The Script

Baybayin script is an ancient form of writing by native islanders and tribes in the South East Asian archipelago we now know as the Philippines.

The Font

Download it here in DA: [link]

I created true type fonts (TTF) I called "Baybayin Modern" to use in modern art. The fonts are stylized modern composite of many examples from the past but the style is based primarily on my calligraphy work and handwriting. These fonts should not be considered as historically accurate examples of the Baybayin. The font is calligraphic & artistic representations and the characters’ shapes, sizes and weights have been made uniform in order to present a neat and elegant printed appearance.

The zip file contains the TTF file and documentation on how to use it. If used in your artwork, please include a credit and/or link back to either the blog ([link]) or my DA page.

The Style (Mindoro) 

This is a heavily stylized version of baybayin. The style is based on [link] the Buhid's Sulat Mangyan but the characters are still based on the Tagalog/Ilocano form.

What's new?

I included an alternate Mangyan version of the virama (vowel cancelling kudlit) mark called a "pamudpod". It works the same way as the Spanish cross kudlit or "virama" which is also still available. The pamudpod works aesthetically well at the end of a word while the cross particularly works well in the middle (and at the end) of a word. You can use either one or both or neither in your composition. I used both in the sample. To access the pamudpod use the equal key ( = ) and to access the virama use the plus key ( + ).

The Sample -

The script rendered in baybayin Mindoro font is a Hanunóo Mangyan poem which reads: 

"Si aypod bay upadan
No kang tinaginduman
May ulang madi kagnan
May takip madi kaywan
No kang tinaginduman
Ga siyon di sa adngan
Ga pagtangdayon diman" 

Translation:
"You, my friends, dearest of all,
Thinking of you makes me sad.
Rivers deep are in between,
forest vast keep us apart
but thinking of you with love,
as if you are here nearby
standing,sitting at my side."  

--from Mangyan Treasures, translated by Antoon Postma from the Mangyan Script--

Antoon Postma is a Dutch anthropologist who has married into and lives among the Hanunó'o, a Mangyan sub-tribe in Mindoro, Philippines. He is best known for being the first to decipher the Laguna Copperplate Inscription [link] , and for documenting the Hanunó'o script, paving the way for its preservation.

For more info about Mangyan: [link]

For more info on the new features included in this font set, please read the rich text format (.rtf) file that is included in the zip.



© All of Nordenx Baybayin Modern Fonts are for personal and non-commercial use only. Please contact me at nordenx@yahoo.com for any inquiries about commercial use and licensing for branding, printing, publications, and/or other electronic applications.

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UPDATE: V.1.01 - font file updated, replace .tff if you downloaded prior to July 12, 2011