Batak alphabet

The Batak alphabet is a type of alphabet called an abugida that is used to write the Batak languages of northern Sumatra, an Austronesian language spoken by about three million people on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. In most Batak communities, only the priests, or datu are able to use the Batak alphabet, and use it mainly for magical texts and calendars.

The Batak alphabet was probably derived from Pallava and Old Kawi alphabets, which ultimately were derived from the Brahmi alphabet, the root of almost all the Indic and Southeast Asian abugidas.

Like most abugidas, each letter has an inherent vowel of /a/. Other vowels are indicated by using diacritics, which can appear above, below, to the left, or to the right of the consonant.