Is It True That There Were No Writing Systems In Pre-Colonial Sub-Saharan Africa?

 

(Google Response)

No, that is a common misconception. Pre-colonial sub-Saharan Africa had a rich history of diverse writing and graphic systems. While oral tradition was the primary method for passing down history, numerous indigenous scripts, adapted alphabets, and symbolic communication systems were developed and utilized across the region. 

Indigenous Scripts

Several fully developed writing systems were invented in sub-Saharan Africa independently or adapted from early prototypes: 

• Geʽez Script: Originating in the Horn of Africa (modern-day Ethiopia and Eritrea), Ge'ez is an ancient abugida (syllabic alphabet) that dates back to at least the 5th century BCE and is still used today.
• Nsibidi: An ancient system of symbols used in southeastern Nigeria by the Ejagham people and secret societies. It was used to record legal codes, keep business records, and write messages.
• Vai Script: Invented in the early 19th century in modern-day Liberia and Sierra Leone, this syllabary was developed to write the indigenous Vai language and is one of the few entirely locally invented scripts.
• Bamum Script: Developed in the late 19th century by King Ibrahim Njoya of the Bamum kingdom in modern-day Cameroon, it evolved from pictographs into a functional phonetic script. 

Adapted and Adopted Scripts

Many sub-Saharan cultures adapted existing global writing systems to their native languages to record trade, religion, and history: 

• Ajami: Beginning around the 15th century, the Arabic alphabet was adapted by various West African and Swahili-coast societies to write local languages like Swahili, Hausa, Wolof, and Yoruba.
• Tifinagh: A script used for centuries by the Tuareg and other Berber peoples across the Sahara and parts of the Sahel. 

Proto-Writing and Mnemonic Devices

Societies in Central and Southern Africa used highly structured graphic and memory systems rather than traditional alphabets to record information: 

• Lukasa: Used by the Luba people of Central Africa, these "memory boards" were intricately carved wooden objects studded with beads and shells. Trained individuals (historians and royalty) would read the boards by tracing the patterns to recall royal lineages, migrations, and laws.
• Ditema tsa Dinoko: Geometric, symbolic design systems used by southern African Sotho-Tswana communities to communicate concepts and decorate homes. 
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To learn more about the extensive literary footprint of the continent, you can explore the Timbuktu Manuscripts, which consist of hundreds of thousands of surviving pre-colonial texts covering mathematics, astronomy, and law written in West Africa.