Yi syllable ci

ꊰ represents one syllable in the Yi script.

In the Latin-letter spelling used for Liangshan Yi, “ci” has no tone mark, so it indicates a steady pitch around the middle of the voice. Is ꊰ Chinese? It belongs to Yi writing for Nuosu, not a Han character or Mandarin reading.

Yi writing’s origins are debated: some accounts trace it to the Western Han; the earliest securely dated example is a bronze bell from 1485. Cuan and Wei are older names associated with related Yi traditions. Bimo are hereditary Yi ritual specialists; their texts cover ritual, medicine, and genealogy. The standardized script was devised in 1974 and promulgated in 1980 to widen literacy beyond bimo’s traditional role.