Vai was developed in the 1830s and was a syllabary (matched the syllables spoken) for the Vai people who lived at that time west of Liberia. Momolu Duwalu Bukele is the name of the person credited with creating this script. The purpose of Vai was the same for all written scripts: to communicate information. Visitors to the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art can see Vai inscribed on jewelry and weapons. There is a similar script used in Niger / Congo area. I chose this script to study because the Cherokee Nation used to inhabit the place where I grew up. They also used a syllabary. I like that both of these syllabaries were used in the every day lives of the people.