Vai Syllabary

Syllabary created by Momolu Duwalu Bukele of Liberia in 1833, reportedly revealed in a dream. Bukele is widely believed to have been of slave origin. One of the oldest modern scripts independently invented in West Africa, with ~200 syllabic signs. 19th-century American missionaries recorded their amazement at first encountering it. Added to Unicode in the 21st century, it has regained attention as a marker of Vai cultural identity in Liberia; still used in Vai communities for letters, commercial documents, and historical records.