values:| Letter Name | Symbol | IPA Value |
|---|---|---|
| Ka | 𑻠 | /k/ |
| Ga | 𑻡 | /g/ |
| Nga | 𑻢 | /ŋ/ |
| Pa | 𑻣 | /p/ |
| Ba | 𑻤 | /b/ |
| Ma | 𑻥 | /m/ |
| Ta | 𑻦 | /t/ |
| Da | 𑻧 | /d/ |
| Na | 𑻨 | /n/ |
| Ca | 𑻩 | /t͡ʃ/ |
| Ja | 𑻪 | /d͡ʒ/ |
| Nya | 𑻫 | /ɲ/ |
| Ya | 𑻬 | /j/ |
| Ra | 𑻭 | /r/ |
| La | 𑻮 | /l/ |
| Va | 𑻯 | /w/ |
| Sa | 𑻰 | /s/ |
| A | 𑻱 | /a/ (vowel carrier) |