Khojki script information

Khojkī
𑈉𑈲𑈐𑈈𑈮
Khojkī; 𑈉𑈲𑈐𑈈𑈮
Script type	Abugida
Time period	15th century — 20th century
Direction	Left-to-right
Region	India, Pakistan, Sindh
Languages	Kutchi, Sindhi
Related scripts
Parent systems	Proto-Sinaitic script[a] Phoenician alphabet[a] Aramaic alphabet[a] Brahmi Gupta Śāradā Landa Khojkī; ; ; ; ; ; ;
Sister systems	Gurmukhi, Khudabadi, Mahajani, Multani
ISO 15924
ISO 15924	Khoj (322), Khojki
Unicode
Unicode alias	Khojki
Unicode range	U+11200–U+1124F; Final Accepted Script Proposal
	[a] The Semitic origin of the Brahmic scripts is not universally agreed upon.

Khojkī, Khojakī, or Khwājā Sindhī (Sindhi: خوجڪي (Arabic script) खोजकी (Devanagari)), is a script used formerly and almost exclusively by the Khoja community of parts of the Indian subcontinent, including Sindh, Gujarat, and Punjab. However, this script also had a further reach and was used by members of Ismaili communities from Burma to East and South Africa.^[1] The Khojki script is one of the earliest forms of written Sindhi.^[2] The name "Khojki" is likely derived from the Persian word khoja, which means "master", or "lord".^[3]

As a scholarly article from 2022 has demonstrated, referring to the script as "Khojki" is a relatively new phenomenon, coined by the Russian scholar Wladimir Ivanow., This neologism began to replace the original terms used by Ismailis such as Sindhi and (when necessary to distinguish it from other forms of Sindhi script) Khwajah Sindhi. By this, they did not necessarily mean the Sindhi language, but rather the script utilized by their community, known as the Khwajahs or Khojas.^[4] To avoid confusion, the British administrative bureaucracy added the term Khwajah, referring to the script as "Khwajah Sindhi" The Ismailis sometimes did the same to distinguish the script from the language, as well as from other scripts used in Sindh.

The Khwajah Ismaili community continued using the traditional term ‘Sindhi’ alongside the neologism ‘Khojki.’ However, many scholars writing in English and other Western languages dropped the traditional term ‘Sindhi’ was adopting the invented term ‘Khojki.’

The script was employed primarily to record Ismaili religious and devotional literature; most notably in the form of poetry called gināns (a term derived from the Sanskrit jnāna meaning contemplative knowledge).^[5] Khojkī belongs to a family of scripts classified as landā or ‘clipped’ alphabets primarily employed as commercial and mercantile scripts by various Hindu communities of Sind and Punjab.^[6] It is one of the two Landā scripts used for liturgy, the other being the Gurmukhī alphabet, which is associated with Sikhism.^[7]

^ Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ "Khojki Script". Oxford Reference.
^ Surani, Iqbal (2017). "Satpanthī Khoja-s to Shīʿa Imāmī Ismāʿīlī Ṭarīqa The Construction of Religious Identity of the Khoja-s Imāmī Ismāʿīlī of South Asia". Studia Islamica. 112: 1–28. doi:10.1163/19585705-12341346.
^ Virani, Shafique N. (2022-01-01). "Khwājah Sindhi (Khojki): Its Name, Manuscripts and Origin". Texts, Scribesand Transmission: 280.
^ Asani, Ali (2002). Ecstasy and Enlightenment: The Ismaili Devotional Literature of South Asia. I.B. Tauris. p. 25.
^ Bruce, Juan, “The Origins, Evolution, and Decline of the Khojki Script,” Dissertation, University of Reading, 2015), p. 33.
^ Asani, Ali (2002). Ecstasy and Enlightenment: The Ismaili Devotional Literature of South Asia. I.B. Tauris. p. 106.

[:1-1] Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[2] "Khojki Script". Oxford Reference.

[3] Surani, Iqbal (2017). "Satpanthī Khoja-s to Shīʿa Imāmī Ismāʿīlī Ṭarīqa The Construction of Religious Identity of the Khoja-s Imāmī Ismāʿīlī of South Asia". Studia Islamica. 112: 1–28. doi:10.1163/19585705-12341346.

[4] Virani, Shafique N. (2022-01-01). "Khwājah Sindhi (Khojki): Its Name, Manuscripts and Origin". Texts, Scribesand Transmission: 280.

[5] Asani, Ali (2002). Ecstasy and Enlightenment: The Ismaili Devotional Literature of South Asia. I.B. Tauris. p. 25.

[6] Bruce, Juan, “The Origins, Evolution, and Decline of the Khojki Script,” Dissertation, University of Reading, 2015), p. 33.

[Asani_2002_106-7] Asani, Ali (2002). Ecstasy and Enlightenment: The Ismaili Devotional Literature of South Asia. I.B. Tauris. p. 106.

Khojki script information

and 26 Related for: Khojki script information

Khojki script

Ancient scripts of the Indian subcontinent

Brahmic scripts

Multani script

Sindhi language

Khudabadi script

Islamic manuscripts

Luwati language

Thai script

Meitei script

Tocharian script

Devanagari

Pir Sadardin

Kalinga script

Ulu scripts

Tamil script

Vatteluttu

Bhaiksuki script

Modi script

Sukhothai script

Cham script

Fakkham script

Kutchi language

Tibetan script

Grantha script

Odia script

Brahmic scripts
The Brahmi script and its descendants
Northern Brahmic Gupta Sharada Landa Gurmukhi Khojki Khudabadi Multani Mahajani Takri Dogri Siddham Nagari Devanagari Gujarati Modi Nandinagari Kaithi Sylheti Nagri Gaudi Bengali–Assamese Bengali Assamese Tirhuta Odia Nepalese Bhujimol Ranjana Soyombo Pracalit Tibetan Meitei Lepcha Limbu Khema Phagspa Zanabazar square Marchen Marchung Pungs-chen Pungs-chung Drusha Kalinga Bhaiksuki Tocharian
Southern Brahmic Tamil-Brahmi Pallava Tamil Grantha Malayalam Tigalari Dhives Akuru Saurashtra Khmer Khom Thai Proto-Tai script^? Sukhothai Thai Fakkham Thai Noi Lao Tai Viet Dai Don Lai Tay Lai Pao Cham Kawi Balinese Batak Buda Javanese Old Sundanese Sundanese Lontara Makasar Ulu scripts Incung Lampung Lembak Ogan Pasemah Rejang Serawai Baybayin Buhid Hanunoo Tagbanwa Kulitan Mon–Burmese Burmese Chakma S'gaw Karen Shan Tanchangya Lik-Tai scripts Ahom Khamti Tai Le Modern Mon Tai Tham New Tai Lue Pyu Vatteluttu Kolezhuthu Malayanma Sinhala Bhattiprolu Kadamba Telugu-Kannada Kannada Goykanadi Telugu
v t e