Here is a Khojki Tutorial by Mumtaz Ali, an authority in the field of Khojki and Ginanic literature. His tutorial is available for English speaking people since more than 25 years and has been used and quoted extensively.
http://sun.ismaili.net/manuscript/livre15/imag001.html
To access the work, user is khojki and password is ismaili
There is also a recent one by other recognised scholars for which the link will be posted here later today
And of course those published by the Ismaili Associations in the past for Gujrati and Urdu speaking people.,
Khojki, Khojki manuscripts and khojki tutorial
Khojki, Khojki manuscripts and khojki tutorial
Last edited by Admin on Fri Jun 25, 2021 9:15 pm, edited 5 times in total.
Zawahir is now 83 years old but still active in the field as she was a pioneer in producing in 1974 the first ever produced catalog of 114 khojki manuscripts hosted at the Ismailia Association of Pakistan.
Together with Mumtaz Ali Tajddin and late Dr Gulshan Khakee, she is among the pioneers of Khojki studies in the 20th Century.
Here is an article she wrote with Dr Christopher Shackle and which contains an excellent Khojki tutorial which I know is used by some of the IIS scholars. The Tutorial also contains exercises.
http://ismaili.net/Source/zawahir-khojki-primer.pdf
Together with Mumtaz Ali Tajddin and late Dr Gulshan Khakee, she is among the pioneers of Khojki studies in the 20th Century.
Here is an article she wrote with Dr Christopher Shackle and which contains an excellent Khojki tutorial which I know is used by some of the IIS scholars. The Tutorial also contains exercises.
http://ismaili.net/Source/zawahir-khojki-primer.pdf
This was posted in 2009
http://www.ismaili.net/html/modules.php ... t=anshuman
Khojki has been part of the Internet Unicode since almost a decade thanks to Anshuman Pandey.
http://ismaili.net/heritage/node/20345
http://www.ismaili.net/html/modules.php ... t=anshuman
Khojki has been part of the Internet Unicode since almost a decade thanks to Anshuman Pandey.
http://ismaili.net/heritage/node/20345
Here is a couple of pages from a Khojki Tutorial dated 1969 and produced by the Ismailia Association for the Urdu speaking people in Karachi. The book named "Khojki Urdu Qaida" will be available soon as part of a large collection of books and manuscripts to be made available in a new document server.
Juan Bruce: Typographic development of the Khojki script
Typographic development of the Khojki script and printing affairs at the turn of the 19th century in Bombay
Juan Bruce
The Khojki script, the ancient alphabet of the Khojas, was born in a conested area, the region of Sindh. Being used to record the Satpanthi literature, commonly in the form of ginans, flourished and strengthen due to a great typographic development in the late 19th century and beginning of the 20th, but perished in a short period of time. This flourishment was only possible due to the need for presses to disseminate religious and institutional printed material. This paper aims to overview the history and decline of Khojki, but mostly to delve onto the affairs of the printing presses, which were in business using different technologies; first lithography and then movable metal types. The Khoja Sindhi Printing Press, the official Ismaili press run by Lalji Devraj, was the most active. Through analysis of printed samples, this paper also questions the official Ismaili version of how the presses were established and presents the possibility of that many of them were discourage and probably taken out of business because of their detachment of any particular group.
The consolidation of the printing business coincides with a major split among the Khojas, triggered by the arrival of the Aga Khan to Bombay, who claim to be their Shia leader. The new Imam secured the majority of the followers after the famous Aga Khan Case in 1866, after which a fractured Khoja community was inevitably aligned towards new identities. Particularly the Khoja Ismailis, loyals to the Aga Khan, were rapidly pressured to position their believes towards a new narrative of Islam, this shift in identity and new status, seems to have had a direct impact in the disuse of Khojki.
Read full article in PDF here: http://ismaili.net/source/books/bruce-t ... khojki.pdf
Juan Bruce
The Khojki script, the ancient alphabet of the Khojas, was born in a conested area, the region of Sindh. Being used to record the Satpanthi literature, commonly in the form of ginans, flourished and strengthen due to a great typographic development in the late 19th century and beginning of the 20th, but perished in a short period of time. This flourishment was only possible due to the need for presses to disseminate religious and institutional printed material. This paper aims to overview the history and decline of Khojki, but mostly to delve onto the affairs of the printing presses, which were in business using different technologies; first lithography and then movable metal types. The Khoja Sindhi Printing Press, the official Ismaili press run by Lalji Devraj, was the most active. Through analysis of printed samples, this paper also questions the official Ismaili version of how the presses were established and presents the possibility of that many of them were discourage and probably taken out of business because of their detachment of any particular group.
The consolidation of the printing business coincides with a major split among the Khojas, triggered by the arrival of the Aga Khan to Bombay, who claim to be their Shia leader. The new Imam secured the majority of the followers after the famous Aga Khan Case in 1866, after which a fractured Khoja community was inevitably aligned towards new identities. Particularly the Khoja Ismailis, loyals to the Aga Khan, were rapidly pressured to position their believes towards a new narrative of Islam, this shift in identity and new status, seems to have had a direct impact in the disuse of Khojki.
Read full article in PDF here: http://ismaili.net/source/books/bruce-t ... khojki.pdf
Juan Bruce: The origins, evolution and decline of the Khojki
The origins, evolution and decline of the Khojki script
Juan Bruce
The Khojki script is an Indian script whose origins are in Sindh (now southern Pakistan), a region that has witnessed the conflict between Islam and Hinduism for more than 1,200 years. After the gradual occupation of the region by Muslims from the 8th century onwards, the region underwent significant cultural changes.
This dissertation reviews the history of the script and the different uses that it took on among the Khoja people since Muslim missionaries began their activities in Sindh communities in the 14th century. It questions the origins of the Khojas and exposes the impact that their transition from a Hindu merchant caste to a broader Muslim community had on the development of the script. During this process of transformation, a rich and complex creed, known as Satpanth, resulted from the blend of these cultures. The study also considers the roots of the Khojki writing system, especially the modernization that the script went through in order to suit more sophisticated means of expression. As a result, through recording the religious Satpanth literature, Khojki evolved and left behind its mercantile features, insufficient for this purpose.
Through comparative analysis of printed Khojki texts, this dissertation examines the use of the script in Bombay at the beginning of the 20th century in the shape of Khoja Ismaili literature. It concludes that due to the Islamization of the Khojas in colonial India, the script began its decline in the following decades when the production of texts in Khojki stopped. Finally, in the middle of fundamental political changes on the Indian subcontinent, Khojki struggled to survive as a living script until it gave way to its definitive replacement by Gujarati and Arabic in the regions of Gujarat and Sindh, respectively.
Read full article in PDF here: http://ismaili.net/source/books/bruce-origin-khojki.pdf
Juan Bruce
The Khojki script is an Indian script whose origins are in Sindh (now southern Pakistan), a region that has witnessed the conflict between Islam and Hinduism for more than 1,200 years. After the gradual occupation of the region by Muslims from the 8th century onwards, the region underwent significant cultural changes.
This dissertation reviews the history of the script and the different uses that it took on among the Khoja people since Muslim missionaries began their activities in Sindh communities in the 14th century. It questions the origins of the Khojas and exposes the impact that their transition from a Hindu merchant caste to a broader Muslim community had on the development of the script. During this process of transformation, a rich and complex creed, known as Satpanth, resulted from the blend of these cultures. The study also considers the roots of the Khojki writing system, especially the modernization that the script went through in order to suit more sophisticated means of expression. As a result, through recording the religious Satpanth literature, Khojki evolved and left behind its mercantile features, insufficient for this purpose.
Through comparative analysis of printed Khojki texts, this dissertation examines the use of the script in Bombay at the beginning of the 20th century in the shape of Khoja Ismaili literature. It concludes that due to the Islamization of the Khojas in colonial India, the script began its decline in the following decades when the production of texts in Khojki stopped. Finally, in the middle of fundamental political changes on the Indian subcontinent, Khojki struggled to survive as a living script until it gave way to its definitive replacement by Gujarati and Arabic in the regions of Gujarat and Sindh, respectively.
Read full article in PDF here: http://ismaili.net/source/books/bruce-origin-khojki.pdf
Mumtaz Ali Tajddin has described a Khojki manuscript from the Library of the British Museum.
It is dated 1952 AD and contains the following works:
Das Avatar
Noor Namo Nabi Muhammad Mustafa
Buddh Avatar (Pir Sadardin)
Moman Chitverni (Syed Imam Shah)
Man Har Granth (Syed Gulamali Shah)
Anant Akhado (Pir Hassan Kabirdin)
Dasmu Avatar Moto (Syed Imam Shah)
Kalame Mowla
Khakh Namo (Imam Jafar Sadiq)
Satveni (Syed Imam Shah)
Hassnapuri (Pir Hassan Kabirdin)
Here is a link to Mumtaz Ali Tajddin's analysis, download the PDF file:
http://ismaili.net/source/books/mumtaza ... script.pdf
.
It is dated 1952 AD and contains the following works:
Das Avatar
Noor Namo Nabi Muhammad Mustafa
Buddh Avatar (Pir Sadardin)
Moman Chitverni (Syed Imam Shah)
Man Har Granth (Syed Gulamali Shah)
Anant Akhado (Pir Hassan Kabirdin)
Dasmu Avatar Moto (Syed Imam Shah)
Kalame Mowla
Khakh Namo (Imam Jafar Sadiq)
Satveni (Syed Imam Shah)
Hassnapuri (Pir Hassan Kabirdin)
Here is a link to Mumtaz Ali Tajddin's analysis, download the PDF file:
http://ismaili.net/source/books/mumtaza ... script.pdf
.
Dating Khojki Manuscripts
Dating Khojki Manuscript hs0439:
Manuscripts are fragile documents, often they loose pages due to various reason, time, weather and so on. These lost of pages sometimes translate in the lost of date as dates are mentioned usually in the beginning or the end and these are pages that are lost first.
Recently the Heritage Society received what appeared very old and damaged 30 pages remaining from a manuscript preserved up to recently in the Juma Bhagat Family. The manuscript numbered hs0439 is missing many pages and is eaten by termites. Visually it appeared to be 300 to 400 years old. Needless to say it is in dire condition and and in need of restoration and conservation.
A page of the manuscript was sent to the Radiochronology Lab of the Laval University in Canada and was transform into graphite at the beginning of this month of June 2022 for Carbon 14 dating. There are very few ways to date accurately manuscripts. Carbon 14 dating gives a percentage probability for a range of dates.
A Carbon 14 report was received today, jointly prepared by Laval University and the Keck Carbon Cycle AMS Facility of the University of California (USA)
While the median probable date of the sample taken from hs0439 is AD 1763, there is a 20% possibility that it is written between AD 1670 and AD 1683. If this is the case, this manuscript would be older than the previous oldest hs0376 manuscript of the Heritage Society dated 1744 AD manuscript .
In any case, the manuscript appear to be old enough to be part of those manuscripts that are worth to be restored.
Admin.
30 June 2022.
Manuscripts are fragile documents, often they loose pages due to various reason, time, weather and so on. These lost of pages sometimes translate in the lost of date as dates are mentioned usually in the beginning or the end and these are pages that are lost first.
Recently the Heritage Society received what appeared very old and damaged 30 pages remaining from a manuscript preserved up to recently in the Juma Bhagat Family. The manuscript numbered hs0439 is missing many pages and is eaten by termites. Visually it appeared to be 300 to 400 years old. Needless to say it is in dire condition and and in need of restoration and conservation.
A page of the manuscript was sent to the Radiochronology Lab of the Laval University in Canada and was transform into graphite at the beginning of this month of June 2022 for Carbon 14 dating. There are very few ways to date accurately manuscripts. Carbon 14 dating gives a percentage probability for a range of dates.
A Carbon 14 report was received today, jointly prepared by Laval University and the Keck Carbon Cycle AMS Facility of the University of California (USA)
While the median probable date of the sample taken from hs0439 is AD 1763, there is a 20% possibility that it is written between AD 1670 and AD 1683. If this is the case, this manuscript would be older than the previous oldest hs0376 manuscript of the Heritage Society dated 1744 AD manuscript .
In any case, the manuscript appear to be old enough to be part of those manuscripts that are worth to be restored.
Admin.
30 June 2022.
Re: Khojki, Khojki manuscripts and khojki tutorial
On 11 July 2022, the Heritage Society opens to the public its rare collection of Indic Books, Litho and Manuscripts.
The rare collection can be accessed at:
https://library.ismaili.net
Use the Menu or Search on the top of the page. Mind the spelling. For example some writers use "Sloko" and some "Saloko", search both for better result. farmans are restricted but the list is part of the PDF Catalogue.
40: years in the making: Collecting, Digitizing, Cataloguing.
800: Manuscripts and old Books at opening date.
1,744: Date of the oldest manuscript in the collection? perhaps even 1,680 C.E.
5,000: number of pointers in the digital catalogue
Registration is not necessary to access the collection. In the near future Registration will be added for those who want to participate actively by keeping their bookmarks or adding their comment to the blog.
Suggestion can be send to [email protected] for improvements.
French and English material will be added in the Library for 13 December 2022. That material can be accessed for now at the old site: heritage.ismaili.net
I take this opportunity to wish you a Happy Eid Mubarak and a very special Imamat Day! And a big thank you for making the IsmailiHeritage page on FB the premier Ismaili FB page with 707,000 subscribers today.
The rare collection can be accessed at:
https://library.ismaili.net
Use the Menu or Search on the top of the page. Mind the spelling. For example some writers use "Sloko" and some "Saloko", search both for better result. farmans are restricted but the list is part of the PDF Catalogue.
40: years in the making: Collecting, Digitizing, Cataloguing.
800: Manuscripts and old Books at opening date.
1,744: Date of the oldest manuscript in the collection? perhaps even 1,680 C.E.
5,000: number of pointers in the digital catalogue
Registration is not necessary to access the collection. In the near future Registration will be added for those who want to participate actively by keeping their bookmarks or adding their comment to the blog.
Suggestion can be send to [email protected] for improvements.
French and English material will be added in the Library for 13 December 2022. That material can be accessed for now at the old site: heritage.ismaili.net
I take this opportunity to wish you a Happy Eid Mubarak and a very special Imamat Day! And a big thank you for making the IsmailiHeritage page on FB the premier Ismaili FB page with 707,000 subscribers today.