Ahom Letter Na

It is the Ahom n consonant with an inherent a.

On its own, that built-in vowel starts an open syllable. Add a dependent vowel sign to change the vowel, or the visible Ahom killer to make 𑜃 a final n.

The same base letter can therefore appear in syllables with different readings: the marks attached to it help shape the syllable.

How do I type Ahom na?

Type the base letter first, then its vowel or killer marks.

Ahom vowel signs follow the base in text order, even when a vowel appears before or around it on screen. For final n, type the visible killer after the letter; do not put a left-rendering vowel first just because of where it appears.

If 𑜃 appears as a box, the font lacks Ahom glyph coverage. An Ahom-capable font or keyboard can display or enter the script.

Where did the Ahom script come from?

Ahom developed through writing traditions, use, and later revival.

Ahom belongs to the wider Lik-Tai writing tradition. A study of a 1407 Ming scroll argues that early Tay writing borrowed extensively from Burmese and that its forms resemble Ahom more than Lik Tho Ngok. This complicates any simple story of a single ancestor.

Ahom writing recorded court chronicles, family lineages, word lists, calendars, ritual, divination, and astrology. As Tai Ahom receded as an everyday language, priestly families preserved its manuscripts. A 1920 Ahom-Assamese-English dictionary marked the beginning of modern published use, followed by primers.