| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 240,000 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Liberia | 140,251[1] |
 Sierra Leone | 1,205[2] |
| Languages | |
| Vai • English • Krio • Gola | |
| Religion | |
| Islam majority • Christianity minority • | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Kono, Gola, Kpelle, Mende, Loma, Gbandi | |
The Vai are Mandé peoples that live mostly in Liberia, with a small minority living in south-eastern Sierra Leone. The Vai are known for their indigenous writing system known as the Vai syllabary, developed in the 1820s by Momolu Duwalu Bukele and other Vai elders.[3] Over the course of the 19th century, literacy in the writing system became widespread. Its use declined over the 20th century, but modern computer technology may enable a revival.
The Vai people speak the Vai language, which is one of the Mande languages. The Sierra Leonean Vai are predominantly found in Pujehun District around the Liberian border. Many Sierra Leonean villages that border Liberia are populated by the Vai. In total, only about 1200 Vai live in Sierra Leone.[4]
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- ^ "Liberia - World Directory of Minorities & Indigenous Peoples". Minority Rights Group. June 19, 2015.
- ^ "Sierra Leone 2015 Population and Housing Census National Analytical Report" (PDF). Statistics Sierra Leone. October 2017. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
- ^ Grenoble, Lenore A.; Lindsay J. Whaley (2006). Saving Languages: An Introduction to Language Revitalization. Cambridge University Press. pp. 107–. ISBN 978-0-521-01652-0.
Scribner and Cole conducted fieldwork with the Vai people of Liberia in the 1970s.3 The Vai had developed their own syllabary in the 1820s or 1830s.
- ^ "Sierra Leone 2015 Population and Housing Census national analytical report" (PDF). Statistics Sierra Leone. October 2017. pp. 89–99.