Ulu scripts

The Ulu scripts, locally known as Surat Ulu ('upstream script') are a family of writing systems found in the regions of Kerinci, Bengkulu, Palembang and Lampung, in central and south Sumatra, Indonesia. They were used to write manuscripts in Malay and other Sumatran languages. The Malay writing was gradually replaced by the Jawi script, a localized version of the Arabic script.

Naming

The name Ulu ('upstream') refers to the Barisan Mountains where the rivers in South Sumatra and Bengkulu originate.

The Ulu script is also known as Rencong script (Dutch: Rèntjong-schrift), a term thought to be derived from the Old Malay word mèncong, which means oblique or italics. It could also be derived from the word runcing ('sharp'), as this script family was originally written with a sharp knife tip. Regardless of its origin, Western scholars frequently use this term to refer to this family of scripts.

Mervyn A. Jaspan (1926-1975), an anthropologist at the University of Hull, called it Kaganga script after the first three consonant letters, ka ga nga. He was probably not aware that most Brahmi script lineages begin their alphabetic order with these. This is equivalent to the word "alphabet," which is derived from the names of the first two letters of the Greek alphabet (Α-Β, alpha-beta), and the word "abjad," which is derived from the names of the first four letters of the Arabic alphabet (ا-ب-ج-د, alif-ba-jim-dal).

Several tribes have their own names in addition to the three mentioned above. For example, this script family is known as the surat ʁincung among the Pasemah ethnic group.

Materials

Rencong script was often written on tree bark, bamboo, horns and palmyra-palm leaves.

Disambiguation

The term "Rencong" is often confused with "Rejang", which refers to a specific Rencong alphabet that was used to write various dialects of the Rejang language and for writing Malay in the region.

Distribution

This map below shows the distribution of various Rencong alphabets in South Sumatra:

Galleries

• Gelumpai inscribed with the Rejang script

See also

• Rejang alphabet
• Lampung alphabet
• Komering script

Notes

Bibliographies

• Sarwono, Sarwit; Rahayu, Ngudining (2014). (PDF) (in Indonesian). Universitas Bengkulu: UNIB Press. ISBN 978-979-9431-85-1.
• Pudjiastuti, Titik (1996). (PDF) (in Indonesian). Jakarta: Proyek Pengkajian dan Pembinaan Nilai-nilai Budaya Pusat Direktorat Sejarah dan Nilai Tradisional Direktorat Jenderal Kebudayaan Departemen Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan.