Dhives Akuru 𑤝𑤱𑤩𑤴𑤬𑤽 𑤥𑤌𑤳𑤧𑤳(Dives Akuru), 𑤝𑤱𑤩𑤴𑤭𑤱 𑤥𑤌𑤳𑤧𑤳(Divehi Akuru)
'Divehi Akuru' in modern Noto Serif Dives Akuru font
Script type	Abugida
Time period	6th-8th centuries CE (earliest attestation) to late 19th century
Direction	left-to-right
Languages	Maldivian
Related scripts
Parent systems	Egyptian Proto-Sinaitic Phoenician Aramaic Brahmi Tamil-Brahmi Pallava Grantha Dhives Akuru
Sister systems	Malayalam, Tigalari, Saurashtra
ISO 15924
ISO 15924	Diak (342), ​Dives Akuru
Unicode
Unicode alias	Dives Akuru
Unicode range	U+11900–U+1195F Dives Akuru
The theorised Semitic origins of the Brahmi script are not universally agreed upon.

The last version of the Maldivian script used after the conversion of people to Islam around the 1700s.

Standard Indic order. This table is provided as a reference for the position of the letters on the table.

Dhives Akuru, later called Dhivehi Akuru (meaning Maldivian letters) is a script formerly used for the Maldivian language. The name can be alternatively spelled Dives Akuru or Divehi Akuru using the ISO 15919 Romanization scheme, as the "d" is unaspirated.

History

Dhives Akuru developed from Brahmi. The oldest attested inscription bears a clear resemblance to South Indian epigraphical records of the sixth-eighth centuries, written in local subtypes of the Brahmi script.^[1] The letters on later inscriptions are clearly of the cursive type, strongly reminding of the medieval scripts used in Sri Lanka and South India such as Sinhala, Grantha and Vatteluttu. There are also some elements from the Kannada-Telugu scripts visible.^[2][1] The form of this script attested in loamaafaanu (copper plates) of the 12th and 13th centuries and in inscriptions on coral stone dating back to the Buddhist period (~200 BC to 12th century AD) was called by Bell Evēla Akuru (meaning "script of yore"^{[1]:82-83; footnote 5} to distinguish it from the more recent form of the same script. The most recent form (starting from around the 14th century) was more calligraphic and the letter forms changed a little. Like other Brahmic scripts, Dhives Akuru descended ultimately from the Brahmi script and thus was written from left to right.

'Dhivehi Akuru' in recent Dives Akuru script. Notice how the ancient calligraphy is quite different from the modern typeface

Dhives Akuru was still used in some southern atolls along with Thaana until the end of the 19th century. The last known official document from the southern atolls (in Dhives Akuru and Thaana) was written by Haajee Muhammad Kaleygefaanu in 1927.^[3] Since then its use has been limited to scholars and hobbyists. It can still be found on gravestones and some monuments, including the stone base of the pillars supporting the main structure of the ancient Friday mosque in Malé. Bell obtained an astrology book written in Dhives Akuru in Addu Atoll, in the south of the Maldives, during one of his trips. This book is now kept in the National Archives of Sri Lanka in Colombo.

Bodufenvalhuge Sidi, an eminent Maldivian scholar, wrote a book called Divehi Akuru in 1959, prompted by then Prime Minister Ibrahim Nasir.^[4]

Unicode

The Dhives Akuru script was added to Unicode version 13.0 in March 2020, with 72 characters located in the Dives Akuru block (U+11900–U+1195F):^[5]

References

• Bell, H.C.P. Excerpta Maldiviana. Reprint 1922-1935 edn. New Delhi 1998.
• Bell, H.C.P. The Maldive islands. Monograph on the History, Archaeology and Epigraphy. Reprint 1940 edn. Male' 1986.
• Divehi Bahuge Qawaaaid. Vols 1 to 5. Ministry of Education. Male' 1978.
• Divehīnge Tarika. Divehīnge Bas. Divehibahāi Tārikhah Khidumaiykurā Qaumī Majlis. Male' 2000.
• Geiger, Wilhelm. Maldivian Linguistic Studies. Reprint 1919 edn. Novelty Press. Male' 1986.
• Gunasena, Bandusekara. The Evolution of the Sinhalese Script. Godage Poth Mendura. Colombo 1999.
• Romero-Frias, Xavier. The Maldive Islanders, A Study of the Popular Culture of an Ancient Ocean Kingdom. Barcelona 1999.
• Sivaramamurti, C. Indian Epigraphy and South Indian Scripts. Bulletin of the Madras Government Museum. Chennai 1999.

Citations

See also

• Maldivian language
• Sinhala script
• Thaana script
• History of the Maldives