
Nsibidi - benbreen
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nsibidi
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BelleOfTheBall
Quite an interesting read, though the Marvel tidbit left a sour taste in my
mouth somehow. I suppose I'm somewhat glad that nsibidi is remembered but, as
I understand, it's not what's actually used on screen in Black Panther? I'd
much rather see these niche languages and pictograms immortalized in art than
simply used as a base for the creation of new ones that are a one-and-done
deal.

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simonh
Bear in mind not much is really known about Nsibidi, it's mainly the private
domain of a secret society at this point. If they'd tried to use actual
Nsibidi they probably get it badly wrong, which could be highly insulting or
even seen as blasphemous as there are religious connotations, or get accused
of cultural appropriation or both. I think creating something clearly separate
but inspired by it and a homage to it strikes a pragmatic balance.

~~~
filleduchaos
> it's mainly the private domain of a secret society at this point

It really isn't. But people outside Nigeria are generally barely aware of the
existence of southeastern ethnic groups that are not Igbo, to talk of
interested in their contemporary lives.

They could have tried to build a relationship/collaborate with (especially
older) Ejagham or Annang people. But that would take time, effort and actually
caring about bridging the gap, not simply aiming to make a buck.

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tgb
The intro to this article is very confusingly written. It starts in the past
tense and I thought these were a dead language (and moreover a largely unknown
one) until the end.

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coinshakedown
This is awesome, we are now entering ancient Egyptian style history depth for
some of the other regions of Africa and I love it.

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mleonhard
Traditional pictographs are still used in Ghana:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adinkra_symbols](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adinkra_symbols)

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nmcfarl
The fairly awesome fantasy series Akata Witch (by Nnedi Okorafor) discusses a
magical variety of these at length. Well worth a read.

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nl
_Below are some examples of nsibidi recorded by J. K. Macgregor (1909) and
Elphinstone Dayrell (1910 and 1911)_

< Examples follow >

 _Toilet soap_

Ummmm?

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blacksmith_tb
I think that's 'toilet' in the French sense, soap for washing your face and
body.

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nl
That would be surprising because the authors of those books are British.

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austinjp
The word "toilet" was indeed used in English in a way similar to the French
"toilette", far less so today. For example "toilet water", meaning "eau de
toilette".

