Bagam

Script Details

Bagam

Selection of symbols from versions A-F fo the Bamum script, according to Schmitt (1963)

Andrij Rovenchak, Towards the decipherment of the Bagam script, 2009, http://www.afrikanistik-online.de/archiv/2009/1912/

Unicode Chart

View Externally

Maps

Https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bagam_script

DISCLAIMER: This script is still being researched

Data

Alternate Names Bamum, A ka u ku, Lewa, Mbima, Nyi Nyi Nfa', Rii Nyi Nsha Mfw', Mfemfe, A Ka U Ku Mfemfe, Eghap
ISO 15924 None
Type Morphographic Morphosyllabary Syllabary
Family African
Direction LtR
Diacritics Yes
Contextual Forms Unknown
Capitals Used Unknown
Glyphs 100+ (throughout its development, the number of glyphs were reduced)
Inventor King Ibrahim Njoya
Earliest Location Northwestern Camaroon
Earliest Date 1896 CE
Latest Date 1960 CE
Ancestry
    • Bagam

Overview

This script was developed over decades by King Ibrahim Njoya. As a result, it falls under several different types and has had over 100 different glyphs. This writing system fell out of disuse due to Bagum (Eghap) people's lack of access to widespread education and Bagam script printing presses. Furthermore, as a result of colonialization in the area by the French, British, and Germans, King Njoya moved his people towards learning the Latin script used by the other nations. Researchers from aforementioned nations undervalued this script as well, resulting in the script being uninvestigated by linguists until the late 20th century.

Currently, there is an effort to revitalize the script in the Eghap community, however, it is still not widely used.

Bibliography

Author Year Publication Publisher
Orosz, Kenneth J. 2015 Njoya’s Alphabet: The Sultan of Bamum and French Colonial Reactions to the ‘A Ka u Ku’ Script. Cahiers d’Études Africaines
Rovenchak, Andrij and Ivan Franko 2009 Towards the decipherment of the Bagam script Afrikanistik Aegyptologie Online
Tuchscherer, Konrad 2005 Bamum script and archives project: saving Africa's written heritage (EAP051) British Library
Tuschscherer, Konrad 1999 Vol. 98, No. 390, 1999, p. 55-77 African Affairs (London)