Yi syllable va

It is the Nuosu syllable va for “chicken.”

The character belongs to the Liangshan/Nuosu Yi syllabary, a writing system whose signs represent whole syllables. In Yi Pinyin, a roman-letter spelling system, va is the unmarked middle-tone form; vat, vax, and vap are distinct tone forms.

That reading is specific to Nuosu, also called Liangshan Yi. The standardized writing covers that regional tradition, not every language called Yi; other regional traditions differ in their signs and in how they sound or what they mean. Use the surrounding language before assigning “chicken” to a lone ꃬ.

How did Yi writing develop?

It grew through regional traditions before Liangshan standardized one form.

The earliest surviving inscription usually cited is on a bronze bell dated 1485; Yi texts on paper and sheepskin appear around 1500. Older claims point to stone, bronze, pottery, and bone, but their early dates are debated.

Bimo, ritual specialists, copied texts for religious rites, magic, healing, and family histories. The Liangshan standard was devised in 1974 and promulgated in 1980 to support literacy; it later appeared in official documents, newspapers, and literature. It drew on older characters from a northern Yi tradition, rather than being borrowed from Chinese writing. Traditions across eastern Yunnan, western Guizhou, and Liangshan differ in their signs, shapes, sounds, tones, and meanings.