Dongba script
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| Dongba | ||
|---|---|---|
| Type: | ideographic | |
| Languages: | Naxi language | |
| Time period: | ||
| Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. See IPA chart for English for an English-based pronunciation key. | ||
The Dongba script, also known as Tomba or Dto-mba is an ideographic writing system used by the Dongba. It is about a thousand years old, and the only ideographic writing system in use today. Used solely as an aid to the interpretation of ritual texts during ceremonies, it is reputated to have more than 2000 ideographs in 20,000 religious scriptures.
The script is written on handmade paper, with sheets sewn together at the left edge, forming a book. The pages are ruled horizontally with the ideographs written in three or five sections within these rules.
The Ethnologue project claims that it is "not practical for everyday use, but is a system of prompt-illustrations for reciting classic texts", and there are believed to be only three people in Lijiang who are literate in the script.
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