The Journal

Notes on a living script

Aksara Bali, explained plainly — its history, its risk of disappearing, and what it means to have a name written in it by hand.

What Is Aksara Bali? A Guide to Bali's Sacred Script

Where Aksara Bali comes from, why fewer than one in ten Balinese can still write it, and what separates a font from a script written by hand.

How to Write a Name in Aksara Bali (and Why the Hand Matters)

Aksara Bali Tattoos: What the Symbols Actually Mean

Inside a Balinese Wedding Scroll: The House of Union