Meitei Mayek (Meithei, Meetei)

The Meitei Mayek script (Meithei, Meetei) is the traditional script of the Meitei people of Manipur, in northeastern India. It is a distinctive variant of the Bengali-Assamese script, and is used to write the Meitei language, as well as Sanskrit and Manipuri. The Meitei Mayek script is believed to have been derived from the Kadamba script of ancient Karnataka. It first appeared in the 7th century CE, and was used to write a now-extinct form of Sanskrit. The script began to be used for the Meitei language from the 13th century CE, and became increasingly popular in the 18th and 19th centuries. The Meitei Mayek script is written from left to right, and is comprised of 28 basic letters, as well as a number of modifiers and ligatures. Each letter has an inherent vowel, which can be modified with a variety of diacritical marks. The Meitei Mayek script is used extensively in religious texts, as well as in historical and literary works. It is also used on a variety of everyday items, such as signs, posters, and packaging.