Lontara

The Lontara script is descended from the Brahmi script of ancient India. The name lontara derives from the Malay word for the palmyra palm, lontar, the leaves of which are the traditional material for manuscripts in India, South East Asia and Indonesia.

Notable features

Type of writing system: syllabic alphabet / alphasyllabary
Direction of writing: left to right in horizontal lines
In common with other Brahmi-derived syllabic alphabets, each consonant has an inherent vowel [a], other vowels are indicated by adding diacritics above or below a consonant.

Used to write:

Bugis or Buginese (Basa Ugi / ᨅᨔ ᨕᨘᨁᨗ), Makassarese (ᨅᨔ ᨆᨀᨔᨑ) and Mandar, Austronesian languages spoken on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi.

Both scripts were once used to write laws, treaties, maps, etc in Bugis, but are now only used for marriage ceremonies. The Makassarese script is still widely used to write Makassarese (ᨅᨔ ᨆᨀᨔᨑ / Basa Mangkasara'), although the Latin alphabet is officially favoured.

Lontara script for Bugis

Bugis consonants

The pallawa is used to separate rhythmico-intonational groups, and has a similar function to the fullstop and comma. It can also be used to denote the doubling of a word or its root.

Sample text in the Lontara script in Bugis

Sample text in the Lontara alphabet in Bugis

Transliteration

nako əŋka taupasala. aja mupatalalowi pacalamu ritopasalae. pasitujuwimutowisa asalana pacalamu. apa ikonatu nagili dewatea. nako baicumupi asalana tauwe. muperajaisa. padatowi. nako pasalai tauwe. aja timucalai risitinajanaetosa asalana.

Translation

If you deal with a person guilty of something, do not punish him too harshly. Always make the punishment commensurable with the guilt, since God will be angry with you if the person's guilt is not great and you are exaggerating it. Equally, if a person is guilty, do not let him go without a punishment in accordance with his guilt.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lontara_alphabet

Tower of Babel in Makassar

Information about Bugis | Bugis numbers | Tower of Babel in Bugis