Writing
Meitei-lon has its own script named Meitei-mayek, which was used until the 18th century. Its earliest use is dated between the 11th and 12th centuries C.E. Since the advent of British rule in 1891, the Eastern Nagari script (commonly known as the Assamese / Bengali script) has been used. Efforts are being made to popularise the Meitei Mayek script and is showing significant improvement in the recent decades.
Origin:- The origins of the Manipuri alphabet, or Meetei Mayek as it is know in Manipuri, are shrouded in mystery as many historical documents were destroyed at the beginning of the 18th century during the reign of King Pamheiba. Some believe the alphabet has been used for almost 4,000 years, while others think it developed from the Bengali alphabet during the 17th century.
Between 1709 and the middle of the 20th century, the Manipuri language was written with the Bengali alphabet. During the 1940s and 50s, Manipuri scholars began campaigning to bring back the old Manipuri alphabet. In 1976 at a writers conference all the scholars finally agreed on a new version of the alphabet containing a number of additional letters to represent sounds not present in the language when the script was first developed. The current Manipuri script is a reconstruction of the ancient Manipuri script.
Since the early 1980s the Manipuri alphabet as been taught in schools in Manipur.
Notable features: This is a syllabic alphabet in which consonants all have an inherent vowel /a/.Other vowels are written as independent letters, or by using a variety of diacritical marks which are written above, below, before or after the consonant they belong to. Each letter is named after a part of the human body. Used to write:
There are some texts from the Maring and Limbu tribes of Manipur which were also written using Meitei Mayek.
Read more about this topic: Meitei Language
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