Rejang script
Encyclopedia
The Rejang script, sometimes spelt Redjang and locally known as Surat Ulu ('upstream script'), is an abugida
of the Brahmic family
, and is related to other scripts of the region, like Batak, Buginese, and others. Rejang is a member of the closely related group of Surat Ulu scripts that include the script variants of Bengkulu, Lembak, Lintang, Lebong, and Serawai. Other scripts that are closely related, and sometimes included in the Surat Ulu group, are Kerinci
and Lampung
. The script was in use prior to the introduction of Islam to the Rejang area; the earliest attested document appears to date from the mid-18th century CE. The Rejang script is sometimes also known as the KaGaNga script following the first three letters of the alphabet. The term KaGaNga was never used by the users of the script community, but it was coined by the British anthropologist Mervyn A. Jaspan (1926–1975) in his book Folk literature of South Sumatra. Redjang Ka-Ga-Nga texts. Canberra, The Australian National University 1964.
The script was used to write texts in Malay and Rejang
, which is now spoken by about 200,000 people living in Indonesia
on the island of Sumatra
in the southwest highlands, north Bengkulu
Province, around Argamakmur, Muaraaman, Curup, and Kepahiang
, and also in the Rawas area of South Sumatra
Province, near Muara Kulam. There are five major dialects of Rejang: Lebong, Musi, Kebanagung, Pesisir (all in Bengkulu Province), and Rawas (in South Sumatra Province). Most of its users live in fairly remote rural areas, of whom slightly less than half are literate.
The traditional Rejang corpus consists chiefly of ritual texts, medical incantations, and poetry.
Standard in April, 2008 with the release of version 5.1.
The Unicode block for Rejang is U+A930–U+A95F. Grey areas indicate non-assigned code points:
Abugida
An abugida , also called an alphasyllabary, is a segmental writing system in which consonant–vowel sequences are written as a unit: each unit is based on a consonant letter, and vowel notation is obligatory but secondary...
of the Brahmic family
Brahmic family
The Brahmic or Indic scripts are a family of abugida writing systems. They are used throughout South Asia , Southeast Asia, and parts of Central and East Asia, and are descended from the Brāhmī script of the ancient Indian subcontinent...
, and is related to other scripts of the region, like Batak, Buginese, and others. Rejang is a member of the closely related group of Surat Ulu scripts that include the script variants of Bengkulu, Lembak, Lintang, Lebong, and Serawai. Other scripts that are closely related, and sometimes included in the Surat Ulu group, are Kerinci
Rencong script
]Rencong script is a writing system used to write Malay in Sumatra . The script lasted until the 18th century which was before the Dutch colonised Indonesia. It was gradually replaced by the Jawi script, a slightly modified Arabic script.The Malay used Rencong or Rencang script, Kawi script and...
and Lampung
Lampung
Lampung is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the southern tip of the island of Sumatra and borders the provinces of Bengkulu and South Sumatra. Lampung is the original home of the Lampung people, who speak a distinct language from other people in Sumatra and have their own alphabet. Its...
. The script was in use prior to the introduction of Islam to the Rejang area; the earliest attested document appears to date from the mid-18th century CE. The Rejang script is sometimes also known as the KaGaNga script following the first three letters of the alphabet. The term KaGaNga was never used by the users of the script community, but it was coined by the British anthropologist Mervyn A. Jaspan (1926–1975) in his book Folk literature of South Sumatra. Redjang Ka-Ga-Nga texts. Canberra, The Australian National University 1964.
The script was used to write texts in Malay and Rejang
Rejang language
Rejang is spoken by the Rejang people in Bengkulu, Indonesia. It is a Malayo-Polynesian language but has not been further classified. It has five major dialects...
, which is now spoken by about 200,000 people living in Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
on the island of Sumatra
Sumatra
Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...
in the southwest highlands, north Bengkulu
Bengkulu
Bengkulu is a province of Indonesia. It is on the southwest coast of the island of Sumatra, and borders the provinces of West Sumatra, Jambi, South Sumatra and Lampung. The capital and largest city is Bengkulu city. It was formerly the site of a British garrison, which they called Bencoolen...
Province, around Argamakmur, Muaraaman, Curup, and Kepahiang
Kepahiang
Kepahiang is a regency of Bengkulu in Indonesia. Rejang people are majority ethnic in this regency.The capital of the regency is Kepahiang. There are 8 subdistricts and 91 villages in this regency. In 2006, the population is 114,889 people .-Administrative divisions:The eight subdistricts of...
, and also in the Rawas area of South Sumatra
South Sumatra
South Sumatra is a province of Indonesia.-Geography:It is on the island of Sumatra, and borders the provinces of Lampung to the south, Bengkulu to the west, and Jambi to the north...
Province, near Muara Kulam. There are five major dialects of Rejang: Lebong, Musi, Kebanagung, Pesisir (all in Bengkulu Province), and Rawas (in South Sumatra Province). Most of its users live in fairly remote rural areas, of whom slightly less than half are literate.
The traditional Rejang corpus consists chiefly of ritual texts, medical incantations, and poetry.
Unicode
Rejang script was added to the UnicodeUnicode
Unicode is a computing industry standard for the consistent encoding, representation and handling of text expressed in most of the world's writing systems...
Standard in April, 2008 with the release of version 5.1.
The Unicode block for Rejang is U+A930–U+A95F. Grey areas indicate non-assigned code points: