Vai people
E725275
The Vai people are a Mande ethnic group of Liberia and Sierra Leone known for their indigenous Vai syllabary, one of the few native African writing systems.
Observed surface forms (2)
| Surface form | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Vai syllabary | 0 |
| Vai language | 0 |
Statements (49)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
Mande language
ⓘ
Mande people ⓘ ethnic group ⓘ writing system ⓘ |
| artForm |
mask making
ⓘ
textile weaving ⓘ wood carving ⓘ |
| colonialHistory |
affected by Liberian state expansion in the 19th century
ⓘ
interacted with British colonial authorities in Sierra Leone ⓘ |
| continent |
Africa
ⓘ
Africa ⓘ |
| country |
Liberia
ⓘ
Sierra Leone NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| culturalArea | Rice Coast NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| demographicConcentration |
Bomi County
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Grand Cape Mount County NERFINISHED ⓘ Pujehun District NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| ethnicGroupOf |
Liberia
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Sierra Leone NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| historicalRegion | Upper Guinea coast NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| initiationSociety |
Poro society
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Sande society NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| language | Vai language NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| linguisticFamily | Mande languages NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| musicTradition |
call-and-response singing
ⓘ
drumming ⓘ |
| neighboringPeoples |
Gola people
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Kpelle people NERFINISHED ⓘ Kru people NERFINISHED ⓘ Mende people NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| notableFor |
early development of a native African writing system
ⓘ
indigenous Vai syllabary ⓘ |
| oralTradition | griots and storytellers ⓘ |
| partOf | Mande cultural sphere NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| region |
West Africa
ⓘ
West Africa ⓘ |
| religion |
Christianity
ⓘ
Islam ⓘ traditional African religions ⓘ |
| riteOfPassage | initiation societies ⓘ |
| socialOrganization | clan-based structure ⓘ |
| spokenBy | Vai people NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| traditionalEconomy |
agriculture
ⓘ
crafts ⓘ trade ⓘ |
| usesScript |
Latin alphabet
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Vai syllabary NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| writingSystem | Vai syllabary NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| writingSystemOf | Vai language NERFINISHED ⓘ |
Referenced by (4)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.
subject surface form:
Vai language