Preliminary Proposal to encode Kawi in the UCS

Doc Type: Working Group Document

Title: Preliminary Proposal to encode Kawi in the UCS
Source:
Status:
Action: For consideration by UTC and ISO
Date:

1. Introduction

The Kawi script is a historical Brahmi-based script found in inscriptions and artefacts produced between the 8th to
the 16th in the insular Southeast Asia. A large portion of its corpus are found in Java, but Kawi materials has also
been found in Sumatra, Malay Peninsula, Bali, and the Philippines. The script is frequently associated with
documents written in the Old Javanese Language but materials written in Sanskrit and archaic stages of neighboring
local languages, such as Old Malay, Old Balinese, and Old Sundanese Language has also been found in Kawi script.
From the mid eight century, simple, functional Kawi is widely used to record land grants, royal edicts, and similar
chancery documents. Towards the end of the first millennium, the script became increasingly decorative and
calligraphic due to its use as the main vehicle of Old Javanese literary language, with long-lasting legacy in the
literary tradition of modern Javanese and Balinese language. Later Kawi shows many variations over wide
geographic distribution. Over time, these variants would evolve (directly or indirectly) into the many modern
Brahmic scripts of insular SE Asia, such as Balinese, Batak, Javanese, Lontara, etc.

While the active use of Kawi script has been supplanted since the 16th ce, there are a number of modern day
enthusiasts and communities who use the script today for other purposes than ancient reproduction, for example
to chat in social application and create image posts. In this revival type of use, the Kawi script may be used to write
languages that are not found in “authentic” Kawi corpus, such as the modern Javanese language or the Indonesian
language. With the lack of dedicated Unicode block for Kawi, community usually resort to appropriating and
hacking other Unicode block to create a usable font.

2. Structure
2.1. Consonant Letters

There are __ consonant letters:

base conj Character name base conj Character name base conj Character name

ꦏ ◌꧀ꦏ KAWI LETTER KA ꦝ ◌꧀ꦝ KAWI LETTER DDA ꦩ ◌꧀ꦩ KAWI LETTER MA

ꦑ ◌꧀ꦑ KAWI LETTER KHA ꦞ ◌꧀ꦞ KAWI LETTER DDHA ꦪ ◌꧀ꦪ KAWI LETTER YA

ꦒ ◌꧀ꦒ KAWI LETTER GA ꦟ ◌꧀ꦟ KAWI LETTER NNA ꦫ ◌꧀ꦫ KAWI LETTER RA

ꦓ ◌꧀ꦓ KAWI LETTER GHA ꦠ ◌꧀ꦠ KAWI LETTER TA ꦭ ◌꧀ꦭ KAWI LETTER LA

ꦔ ◌꧀ꦔ KAWI LETTER NGA ꦡ ◌꧀ꦡ KAWI LETTER THA ꦮ ◌꧀ꦮ KAWI LETTER WA

ꦕ ◌꧀ꦕ KAWI LETTER CA ꦢ ◌꧀ꦢ KAWI LETTER DA ꦯ ◌꧀ꦯ KAWI LETTER SHA

ꦖ ◌꧀ꦖ KAWI LETTER CHA ꦣ ◌꧀ꦣ KAWI LETTER DHA ꦰ ◌꧀ꦰ KAWI LETTER SSA

1
ꦗ ◌꧀ꦗ KAWI LETTER JA ꦤ ◌꧀ꦤ KAWI LETTER NA ꦱ ◌꧀ꦱ KAWI LETTER SA

ꦙ ◌꧀ꦙ KAWI LETTER JHA ꦥ ◌ꦱ KAWI LETTER PA ꦲ ◌꧀ꦲ KAWI LETTER HA

ꦚ ◌꧀ꦚ KAWI LETTER NYA ꦦ ◌꧀ꦦ KAWI LETTER PHA ꦘ KAWI LETTER JNYA

ꦛ ◌꧀ꦛ KAWI LETTER TTA ꦧ ◌꧀ꦧ KAWI LETTER BA ꧒ KAWI LETTER RO

ꦜ ◌꧀ꦜ KAWI LETTER TTHA ꦨ ◌꧀ꦨ KAWI LETTER BHA

A Kawi consonantal letter represents a syllable with inherent vowel /a/. Consonants combine in the usual Brahmic
fashion: the inherent vowel is “killed” by the VIRAMA, following consonant would become a conjunct letter which is
subjoined or post-fixed to the preceding letter. Most conjunct letters have the same shape as its regular
counterpart, but some have distinct shape. To prevent the formation of conjunct after VIRAMA, usually in certain
wordbreaks, ZERO WIDTH NON JOINER is used between VIRAMA and the next letter. This scheme does not encode separate
signs for visible VIRAMA and conjunct maker, which is similar to modern Javanese and Balinese encoding that are
familiar to current Kawi user base.

ꦠ+ꦠ+◌ = ꦠꦠ tat

ꦠ+ꦠ+◌ +ꦠ = ꦠꦠ꧀ꦠ tatta

ꦠ+ꦠ+◌ + ZWNJ +ꦠ = ꦠꦠ ꦠ tat ta

KAWI LETTER JNYA is a graphic simplification of the consonant cluster jña (LETTER JA + VIRAMA + NYA), in which the conjunct
form NYA is reduced in form. It is attested in some inscriptions (see figure __) and has direct cognate in modern
Javanese and Balinese script: the JAVANESE LETTER NYA MURDA U+A998 which has been encoded in the UCS and BALINESE
LETTER ARCHAIC JNYA U+1B4C accepted for a future version of the standard.1 A conjunct form for this letter is
unattested.

2.1.1. Consonant cluster

Up to three consonants cluster can be encountered in Kawi inscriptions (see figure __), especially in words containing
liquid consonants. Kawi literature even has samples up to four consonants cluster, though these are relatively rare
and also involves liquid consonants. Some examples include:

ꦱ꧀ꦏꦩ ꦫ ꦏ꧀ꦫꦾꦤ ꦆꦤ꧀ꦢꦥ꧀ꦫ ꦩꦱ꧀ꦮꦒ

ꦁ ꦗ ꧀꧀ꦗ ꦠꦩ꧀ꦧꦶ ꦔꦤ
ꦭ ꦩꦤ꧀ꦠꦾ
ꦿ ꦿ
sukṣma rakryan indrapura mpwaŋgarjja tamblingan mantrya

2.2. Independent Vowel Letters

There are __ independent vowel letters:

1
Direct cognate of KAWI LETTER JNYA is still taught in contemporary Javanese script teaching, but it is omitted from contemporary Balinese script
teachings, even though the letter can be found in older palm leaf manuscripts (see Unicode proposal of encoding BALINESE JNYA).

2
 Glyph Character name Glyph Character name

ꦄ KAWI LETTER A ꦄꦴ KAWI LETTER AA

ꦆ KAWI LETTER I ꦇ KAWI LETTER II

ꦈ KAWI LETTER U ꦈꦴ KAWI LETTER UU

ꦉ KAWI LETTER
VOCALIC R
ꦉꦴ KAWI LETTER
VOCALIC RR

ꦊ KAWI LETTER
VOCALIC L
ꦋ KAWI LETTER
VOCALIC LL

ꦌ KAWI LETTER E ꦍ KAWI LETTER AI

ꦎ KAWI LETTER O ꦎꦴ KAWI LETTER AU

ꦄꦼ KAWI LETTER AE ꦄꦼꦴ KAWI LETTER EU

Note that glyph in grey cells are decomposable into independent vowel letter + dependent vowel sign, which is
similar to the encoding scheme of the Javanese script. Alternatively, these letters may be proposed as atomic
characters similar to the encoding scheme of the Balinese script in the interest of aligning the Kawi model with
traditional Sanskrit phonetic analysis.

VOWEL SIGN AE is not derived from a Brahmi or Pallavan precursor, but an innovative sign used to represent the mid
central vowel /ə/, commonly transcribed as [ĕ] in Kawi scholarship. The long counterpart of this sign (often used
for metrical purposes in poetry but with uncertain pronunciation) is formed by adding VOWEL SIGN AA, and the
resulting sign VOWEL SIGN EU is commonly transcribed as [ö].

2.3. Vowel Signs

The following __ dependent vowel signs are used in the available materials:

Glyph Character name Glyph Character name

_ _ ◌ꦴ KAWI VOWEL SIGN

AA

_ _ ◌ KAWI VOWEL SIGN

ALTERNATE AA

◌ꦶ KAWI VOWEL SIGN I ◌ KAWI VOWEL SIGN II

◌꧀ KAWI VOWEL SIGN U ◌ KAWI VOWEL SIGN

UU

◌ KAWI VOWEL SIGN

VOCALIC R
◌ꦴ KAWI VOWEL SIGN
VOCALIC RR

◌ KAWI VOWEL SIGN

VOCALIC L
◌ KAWI VOWEL SIGN
VOCALIC LL

3
 ꦺ◌ KAWI VOWEL SIGN E ꦻ◌ KAWI VOWEL SIGN
AI

_ _ ꦺꦺ◌ KAWI VOWEL SIGN

ALTERNATE AI

ꦺ◌ꦴ KAWI VOWEL SIGN O ꦻ◌ꦴ KAWI VOWEL SIGN

AU

_ _ ꦺꦺ◌ꦴ KAWI VOWEL SIGN

ALTERNATE AU

◌ꦼ KAWI VOWEL SIGN

AE
◌ꦼꦴ KAWI VOWEL SIGN
EU

Similar to vowel letters, some vowel signs contain multiple parts (marked in grey cells), which may be encoded as
decomposable parts or as atomic characters.

VOWEL SIGN AE is not derived from a Brahmi or Pallavan precursor, but an innovative sign used to represent the mid
central vowel /ə/, commonly transcribed as [ĕ] in Kawi scholarship. The long counterpart of this sign (often used
for metrical purposes in poetry but with uncertain pronunciation) is formed by adding VOWEL SIGN AA, and the
resulting sign VOWEL SIGN EU is commonly transcribed as [ö].

Alternate VOWEL SIGN AI and AU are attested in Sumatran inscriptions (see figure __)

‘standard’ alternate ‘standard’ alternate

ꦻꦢ ꦺꦺꦢ ꦻꦢ ꦺꦺꦢ
dai dau

2.3.1. Alternate vowel sign -aa

VOWEL SIGN AA may be replaced with ALTERNATE AA to disambiguate confusable glyph combinations, whether alone or
as multiple-part vowel sign. However, what constitutes as “confusable glyph” vary considerably in different styles
of Kawi and may not be applied consistently in a single text. The use of alternate shape may also be influenced by
aesthetic consideration and its exact shape depends on the base letter and the style of Kawi in question. For
example, LETTER PA and NGA combinations almost always used VOWEL SIGN ALTERNATE AA to disambiguate them from
LETTER HA and NYA. However, LETTER TTA combination (which is confusable with NGA) is observed to use both ‘standard’
and alternate form of VOWEL SIGN AA in a single text (see figure __). The author proposes this character to be disunified
with VOWEL SIGN AA so that users can choose between ‘standard’ and alternate shapes at their own discretion. This
aspect of orthography may benefit in precomposed modelling since alternate shapes also applies (but not always)
to multi-part vowel signs with VOWEL SIGN AA component.

pā ꦥ+◌ꦴ ≠ ꦥ‍ꦴ (confusable with ha ꦲ) → ꦥ

ṅā ꦔ+◌ꦴ ≠ ꦔ‍ꦴ (confusable with ña ꦚ) → ꦔ or

ṭā ꦛ+◌ꦴ ≈ ꦛ‍ꦴ (confusable with ṅa ꦔ) → ꦛ or however, ꦛ‍ꦴ is also attested

Alternatively, vowel sign alternates could be handled at the font level, with algorithm that produce appropriate
ligature with certain letters. ZERO WIDTH NON JOINER shall be used to “force” standard shape vowel sign if encountered.

4
 2.4. Various Signs

Glyph Character name

◌ KAWI SIGN CANDRABINDU

◌ꦁ KAWI SIGN ANUSVARA

◌ KAWI SIGN VISARGA

◌ KAWI SIGN VIRAMA

The CANDRABINDU is used for indicating nasalization in specific words such as ‘Om’. ANUSVARA is used to represent
final /-ŋ/, while VISARGA represent final /-h/.

2.5. Repha

The LETTER RA has two distinct conjuncts, for initial RA and a RA following another consonant. If its the first consonant
in a cluster, it converts to a so-called ‘repha’ form, which is attached to the upper part of the following letter. If RA
is the last consonant in a cluster, it converts to a wraparound form that descends from the bottom of the cluster
and reaches around to the left side of the letter it is attached to. In its modern descendant scripts, the ‘repha’ form
is reanalyzed as the final consonant of an orthographic syllable rather than the initial part, and the sign became
attached to the preceding letter.

ꦏ+ꦫ+◌ = ꦏꦫ kar

ꦏ+ꦫ+◌ +ꦏ = ꦏꦏ꧀ karka

ꦏ+ꦏ+◌ +ꦫ = ꦏ‍ꦏ꧀ꦫ kakra

The glyph of repha may change when used in conjunction with above-base vowel signs to accommodate space:

ꦏ+ꦫ+◌ +ꦏ+◌ꦶ = ꦏꦏꦶ karki

ꦏ+ꦫ+◌ +ꦏ+◌ = ꦏꦏꦷ karkī

ꦏ+ꦫ+◌ +ꦏ+◌ꦼ = ꦏꦏꦼ karkĕ

2.6. Numeral

Numerals are attested in many materials. Kawi uses a decimal system with 10 digits:

Glyph Character name Glyph Character name

꧆ KAWI DIGIT ZERO ꧕ KAWI DIGIT FIVE

꧑ KAWI DIGIT ONE ꧖ KAWI DIGIT SIX

5
 ꧒ KAWI DIGIT TWO ꧗ KAWI DIGIT SEVEN

꧓ KAWI DIGIT THREE ꧘ KAWI DIGIT EIGHT

꧔ KAWI DIGIT FOUR ꧙ KAWI DIGIT NINE

2.7. Punctuation

Kawi materials use several punctuation and symbols to divide text into sections. Unfortunately, these characters are
often neglected from paleographic studies and glyph tables, making it harder to categorize and document them
conclusively. Attested punctuations are as follow:

Glyph Character name Glyph Character name

꧊ KAWI DANDA ꧉ KAWI PUNCTUATION

DOUBLE DOT

KAWI PUNCTUATION
꧋ KAWI DOUBLE
DANDA
꧇ STACKED DOUBLE
DOT

꧄ KAWI PUNCTUATION
SECTION MARKER
꧆ KAWI PUNCTUATION
CIRCLE

KAWI PUNCTUATION
꧅ ALTERNATE SECTION ꧏ KAWI PUNCTUATION
DOTTED CIRCLE
MARKER

꧁ KAWI PUNCTUATION
FLOWER
꧍ KAWI PUNCTUATION
SPIRAL

᭠ KAWI PUNCTUATION
SPACE FILLER
꧂ KAWI PUNCTUATION
CLOSING SPIRAL

꧈ KAWI PUNCTUATION
DOT

Opening, closing, and major breaks in a text are often indicated using multiple punctuations which can be arranged
in several ways and are partly decorative. There are no standard combinations, and inscriptions may use several
distinct arrangements to indicate hierarchy.

KAWI PUNCTUATION SPACE FILLER is used as means of justifying texts for gaps that are too small to fit another letter at
the end of a line.

3. Direction of Writing

While most Kawi materials are written horizontally left-to-right, a small number of decorative objects and
inscriptions are written in an unusual direction: vertically bottom-to-top, where each letterform with corresponding
diacritics are rotated into diagonal position (see figure __). Objects with the latter form of direction usually only
contain short texts and are often rendered in decorative quadrate form.

4. Ordering

This proposal arranges Kawi in the standard Brahmic ordering, based on native abecedarium Kawi script which is
attested in several inscription (see figure __).

6
 ꦄ a > ꦄꦴ ā >ꦆ i > ꦇ ī > ꦈ u >ꦈꦴ ū > ꦉ ṛ > ꦉꦴ ṝ > ꦊ ḷ > ꦋ ḹ > ꦌ e >ꦍ ai > ꦎ o > ꦎꦴ au >

ꦏ ka >ꦑ kha >ꦒ ga > ꦓ gha > ꦔ ṅa > ꦕ ca > ꦖ cha >ꦗ ja >ꦙ jha > ꦚ ña > ꦛ ṭa > ꦜ ṭha > ꦝ ḍa > ꦞ ḍha >

ꦟ ṇa > ꦠ ta > ꦡ tha > ꦢ da > ꦣ dha >ꦤ na > ꦥ pa > ꦦ pha > ꦧ ba > ꦨ bha >ꦩ ma >ꦪ ya > ꦫ ra > ꦭ la >

ꦮ wa > ꦯ śa > ꦰ ṣa > ꦱ sa > ꦲ ha >

◌ꦴ -ā >‍◌ -ā >‍◌ꦶ -i >‍◌ -ī >‍◌꧀ -u >‍◌ -ū >‍◌ -ṛ > ◌ꦴ -ṝ > ◌ -ḷ > ◌ -ḹ > ꦺ◌ -e > ꦻ◌ -ai > ꦺꦺ◌ -ai >

ꦺ◌ꦴ -au > ꦻ◌ꦴ -au > ꦺꦺ◌ꦴ -au > ◌ꦼ -ĕ > ◌ꦼꦴ -ö
5. Styles

The Kawi script is used over a span of 800 years, and within that period a wide range of styles are observed. The
Kawi script evolved gradually from the earlier “Pallava” script with some overlap between late Pallava and early
Kawi. Compared to the preceding script, which are lithic and monumental in style, the Kawi script shows evidence
of palm-leaf writing techniques and are more cursive in nature. The oldest record in Early Kawi is the stele of
Plumpungan located near Salatiga, Central Java, which is dated to c. 750 ce. ‘Standard’ form of Early Kawi is
exemplified in the stone and copper plate inscriptions of the rulers Kayuwangi (856–882) and Balitung (899–910)
(de Casparis 1975: 33). Later form of Kawi first emerged in East Java and variations of the script can be found in
locations such as Sumatra, Malay Peninsula, Bali, and the Philippines. Casparis (1975: 38) categorized Later Kawi
into four styles: Kawi from the reign Daksa and others (c.910–950), Airlangga (c.1019–1042), and finally the ‘normal’
and decorative ‘Quadrate script’ from the Kadiri period (c.1100–1220). This however is not a strict category, different
literature might refer the same style with different name and definition, which scholars of the field continue to
refine today. For example, Titi (2017) noted that Casparis did not gave detailed parameters for Quadrate style in his
work, and samples which can be regarded as Quadrate can be found in inscriptions preceding Kadiri period, which
means the term is not strictly chronological and may be further subdivided (for example, into ‘plain’ and ‘ornate’). 2
A particular style of Kawi common in gebang manuscripts from 14th to 16th ce West Java is, confusingly, referred to
as “Quadrate Old Javanese” (Holle 1877: 14-16), “Bold Semi-cursive Script of West Java” (Pigeaud 1968:94,
1980:247), and “Buda” (Molen 1983:115-116) in various literature.

6. Character Name

Many Kawi characters has direct cognates with modern Javanese and Balinese characters, and the study of Kawi
script is a subject on both Javanese and Balinese studies. Currently, Kawi characters are often referred to by scholars
with the name of their modern cognates in their native language or respective fields. For example, the Kawi sign
ANUSVARA may be identified as CECAK. However not all names are shared by both, the sign VISARGA for example is
known as WIGNYAN in Javanese and BISAH in Balinese. Because of this, the characters in Kawi script does not have a
single, standardized naming scheme and currently no historic native naming scheme has been extensively studied.
For now, the proposed characters have Indic based names that are meant to be generic and descriptive.

7. Font

The font used in this proposal is based on the Mpu Mada Inscription, dated 1214 śe/1351 ce, made by Arif Budiarto
with slight edits by Aditya Bayu Perdana. The style of this inscription can be described as midway between early
and late Kawi; the overall shape retains the simple outline of early Kawi, but with restrained ‘serifs’ and other stroke
characteristic that would herald later Kawi. Mpu Mada inscription does not contain all glyphs necessary to write
Kawi, and so several glyphs in this font are “reconstructed” from attestation of other sources to resemble the Mpu

2
Griffiths (2012:203-204) opinioned that the term Quadrate should only be used for highly ornate Kawi, but also noted that writers of the subject
tend to use the term loosely and Casparis himself only implied that it should be used for highly ornamental samples.

7
Mada inscription style. The glyph of this font is meant to be illustrative but are not meant to be the sole
representative of the wide variety of attested Kawi so far.

8
 PROPOSED TABLE

1…0 1…1 1…2 1…3 1…4 1…5 1…6

0
◌ ꦎꦴ ꦞ ꦯ ꦺ◌ ꧉ ꧆
1
◌ꦁ ꦄꦼ ꦟ ꦰ ꦻ◌ ꧇ ꧑
2
◌ ꦄꦼꦴ ꦠ ꦱ ꦺ◌ꦴ ꧆ ꧒
3
ꦄ ꦏ ꦡ ꦲ ꦺꦺ◌ ꧏ ꧓
4
ꦄꦴ ꦑ ꦢ ꦘ ꦻ◌ꦴ ꧍ ꧔
5
ꦆ ꦒ ꦣ ꧒ ꦺꦺ◌ꦴ ꧂ ꧕
6
ꦇ ꦓ ꦤ ◌ꦴ ◌ꦼ ꧖
7
ꦈ ꦔ ꦥ ◌ ◌ꦼꦴ ꧗
8
ꦈꦴ ꦕ ꦦ ◌ꦶ ◌ ꧘
9
ꦉ ꦖ ꦧ ◌ ꧊ ꧙
A
ꦉꦴ ꦗ ꦨ ◌꧀ ꧋
B
ꦊ ꦙ ꦩ ◌ ꧄
C
ꦋ ꦚ ꦪ ◌ ꧅
D
ꦌ ꦛ ꦫ ◌ꦴ ꧁
E
ꦍ ꦜ ꦭ ◌ ᭠
F
ꦎ ꦝ ꦮ ◌ ꧈

Note: Cells in light gray may be decomposable

9
8. Figures

Early ꧅ ꦗꦲ꧀ꦤꦷꦪꦲ꧀ꦤꦁꦠꦭꦒꦏꦢꦶꦭꦔꦶꦠ꧀꧈ꦩꦩꦧꦁꦠꦥꦵꦱ꧀ꦮꦸꦭꦤꦸꦥꦩꦤꦶꦏꦴ꧈

Transitionary ꧅ ꦗꦲ꧀ꦤꦷꦪꦲ꧀ꦤꦁꦠꦭꦒꦏꦢꦶꦭꦔꦶꦠ꧀꧈ꦩꦩꦧꦁꦠꦥꦵꦱ꧀ꦮꦸꦭꦤꦸꦥꦩꦤꦶꦏꦴ꧈

Late ꧅ ꦗꦲ꧀ꦤꦷꦪꦲ꧀ꦤꦁꦠꦭꦒꦏꦢꦶꦭꦔꦶꦠ꧀꧈ꦩꦩꦧꦁꦠꦥꦵꦱ꧀ꦮꦸꦭꦤꦸꦥꦩꦤꦶꦏꦴ꧈

Quadrate ꧅ ꦗꦲ꧀ꦤꦷꦪꦲ꧀ꦤꦁꦠꦭꦒꦏꦢꦶꦭꦔꦶꦠ꧀꧈ꦩꦩꦨꦁꦠꦥꦵꦱ꧀ꦮꦸꦭꦤꦸꦥꦩꦤꦶꦏꦴ꧈

Buda ꧅ ꦗꦲ꧀ꦤꦷꦪꦲ꧀ꦤꦁꦠꦭꦒꦏꦢꦶꦭꦔꦶꦠ꧀꧈ꦩꦩꦧꦁꦠꦥꦵꦱ꧀ꦮꦸꦭꦤꦸꦥꦩꦤꦶꦏꦴ꧈
figure 1. Several styles of Kawi rendered in digital fonts

figure 2. Samples of selected consonant letters and its form from samples throughout the ages

10
 COMPARISON of KAWI-JAVANESE-BALINESE

CONSONANTS
Kawi Javanese Balinese Kawi Javanese Balinese

KA ꦏ ꦏ ᬓ DHA ꦣ ꦣ ᬥ

KHA ꦑ ꦑ ᬔ NA ꦤ ꦤ ᬦ

GA ꦒ ꦒ ᬕ PA ꦥ ꦥ ᬧ

GHA ꦓ ꦓ ᬖ PHA ꦦ ꦦ ᬨ

NGA ꦔ ꦔ ᬗ BA ꦧ ꦧ ᬩ

CA ꦕ ꦕ ᬘ BHA ꦨ ꦨ ᬪ

CHA ꦖ ꦖ ᬙ MA ꦩ ꦩ ᬫ

JA ꦗ ꦗ ᬚ YA ꦪ ꦪ ᬬ

JHA ꦙ ꦙ ᬛ RA ꦫ ꦫ ᬭ

NYA ꦚ ꦚ ᬜ LA ꦭ ꦭ ᬮ

TTA ꦛ ꦛ ᬝ WA ꦮ ꦮ ᬯ

TTHA ꦜ ꦜ ᬞ SHA ꦯ ꦯ ᬰ

DDA ꦝ ꦝ ᬟ SSA ꦰ ꦰ ᬱ

DDHA ꦞ ꦞ ᬠ SA ꦱ ꦱ ᬲ

NNA ꦟ ꦟ ᬡ HA ꦲ ꦲ ᬳ

TA ꦠ ꦠ ᬢ

THA ꦡ ꦡ ᬣ

DA ꦢ ꦢ ᬤ

VOWELS
Kawi Javanese Balinese Kawi Javanese Balinese

A ꦄ ꦄ ᬅ AA ꦄꦴ ꦄꦴ ᬆ

I ꦆ ꦅ ᬇ II ꦇ ꦆ ᬈ

11
 U ꦈ ꦈ ᬉ UU ꦈꦴ ꦈꦴ ᬊ

VOC. R ꦉ ꦉ ᬋ VOC. RR ꦉꦴ ꦉꦴ ᬌ

VOC. L ꦊ ꦊ ᬍ VOC. LL ꦋ ꦋ ᬎ

E ꦌ ꦌ ᬏ AI ꦍ ꦍ ᬐ

O ꦎ ꦎ ᬑ AU ꦎꦴ ꦎꦴ ᬒ

VOWEL DIACRITICS
Kawi Javanese Balinese Kawi Javanese Balinese

- ꦏ ꦏ ᬓ AA ꦏꦴ ꦏꦴ ᬓᬵ

I ꦏꦶ ꦏꦶ ᬓᬶ II ꦏ ꦏꦷ ᬓᬷ

U ꦏ꧀ ꦏꦸ ᬓᬸ UU ꦏ ꦏꦹ ᬓᬹ

VOC. R ꦏ ꦏꦽ ᬓᬺ VOC. RR ꦏꦴ ꦏꦽꦴ ᬓᬻ

VOC. L ꦏ꧀ꦭꦼ ꦏꦭꦼ ᬓᬼ VOC. LL ꦏ꧀ꦭꦼꦴ ꦏꦭꦼꦴ ᬓᬼ ᬵ

E ꦺꦏ ꦏꦏ ᬓᬓ AI ꦻꦏ ꦏꦏ ᬓᬓ

O ꦺꦏꦴ ꦏꦏꦴ ᬓᬓᬵ AU ꦻꦏꦴ ꦏꦏꦴ ᬓᬓᬵ

AE ꦏꦼ ꦏꦼ ᬓᬼ EU ꦏꦼꦴ ꦏꦼꦴ ᬓᬽ

OTHER SIGNS
CANDRABINDU ANUSVARA VISARGA REPHA VIRAMA

Kawi ꦏ ꦏꦁ ꦏ ꦏ꧀ ꦏ

Javanese ꦏꦀ ꦏꦁ ꦏꦃ ꦏꦂ ꦏ꧀

Balinese ᬓᬁ ᬓᬂ ᬓᬄ ᬓᬃ ᬓ᭄
NUMERAL
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Kawi ꧆ ꧑ ꧒ ꧓ ꧔ ꧕ ꧖ ꧗ ꧘ ꧙

Javanese ꧐ ꧑ ꧒ ꧓ ꧔ ꧕ ꧖ ꧗ ꧘ ꧙

Balinese ᭐ ᭑ ᭒ ᭓ ᭔ ᭕ ᭖ ᭗ ᭘ ᭙

figure 3. Glyph comparison of Kawi, Javanese, and Balinese. Characters in grey cells are not encoded atomically in corresponding
Unicode block.

12
 figure 4. Example of early Kawi, Jurungan Inscription (798 śe/876 ce).

figure 5. Example of late Kawi, Paburuhan Inscription (14-15th ce).

figure 6. Example of quadrate Kawi, Pohsarang Inscription (934 śe/1012 ce). Note PUNCTUATION SPIRAL at the beginning and
end of text.

figure 7. Example of ‘Buda’ Kawi, Sang Hyang Raga Dewata Manuscript (Sri Baduga Museum collection no. 07.106).
Documentation by Ilham Nurwansah.

13
 ꦏꦑꦒꦓꦔꦕꦖꦗ

ꦙꦚꦛꦜꦝꦞꦟ

ꦠꦡꦢꦣꦤꦥꦦꦧꦨ

ꦩꦪꦫꦭꦮꦯꦰꦱꦲ

figure 8. Sumberwatu Gold Foil Inscription found in Sleman, Yogyakarta (now kept by BPCP DIY, item BG.911) contains the
complete 33 Kawi consonant set in the Brahmic order, written twice as a mantra.

ꦄꦄꦴ · ꦆꦇ · ꦈꦈꦴ · ꦉꦉꦴ · ꦊꦋ · ꦌꦍ · ꦎꦎꦴ · ꦄ ꦁꦄ · ꦏꦑꦒꦓꦔ · ꦕꦖꦗꦙꦚ · ꦛꦜꦝꦞꦟ · ꦠꦡꦢꦣꦤ ·

ꦥꦦꦧꦨꦩ · ꦪꦫꦭꦮ · ꦯꦰꦱꦲ

figure 9. Gold plate discovered in Desa Jeruk, Klaten region, Yogyakarta, in March 1888 contains a mantra made with the complete
Kawi sequence of independent vowel and consonant letters in the Brahmic order. Tracing was published in Tijdschrift voor Indische
Taal-Land- en Volkenkunde vol. 32 (1889), p 441. Notice that this abecedarium lists TTA, DDA, and DDHA but does not
differentiate their glyph.

14
figure 10. LETTER CHA in the word ‘chatradāna’ on panel 127 of Borobudur temple’s Karmawibhangga relief. The inscription was
photographed by H J Krom and its tracing was published in Verspreide Geschriften vol 7 (1917:155). The photograph used here is
taken from Inskripsi-inskripsi pada Relief Karmawibhangga di Candi Borobudur: Kajian Epigrafi (undergraduate thesis of Chaidir
Ashari, Universitas Indonesia, 2010).

ꦫꦘ ꦄ ꦗ ꧀ꦚ
figure 11. The word ‘rajña’ with LETTER JNYA in Mpu Mada inscription (1214 śe/1351 ce). Compare with the word ‘ajñā’ in Air
Tabar inscription (905 śe/983 ce) which uses conjunct NYA instead.

ꦫꦗ ·‍ꦕꦪ꧀꧀ꦪ ·‍ꦈ ꦒ꧀ꦫ

figure 12. Three forms of LETTER RA (base glyph in ‘rajā’, repha in ‘carya’, and conjunct in ‘ugra’) in Paburuhan inscription.

ꦫ ꦏ꧀ꦫꦾꦤ ꦆꦤ꧀ꦢꦥ꧀ꦫ ꦩꦱ꧀ꦮꦒ

ꦁ ꦗ ꧀꧀ꦗ ꦠꦩ꧀ꦧꦶ ꦭ(ꦔꦤ )
ꦿ
figure 13. Examples of consonant cluster in various inscription. From left to right: ‘rakryan’ in Jurungan Inscription, ‘Indrapura’ in
Air Tabar B Inscription, ‘mpwaŋgarja’ in Patapan II Inscription, and ‘tambli(ngan)’ in Tamblingan II Inscription.

15
 Base gyph
pa ṅa ṭa

+VOWEL SIGN AA x x
ṭā

+VOWEL SIGN
ALTERNATE AA
pā ṅā ṭā

figure 14. Contrasting use of VOWEL SIGN AA and ALTERNATE AA in Air Tabar B inscription to disambiguate certain letter
combinations. Notice how the sign has two alternate shapes in LETTER NGA.

ꦺꦧ‍ꦴꦢ꧀ꦣꦶ ꦺꦧ ꦢ꧀ꦣꦶ
figure 15. VOWEL SIGN AA and DISAMBIGUATING AA in the same word ‘boddhi’ on two inscriptions with different style and
medium. Left: Paburuhan inscription. Right: Pohsarang inscription.

ꦺꦺꦮ ꦺꦺꦢ꧀ꦮ
figure 16. VOWEL SIGN ALTERNATE AI and AU sign in Amoghapasa statue inscription (1208 śe/1286 ce).

꧅꧆꧅꧂ ꧍꧇꧍꧇꧂
figure 17. PUNCTUATION CLOSING SPIRAL used at the end of text of two inscriptions, but with different set of preceding
punctuations. Left: Patapan II inscription (1340 śe/1418 AD). Right: Gandhakuti inscription (964 śe/1042 AD).

꧉꧍꧉꧍꧉꧁꧁꧉꧂
figure 18. Closing punctuation in Sobhāmṛta inscription (Majapahit era copy of a charter from 861 śe/939 ce). This closing
punctuation is composed of PUNCTUATION DOUBLE DOT, SPIRAL, and FLOWER with space-filling decorative waves at the end
which can be interpreted as PUNCTUATION CLOSING SPIRAL.

16
 ꧄꧆꧄

꧅꧇꧅

꧅꧊
figure 19. The Mpu Mada inscription shows how a set of Kawi punctuations can be arranged in several ways in different sections of
the same text, indicating hierarchal use.

꧁ · ꧁꧍꧁ · ꧁꧍꧁꧂‍ꦏꦩ‍꧁꧍꧁꧂
figure 20. Punctuation in Amoghapasa statue inscription. Break in text are indicated with PUNCTUATION FLOWER or the sequence
FLOWER – SPIRAL – FLOWER. The very end of the text closes with a pair of FLOWER – SPIRAL – FLOWER – CLOSING SPIRAL
sequence enclosing the word ‘(su)kṣma’.

17
 ꧊ · ꧋꧁꧋ · ꧋꧆꧋
figure 21. Surawasa I inscription (1296 śe/1374 ce). Break in text are indicated with PUNCTUATION DANDA as well as
combinations of DOUBLE DANDA, FLOWER, and CIRCLE.

figure 22. KAWI PUNCTUATION SPACE FILLER in several inscriptions. From left to right: Sobhāmṛta, Tuhanyaru, Kakurungan, and
Kamban inscription. Note that SPACE FILLER faces to the right-hand side in some inscription like Tuhanyaru.

majayan kukulan paṅawal

ꦤ꧀ n
ꦤ꧀ n
ꦭ꧀ l

wa

ꦪ ya ꦭ la ꦮ

ꦗ ja ꦏꦸ ku ꦔ ṅa

ꦩ ma ꦏꦸ ku ꦥ pa

figure 23. Bronze artefacts with vertical Kawi inscription. Left: slit drum from Galuh, West Java (LEID UL collection no. P-023964).
Center: slit drum (MMA collection no. 1987.142.31). Right: mirror handle (LEID UL collection no. OD 13250)

18
 figure 24. An example of modern Kawi use, “Introduction to Kawi Script and its Implementation in Digital Environment” event
hosted by Segajabung Community in Yogyakarta. The title of the event is in Bahasa Indonesia, rendered in digital Kawi font which
appropriated Javanese Unicode points.

19
References

Casparis, J. G. de. (1975) Indonesian Palaeography: A History of Writing in Indonesia from the Beginnings to c. A.D.
1500. Leiden: Brill.

Griffiths, Arlo. (2012). “Inscriptions of Sumatra, II. Short Epigraphs in Old Javanese.” Wacana: Journal of the
Humanities of Indonesia. Vol. 14 issue 2. pp: 197–214.

Griffiths, Arlo; Scheurleer, Pauline Lunsingh (2014) "Ancient Indonesian Ritual Utensils and Their Inscriptions: Bells
and Slitdrums." Arts Asiatiques. Vol. 69. pp: 129–50. Accessed July 9, 2020. www.jstor.org/stable/43486646.

Holle, K. F. 1882. Tabel van Oud- en Nieuw- Indische Alphabetten. Bijdrage tot de palaeographie van Nederlandsch-
Indië. Batavia: W. Bruining & Co.; ’s Hage: M. Nijhoff

Hunter, Thomas M Hunter Jr. (1996). "Ancient Beginnings: The Spread of Indic Scripts". In Ann Kumar; John H.
McGlynn. Illuminations: The Writing Traditions of Indonesia. Jakarta: Lontar Foundation. ISBN 0834803496.

Surti Nastiti, Titi. (2017) The Development of Kwadrat Script in Central Java, East Java and Bali: Paleography Analysis.
Forum Arkeologi. Vol. 29 issue 3. pp: 175–188.

List of Inscriptions

Collection/
Object aka Ref. number Place of origin Date
Documentation
Air Tabar B Inscription Air Tabar LEID UL OD 3868-3874 Bali 905 śe/983 ce
Amoghapasa Statue LEID UL OD 3780 Padangroco, West 1208 śe/1286 ce
Sumatra
Borobudur’s (preserved in situ) p. 155 Candi Borobudur, ±850 ce
Karmawibhangga VG7 Magelang,
Relief Panel 127 Central Java
Bronze Mirror Handle LEID UL OD 13250
Bronze Slit Drum LEID UL P 023964 Galuh, West Java 1151 śe/1229 ce
Bronze Slit Drum MMA 1987.142.31 13 ~ 14th ce
Gold Plate LEID UL Kern GD 02 137
Desa Jeruk Gold Plate TVIT32 p. 441
Gandhakuti Inscription LEID UL KERN E23a-E23d Sidoarjo, East Java 64 śe/1042 ce
Jurungan Inscription Polengan III LEID UL OD 13695-13700 Karanganyar, 798 śe/876 ce
Central Java
Kakurungan Majapahit I LEID UL KERN E22a-E22e Mojokerto, East 945 śe/1023 ce
Inscription Java
Kamban Inscription Pelem LEID UL KERN E21a-E21c Mojokerto, East 863 śe/941 ce
Java
Joko Dolog Statue (now in Taman Trowulan, East
Apsari, Surabaya) Java
JDS
Mantyasih I Inscription LEID UL OD 18736-18737 Magelang, 829 śe/907ce
Central Java
Mantyasih Statue from AA68 p. 287-332 1265 śe/1343 ce
Candi Jago
Mpu Mada Inscription Singhasari LEID UL OD 741a Candi Singhasari, 1214 śe/1351 ce
Malang, East Java
Paburuhan Inscription BL Ind Ch 57 10 ~ 15th ce
Pakis Wetan LEID UL OD 2155 Trowulan, East 1188 śe/1266 ce
Inscription Java
Pamintihan Inscription LEID UL OD 6376 Bojonegoro, East 1385 śe/1463 ce
Java
Patapan II Inscription Surabaya XI LEID UL KERN E29 Surabaya, East 1340 śe/1418 ce
Java
Pohsarang Inscription Luçem (preserved in situ) Kediri, East Java 934 śe/1012 ce
Ra Mwi Inscription Ngabean VI LEID UL KERN E10 Magelang, 804 śe/882 ce
Central Java

20
 Sang Hyang Raga Sri Baduga 07.106 West Java
Dewata Gebang MS Museum,
Bandung
Singhasari Inscription LEID UL OD 740 Candi Singhasari,
Malang, East Java
Sobhāmṛta Inscription BL MSS Jav 106 Sidoarjo, East Java Majapahit copy of
a charter from
861 śe/939 ce
Sukamerta Inscription LEID UL OD 14330 Mojokerto, East 1218 śe/1296 ce
Java
Sumberwatu Gold Foil BPCB DIY BG.911 Sleman, 9 ~ 10th ce
Inscription Yogyakarta
Surawasa I Inscription Suroaso I LEID UL OD 1647 Suroaso, 1296 śe/1374 ce
Pagaruyung, West
Sumatra
Taji Inscription Ponorogo II LEID UL KERN E12a-E12d Ponorogo, East 823 śe/901 ce
Java
Tamblingan II Pura Batur, Desa Oorkonde A Buleleng, Bali
Inscription Gobleg, Buleleng,
Bali
Tamblingan III LEID UL OD 5496 Buleleng, Bali 1320 śe/1398 ce
Inscrption
Tuhanyaru Inscription Sidoteko/ LEID UL KERN E25a-E25k Mojokerto, East 1245 śe/1323 ce
Sidateka Java
Wukiran Inscription Pereng LEID UL P-024084 Yogyakarta 785 śe/863 ce

AA68 : Artibus Asiae vol 68 no 2 (2008)

BL : British Library
BPCB DIY : Balai Pelestarian Cagar Budaya Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta (Cultural Heritage Conservation Office of Yogyakarta)
LEID UL : Leiden University Library (photography collection)
MMA : Metropolitan Museum of Art
TVIT32 : Tijdschrift voor Indische Taal-Land- en Volkenkunde vol. 32 (1889)
VG7 : Verspreide Geschriften vol 7 (1917)

21