Today, Jyoyig (མགྱོགས་ཡིག་) script is considered a unique Bhutanese script. It is a cursive script that is half way between the Üchen (དབུ་ཅན་) script and the Tibetan cursive Chugyig (ཁྱུག་ཡིག་) script. Jyoyig, which literally means ‘fast script,’ is used for correspondence, agreements and many other purposes while the Üchen script is used for writing full books. True to its name, it is most likely a script that developed as a result of writing the Üchen or Tshuyig (ཚུགས་ཡིག་) script quickly in continuous strokes. When Tshugyig is written quickly but largely retaines Tshugyig features, it is known as Jyogtshum (མགྱོགས་ཚུགསམ་).                              

The Bhutanese claim that Jyogyig script was composed in the 8^th century by the translator Denma Tsemang when he visited the Bumthang valley. He is said to have travelled to Bhutan as an attendant of Guru Rinpoche, when the latter returned to Bhutan from Tibet. Guru Rinpoche’s first trip to Bhutan was from India but after he visited Tibet, Guru Rinpoche made couple more trips to Bhutan directly from Tibet. Denma Tsewang was a close disciple of Guru Rinpoche in Tibet and a well-known scholar and translator. Guru Rinpoche is said to have brought Denma Tsemang with him to Bhutan. Some sources say he was sent by the Tibetan King Trisong Détsen to Bhutan to help the Bhutanese in return for the large supplies of paper the Bhutanese sent to the Tibetan king to help support a massive translation project at Samyé.

In spite of the general claim based on oral accounts, there is no evidence or documentary records that Denma Tsewang composed the Jyoyig script. An old text, Kagyé Déshek Düpé Nyingpo (བཀའ་བརྒྱད་བདེ་གཤེགས་འདུས་པའི་སྙིང་པོ་) of Nyangral Nyima Özer (1124-1192/1136-1204), which is a rediscovered treasure, has a script which is claimed to be the original form of Jyoyig. However, the script in this text is almost identical with scripts used in Tibetan documents composed prior to the 11^th century that were unearthed from the Dunhaung caves in China. One of the Tibetan scripts commonly used in old documents is similar to modern Bhutanese Jyoyig and is a clear version of Üchen or Tshuyig. Unable to claim Denma Tsewang’s authorship, some scholars argue that Jyoyig was known as Lhoyig (ལྷོ་ཡིག་), or script of the south, and Monyig (མོན་ཡིག་), or Mon script, and that it existed before Denma Tsemang’s visit to Bhutan. Other accounts state that Denma Tsemang only popularized the script by using it when he wrote down Guru Rinpoche’s teachings.

However, recent research on old archival collections in Bhutan has revealed not a single sample of Jyoyig or similar writing from before the 20^th century. If Jyoyig, or an earlier version of it, did exist in the first millennium, its use must have declined or stopped in the second millennium, particularly after the unification of Bhutan in the 17^th century. A great deal of written texts created in the past 500 years survives in Bhutanese archives but none of the archives has a sample of Jyoyig script or one of its precursors. Instead, there are many cases of books written in different types of Üme (དབུ་མེད་) script which is now no longer used in Bhutan and which most Bhutanese cannot even read. The current samples of Jyoyig writing date to the beginning of the 20^th century. During the reign of successive monarchs, many famous scribes have excelled in writing texts and royal edicts in Jyoyig script.

It has also begun to develop a specific calligraphic style and aesthetics and come to be seen as a separate script rather than being a fast way of writing the Tshugyig script. The master scribes have also created a system of mensuration which learners use to write the characters. Jyoyig is today taught in Bhutan’s schools and also used in administration and judiciary processes. There are now computer fonts for Jyoyig designed by the Dzongkha Development Commission and it is promoted as unique national script of Bhutan.

Karma Phuntsho is a social thinker and worker, the President of the Loden Foundation and the author of many books and articles including The History of Bhutan.