Dhives akuru 𑤞𑤱𑤩𑤵𑤭𑤱 𑤀𑤌𑤳𑤧𑤳
The script name in modern typeface
Script type	Abugida
Period	9th-10th centuries CE (earliest attestation) to 1927[1]
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 script Tigalari script Thirke Saurashtra script
ISO 15924
ISO 15924	Diak(342), ​Dives Akuru
Unicode
Unicode alias	Dives Akuru
Unicode range	U+11900–U+1195FDives Akuru
This article containsphonetic transcriptions in theInternational Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, seeHelp:IPA. For the distinction between[ ],/ / and ⟨ ⟩, seeIPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters.

This article containsIndic text. Without properrendering support, you may seequestion marks or boxes, misplaced vowels or missing conjuncts instead of Indic text.

This articleneeds attention from an expert in Maldives. See thetalk page for details.WikiProject Maldives may be able to help recruit an expert.(July 2012)

Dhives Akuru, later calledDhivehi Akuru (meaning Maldivian letters) is a script formerly used for theMaldivian language. The name can be alternatively spelledDives Akuru orDivehi Akuru using theISO 15919 Romanization scheme, as the "d" is unaspirated.

Dhives Akuru developed fromBrahmi. 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.^[2] 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 asSinhala,Grantha andVatteluttu. There are also some elements from theKannada-Telugu scripts visible.^[3][2] The form of this script attested inloamaafaanu (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")^{[2]: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 otherBrahmic scripts, Dhives Akuru descended ultimately from theBrahmi script and thus was written from left to right.

Dhives Akuru was still used in some southern atolls along withThaana 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.^[4] 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 ancientFriday mosque in Malé. Bell obtained an astrology book written in Dhives Akuru inAddu Atoll, in the south of the Maldives, during one of his trips. This book is now kept in theNational Archives of Sri Lanka in Colombo.

Bodufenvalhuge Sidi, an eminent Maldivian scholar, wrote a book calledDivehi Akuru in 1959, prompted by then Prime MinisterIbrahim Nasir.^[5]

Below are the Grantha derived Akuru letters.

A few consonants can be marked as nasalised by prefixing the diacritic⟨𑤿⟩.

Some additional consonants are transcribed by adding a nuqta⟨𑥃⟩ to certain letters.

The numeral signs in Dhives Akuru are the basis of nine of the letters used inThaana, the modern Maldivian alphabet.

The Dhives Akuru script was added toUnicode version 13.0 in March 2020, with 72 characters located in the Dives Akuru block (U+11900–U+1195F):^[6]

• 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.

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

• Maldivian scripts
• Obsolete writing systems
• 6th-century introductions
• Writing systems introduced in the 1st millennium

• CS1 Divehi-language sources (dv)
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Scripts with ISO 15924 four-letter codes
• Pages with plain IPA
• Articles needing expert attention from July 2012
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