𑼄𑼒𑽂𑼰𑼬𑼒𑼮𑼶

The Akṣarakavi script, also known simply as Akṣarakavi (𑼄𑼒𑽂𑼰𑼬𑼒𑼮𑼶), is the primary ceremonial and liturgical script used in Siban. It is used to write Antikvalingvo (lit. ancient language, Sanskrit; 𑼄𑼥𑽁𑼡𑼶𑼒𑽂𑼮𑼭𑼶𑼥𑽁𑼔𑽂𑼮𑼾𑼴) and has also been used to write Esperlingvo (lit. hope language, Esperanto; 𑼎𑼱𑽁𑼦𑼾𑼬𑽁𑼭𑼶𑼥𑽁𑼔𑽂𑼮𑼾𑼴) in many cases.

Standard Mapping for Esperlingvo

All usual consonants map to a corresponding Akṣarakavi character, such as 𑼨 for /ba/ and 𑼬 for /ra/. However, the script has evolved to accommodate Esperlingvo's phonetics.

• c or /t͜s/ is represented by the character 𑼗; komencanto = 𑼒𑼾𑼴𑼪𑼾𑼥𑽁𑼗𑼥𑽁𑼡𑼾𑼴

• ĉ or /t͜ʃ/ is represented by the character 𑼘; ĉevalo = 𑼘𑼾𑼮𑼭𑼾𑼴

• ĝ or /d͜ʒ/ is represented by the character 𑼙; ĝoji = 𑼙𑼾𑼴𑼫𑼶

• ĥ or /x/ is represented by the character 𑼓; teĥnologio = 𑼡𑼾𑼓𑽁𑼥𑼾𑼴𑼭𑼾𑼴𑼔𑼶𑼐

• ĵ or /ʒ/ is represented by the character 𑼚; ĵaketo = 𑼚𑼒𑼾𑼡𑼾𑼴

• ŝ or /ʃ/ is represented by the character 𑼯; ŝtato = 𑼯𑽂𑼡𑼡𑼾𑼴

• f or /f/ is represented by the character 𑼧; festivalo = 𑼧𑼾𑼱𑽁𑼡𑼶𑼮𑼭𑼾𑼴

• v or /v/ is represented by the character 𑼮; vagulo = 𑼮𑼔𑼸𑼭𑼾𑼴

• z or /z/ is represented by the character 𑼰; zeloto = 𑼰𑼾𑼭𑼾𑼴𑼡𑼾𑼴

History

Known in ancient times as "Kawi" by the ancestors of the inhabitants of Navodra today, its use was not unbroken. It has stopped to be used as a script for regular use by 17th century in the old planet (Earth). For around five hundred years, it has remained a historical and academic curiosity and nothing more, though there were some interest in the script among circles in Southeast Asia seeking to revive old scripts for previously colonized countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and the rest of Indochina. This remained to be the case until the 2100s when its full-fledged revival was brought about in the Federation of Malaya (Indonesia, maritime Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei, Papua new Guinea, and Timor Leste). It became part of education and was used in virtually all forms of communication. While other scripts were considered, Kawi became preferred as it was seen to be more practical for writing a wider array of languages.

Revival

These reforms and the revival of Kawi led to its adoption by religious institutions as well, especially those that were part of religious revival movements. One of these movements is the restoration of a distinctly Southeast Asian Esoteric Buddhism. Similar to initiatives in China, where Chinese monks and laity went to Japan to "recover" their old practices, Malay monks and laity went to Tibet, China, Nepal, Japan, and Bhutan to consolidate all existing esoteric practices of the time into one cohesive system. While this imitative was eventually successful in grafting Esoteric Buddhism back into Southeast Asia, it was not able to create a cohesive hierarchy and system, though this was later seen as effective in making the revival more organic. Throughout the process, especially when bringing back texts to Malaya, the newly revived Kawi was chosen and used to preserve the texts as it was sufficient in capturing Sanskrit while at the same time native to the area. This resulted in what can be described as the most comprehensive preservation of Buddhist tantras, sutras, and texts, ranging from the Tibetan Canon all the way to the Japanese Canon. Everything that can be translated were translated into the local language, some were back-translated to Sanskrit, and so on, all with the intention of preserving everything only in the Kawi Script for the sake of the revival movement.

Navodra

A mixed group of non-sectarian Buddhist monastics was part of the last known contingent to Navodra before everything went silent. This group of monastics were trained in Malaya, though coming from different parts of the old planet. It is unknown to Navodrans today why no one followed or no communication ever came after this group, but they were the only specifically religious people who got to Navodra. This meant that only Buddhism had clergy to minister to people, which is the reason why it came to be the dominant religion of today and why Esoteric Buddhism has been the driving force of Sibanic society. These monastics brought with them digital versions of Buddhist texts and a large corpus of historical and academic texts with them.

In the interest of preserving this knowledge in case of disasters or failure of the remaining digital systems they had, these monastic painstakingly copied all of the texts they had with them physical format in order to preserve them. A large number they were able to print in ink and then subsequently mechanically emboss into harder mediums, but a significant portion had to be copied by hand due to the eventual failure of their machines (printers, other devices). These manually copied texts were also replicated in harder materials to prevent them from being lost. Aside from performing religious duties, these monastics became custodians of these texts and knowledge from the old planet and were thus in-charge of education for most of Siban's history. The drives wherein the original texts were stored digitally were later able to be accessed due to advancements in technology.

Throughout the spread of humanity in Navodra, monastics were with explorers along the way, many even serving as architects, engineers, and doctors. They brought with them Kawi or, as it later became known, Akṣarakavi. Esperanto or, as it is known today, Esperlingvo became the lingua franca of the Navodrans and it was and still is primarily written using the common script (Latin characters), but Akṣarakavi evolved to accommodate the language. This usage of Akṣarakavi in non-religious settings is attributed to the the widespread perception that is is a sacred script as it is what is used in religious settings. Thus, it became customary for the elite to use Akṣarakavi when making signages, on stamps, and other household-related or business matters as it was deemed auspicious, especially when objects were blessed in temples.