The Vai are an ethnic group living in Liberia and Sierra Leone. The Vai are known for their indigenous syllabic writing system, developed in the 1820s by Duala Bukele and tribal elders. Over the course of the 19th century, literacy in the writing system became widespread. Its use declined over the 20th century, but modern computer technology may enable a revival. In 2003, a Bible in the Vai Syllabary was published. Vai language is a language of Liberia. ... For people named Islam, see Islam (name). ... A syllabary is a set of written symbols that represent (or approximate) syllables, which make up words. ... A writing system, also called a script, is used to visually record a language with symbols. ... Nationalistic independence helped reshape the world during this decade: Greece gains independence from the Ottoman Empire in the Greek War of Independence (1821-1827). ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999...

They are people of average height, and their skin ranges in color from light brown to coal black. They speak Vai, which is a Niger-Congo language. Map showing the distribution of Niger-Congo languages The Niger-Congo languages are probably the largest group of the world in terms of different languages. ...

The Vai who live along the coast are surrounded by sandbars, lagoons, and swamps; while those living northwest of the coast dwell in the thick forested areas. Hippopotamuses and alligators inhabit the rivers, and large game animals live in the tropical forest regions. Unfortunately, disease-carrying mosquitoes and tsetse flies are also abundant in the area, spreading malaria and other diseases. Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, also known as tropical rain forests, are a tropical and subtropical biome. ...

Most Vai make their living by farming the fertile land. Rice is their staple crop and can be cultivated with other vegetables on upland plots of cleared land. In addition to rice, crops such as cotton, corn, pumpkins, bananas, ginger, coffee, and cocoa are raised. The Vai also gather various nuts and berries from the forests. The palm tree is an important commodity to the Vai. Nuts, butter, wine, fuel, soap, and baskets are among its many derivatives. Farming, ploughing rice paddy, in Indonesia Agriculture is the process of producing food, feed, fiber and other desired products by cultivation of certain plants and the raising of domesticated animals (livestock). ...

In many aspects, the Vai are a unique African ethnicity. Many believe that the region inhabited by the Vai is the original home of the Poro, a male secret society known throughout West Africa. The Vai are also quite musical. They play many instruments and perform dances on special occasions. Their hair texture ranges from short and curly, to long and wavy, and their noses are not flat and broad like the noses of many other Africans. The Poro, or Purrah or Purroh, is a secret society of Sierra Leone. ...  Western Africa (UN subregion)  Maghreb[1] West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. ...

The Vai have three types of schooling. The first and most important is the bush school, where the children learn traditional Vai socialization skills, important survival skills, and other traits of village life for four to five years. Second is the English school, some Vai children attend English schools to learn the English language. Finally, is the Quianic schools, were Vai children are taught the Arabic language under the guidance of the local Muslim religious leader. The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Arabic ( or just ) is the largest living member of the Semitic language family in terms of speakers. ...

The Vai are predominantly Muslim, but many traditional pagan beliefs are still practiced. For instance, the alligator is believed to be connected with evil spirits, since it destroys life. A supreme god is thought to be the controller of Earth and everything in it, since they believe he created everything. The Vai believe that this god manifests himself through spirits and nature. They also believe that this god is too distant to serve or worship directly, so they use a spirit medium. There is also a collection of Hadith called Sahih Muslim A Muslim (Arabic: مسلم, Persian: Mosalman or Mosalmon Urdu: مسلمان, Turkish: Müslüman, Albanian: Mysliman, Bosnian: Musliman) is an adherent of the religion of Islam. ... For other uses, see Alligator (disambiguation). ...

Most of the Vai are very superstitious and some practice witchcraft. They consider themselves to be surrounded by spirits that can change into living creatures or objects. These spirits are believed to have the power to do evil to individuals or to the whole tribe. The Vai perform ceremonies for the dead in which they leave articles of clothing and food near the graves of the deceased. Superstition is a set of behaviors that may be faith based, or related to magical thinking, whereby the practitioner believes that the future, or the outcome of certain events, can be influenced by certain of his or her behaviors. ... “Witch” redirects here. ...

External Links

• http://www.joshuaproject.net/peopctry.php?rop3=110483&rog3=SL

See also

• Vai language
• Vai syllabary