One of the most important facts in Tut history is simple: Tut was already documented in print in 1893.
That year, Oscar Chrisman published an article titled “Secret Language of Children” in Science. The article discussed “Tut Language” by name and preserved information supplied through a young woman identified as Edith Fly of Gonzales, Texas.
Why the 1893 Record Matters
The Chrisman article pushes the documented history of Tut much earlier than many modern discussions suggest. It also records a reported transmission chain involving Black girls and women connected with Gonzales, Austin, Galveston, and a girl who had come from Jamaica.
That chain is historically important, but it must be read carefully. A reported teaching chain is evidence of transmission; it is not automatically evidence of invention.
What the Source Does Not Prove
- It does not identify the inventor of Tut.
- It does not prove that Tut originated in Texas.
- It does not prove that Tut originated in Jamaica.
- It does not establish an exact creation date.
- It does not prove that an enslaved person created Tut.
Chrisman himself was unable to determine whether the Jamaica connection represented an origin point or another stage in the language’s movement from person to person.
The Bigger Historical Trail
The 1893 article is only one part of the documentary trail. Tutnese.org also tracks later published material, including a related “Tutnee” system in 1903, a 1944 research lead involving “Tutahash,” Maya Angelou’s 1969 reference to learning “the Tut language,” and Gloria McIlwain’s 1994 academic documentation of a multigenerational Black American family tradition.
Publication order does not by itself prove who invented Tut or who taught whom. That is why Tutnese.org labels evidence by status and keeps unresolved questions visible instead of filling the gaps with guesses.
Read the current research summary at Tutnese.org/what-we-know, and review the source inventory at Tutnese.org/sources.
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