Beitha Kukju

The Beitha Kukju or Buthakukye alphabet was created between 1825 and 1845 by Naum Veqilharxhi (1797-1854) a lawyer and scholar from Vithkuq, a village in the Korçë region in southern Albania. The name of the alphabet is a corruption of the name Vithkuq. This alphabet was part of Veqilharxhi's promotion of the Albanian National Awakening movement, and he saw it as a way to avoid the religious associations and divisions of the Latin, Greek and Arabic alphabets.

Details of this alphabet first appeared in Evëtori Shqip Fort i Shkurtër (The most Useful and Concise Albanian Alphabet), a primer published by Veqilharxhi in 1844-5. This was distributed in the Korçë region, later in Berat, and proved popular. Veqilharxhi also produced a number of other books in his alphabet, but few survive.