| Ulu scripts | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Script type | |
Time period | c. 13th–present |
| Direction | Left-to-right  |
| Region | Sumatra,Indonesia |
| Languages | Malay,Bengkulu,Kerinci,Lampung,Rejang,Serawai, and others |
| Related scripts | |
Parent systems | |
Sister systems | Balinese Batak Baybayin scripts Javanese Lontara Makasar Old Sundanese |
| Unicode | |
| |
| This article containsphonetic transcriptions in theInternational Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, seeHelp:IPA. For the distinction between[ ],/ / and ⟨ ⟩, seeIPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters. | |
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| Writing systems used in Indonesia | |
| Brahmic scripts | |
| Arabic script | |
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| Alphabetical script | |
| Related | |
| Brahmic scripts |
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| TheBrahmi script and its descendants |
TheUlu scripts, locally known asSurat Ulu ('upstream script')[1][a] are a family of writing systems found in central andsouth Sumatra, in the regions ofKerinci,Bengkulu,Palembang andLampung,Indonesia. They were used to write manuscripts in Sumatran languages andMalay. The Malay writing was gradually replaced by theJawi script, a localized version of theArabic script.[2]
The terms "surat" and "ulu" are the origin of the nameSurat Ulu. While "ulu" ('upstream') refers to the highland region where the rivers inSouth Sumatra andBengkulu originate (theBarisan Mountains), "Surat" refers to the script. The user community first referred to this script family asSurat Ulu.[3][4][5][b][c]
TheRencong script (Dutch:Rèntjong-schrift) is another well-known naming system. "Rencong" is thought to be derived from the Old Malay wordmèncong, which means oblique or italics.[8][9] It could also be derived from the wordruncing ('sharp'), as this script family was originally written with a sharp knife tip.[10] Regardless of its origin, Western scholars frequently use this term to refer to this family of scripts.[11][d]
TheKaganga script is another name coined by Mervyn A. Jaspan (1926-1975), ananthropologist at theUniversity of Hull. He was probably not aware that mostBrahmi script lineages use KA Ga and Nga as the first characters of the alphabetic order.[12] The name "Kaganga" is derived from the first three letters of the Pāṇini sequence, which is used in theBrahmi (Indian) script family.[11][3][e] This is equivalent to the word "alphabet," which is derived from the names of the first two letters of theGreek alphabet (Α-Β,alpha-beta), and the word "abjad," which is derived from the names of the first four letters of theArabic 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 thesurat ʁincung among the Pasemah ethnic group.[14]
Rencong script was often written ontree bark,bamboo,horns andpalmyra-palm leaves.[15]
The term "Rencong" is often confused with "Rejang", which refers to a specific Rencong alphabet that was used to write various dialects of theRejang language and for writing Malay in the region.
This map below shows the distribution of various Rencong alphabets in South Sumatra:
![Detail of a Kerinci manuscript (KITLV Or. 239). The text reads (Voorhoeve's spelling): "haku manangis ma / njaru ka'u ka'u di / saru tijada da / tang [hitu hadik sa]", which is translated by Voorhoeve as: "I am weeping, calling you; though called, you do not come" (hitu adik sa- is the rest of 4th line).](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aKerinci_MSS_detail.jpg)
Toen ik dit eerste opstel schreef, wist ik n.l. niet, of de bij Europeanen gebruikelijke term "rèntjong-schrift" inderdaad ergens door Maleisch wordt gebezigd. Het is mij nu gebleken, dat dit in het landschap Rawas (Palembang) het geval is. Elders noemt men het gewonlijk: soerat oeloe = bovenlandsch schrift.[6] | When I wrote the first essay, I had no idea whether the term "rencong script" used by Europeans was also used by Malay. It has now become clear to me that this is the case in the Rawas (Palembang) landscape. Surat Ulu (upriver scripts) is another name for it. |
| —Westenenk (1919) |
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