Meitei numerals
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Meitei numerals also known as Meetei numerals or Manipuri numerals or Kanglei numerals, are a system of writing numbers using the letters of the Meitei script. In modern Manipur, they are still used for cardinal numbers. It is a positional notation system. This system has ten basic symbols, which are ꯰, ꯱, ꯲, ꯳, ꯴, ꯵, ꯶, ꯷, ꯸ and ꯹.
Base | Decimal (base 10) |
---|---|
Zero | ꯰ |
One | ꯱ |
Two | ꯲ |
Three | ꯳ |
Four | ꯴ |
Five | ꯵ |
Six | ꯶ |
Seven | ꯷ |
Eight | ꯸ |
Nine | ꯹ |
Arabic numerals | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Meitei numerals | ꯰ | ꯱ | ꯲ | ꯳ | ꯴ | ꯵ | ꯶ | ꯷ | ꯸ | ꯹ |
Names in Modern Meitei | ꯐꯨꯟ phun |
ꯑꯃ ama |
ꯑꯅꯤ ani |
ꯑꯍꯨꯝ ahum |
ꯃꯔꯤ mari |
ꯃꯉꯥ mangā |
ꯇꯔꯨꯛ taruk |
ꯇꯔꯦꯠ taret |
ꯅꯤꯄꯥꯜ nipāl |
ꯃꯥꯄꯜ māpal |
History[edit]
The Wakoklon Heelel Thilel Salai Amailon Pukok Puya, an ancient work, mentions the philosophy of the development of the numerals. It was written in the 14th-15th century BC in Ancient Manipur.[1]
Philosophy[edit]
The original figures of the Meitei numerals were coined from the embryonic developments of a human foetus during the period of gestation, within a mother's womb and its delivery in the tenth month, leaving the uterus of the mother vacant, forming zero (phoon/phool).[2] According to the Eeyek Chakpalon, an ancient Puya, the Meitei numerals are described as the numeral figures or shapes doined from the embryonic development of human foetus ("langon ki eeyek" in archaic Meitei).[3]
According to the Wakoklon Heelel Thilel Salai Amailon Pukok Puya, Eepung Loinapa, the Universal Godfather, takes the astral forms of the Thawanmichak Apakpa (North Pole Star) and Chayol Talep (Great Bear) taken together at the time of creation of the Tengpanpa (Cosmos). The male spermatozoon takes the physical form of the aforesaid astral one at the time of being an entrant within a mother's uterus (naopipham) and approaching towards a female egg (eelik), physical form of being 1, the figure 1 representing the astral form of the Chayol Talep (Great Bear) and Thawanmichak Apakpa (North Pole Star) and further representing the female egg.[4]
Gallery[edit]
Sources[edit]
- https://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/UABC0.pdf
- https://omniglot.com/writing/manipuri.htm
- https://www.researchgate.net/publication/272863888_Recognition_of_Handwritten_Numerals_of_Manipuri_Script
- https://sites.google.com/site/knowmanipur/home/the-birth-of-zero-0
- http://www.jamia-physics.net/manipuri/numbers.html
References[edit]