Ahom Digit Six

On its own, 𑜶 means six. It is a numeral sign used in Ahom writing. In a manuscript or transcription, read nearby numerals too: this sign can be one part of a larger value.

Ahom number writing combines numeral signs with number words and digits from other systems. The sequence 𑜶𑜻𑜺𑜶 is documented in a manuscript page number read as 136, so the surrounding signs determine the full value.

How did Ahom digit six develop?

The Ahom six is linked to Burmese digit six ၆, adapted for use in Ahom writing. The Ahom script belongs to the Lik Tai family, a regional writing tradition connected with Mon and Burmese scripts. The oldest surviving Ahom text is the Snake Pillar inscription, a carved record for King Siuw Hum Miung (1497–1539). Similar Tai Ahom-like stone inscriptions survive at Mau Long; the script may have reached Assam from there.

Ahom notation combines numeral signs with number words; values above ten tend to appear as page numbers, while values above 100 are usually written out. By the early 19th century, manuscripts were written on cloth or Sasi bark, a bark used as writing material. During the early 20th-century revival, printed Ahom forms differed noticeably from older manuscript forms.