Sorabe or Sora-be () is an alphabet based on Arabic, formerly used to transcribe the Malagasy language (belonging to the Malayo-Polynesian language family) and the Antemoro Malagasy dialect, dating from the 15th century.

History

Researchers are still hypothesizing about the origins of this transcription system. "Sorabe" means literally "large writings" from Arabic "

sura A ''surah'' (; ar, سورة, sūrah, , ), is the equivalent of "chapter" in the Qur'an. There are 114 ''surahs'' in the Quran, each divided into '' ayats'' (verses). The chapters or ''surahs'' are of unequal length; the shortest surah ('' Al-K ...

" (writing) and Malagasy "be" (large). This denomination might point to the existence of a previous writing system with smaller characters of Sanskrit origin used in South East Asia as it is evidenced in some Malagasy words. Traditionally, researchers have speculated that this writing system was introduced through commercial contacts of Malagasy with

Arab Muslims Arab Muslims ( ar, العرب المسلمون) are adherents of Islam who identify linguistically, culturally, and genealogically as Arabs. Arab Muslims greatly outnumber other ethnoreligious groups in the Middle East and North Africa. Arab Mu ...

.Ferrand, Gabriel (1905) However, more recent studies claim that this writing scheme might have been introduced by Javanese Muslims.Simon P. (2006) There are striking similarities between "Sorabe" and " Pegon" writings (the Javanese version of Arabic script). A couple of hundred old manuscripts have survived to this day though the oldest may have been written no earlier than the 17th century. Those "Sorabe" are bound in leather and the texts are named after the colour of the skin. Most of the texts contain magical formulas but there are also some historical texts concerning the origin of some of the tribes of the south east of Madagascar. These origins are traced to Mecca or the Prophet

Mohammed Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the monoth ...

even though the practice of

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

is nowhere seen in the texts. Sorabe eventually spread across the island beginning in the 17th century and, at the end of the 18th century, the Merina king Andrianampoinimerina called for Antemoro scribes to teach the children of his court to read and write. This was how the future king

Radama I Radama I "the Great" (1793–1828) was the first Malagasy sovereign to be recognized as King of Madagascar (1810–1828) by a European state. He came to power at the age of 18 following the death of his father, King Andrianampoinimerina. Under Ra ...

learned to read and write in Sorabe from his childhood. Nowadays Malagasy is written using a Latin alphabet, introduced in 1823.

Alphabet

References

Bibliography

* Adelaar K.A. & Himmelmann N. (2004), ''The Austronesian Language of Asia and Madagascar'', Routledg

. * Ferrand, Gabriel (1905). ''Les migrations musulmanes et juives à Madagascar''. Paris: Revue de l'histoire des religions. * Kasanga Fernand (1990), ''Fifindra-monina'', Librairie FLM, Antananarivo. * Simon P. (2006) ''La langue des ancêtres. Ny Fitenin-drazana. Une périodisation du malgache des origines au XV^e siècle'', L'Harmatta

External links

La Case, les Sorabe, l'Histoire
*
Arabic in Madagascar
', Kees Versteegh, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, 2001
East Barito: Who Were the Malayo-Polynesian Migrants to Madagascar?
{{Arabic alphabets Malagasy language Arabic alphabets Writing systems of Africa

History

Alphabet

See also

References

Bibliography

External links