SAVARALEEPI

     He created such a new pulsation among the Soura people of the Gunupur region that his fellowmen regarded him as an angel who had come to save a declining primitive society. It is true that he is no more today, but by following his teachings, many Souras became educated and gave up the slaughtering of animals and the drinking of country liquor in order to build a healthy society and environment.

The creator of the Sora script, Mangai Gomango, was not a linguist. Born into an ordinary Soura family, he left such an invaluable asset to his community that he shall be remembered for all time to come. Although there are some errors in this script, when viewed from the perspective of phonetic theory, it is not entirely unscientific. According to the linguist Dr. Khageswar Mahapatra, “It is not only a script but also a symbol of the spiritual, social, and cultural awakening of the Soura community as a whole.” None but Mangai deserves all the credit for this achievement.

S. P. Mangai Gomango gave the following statement regarding the origin of the script:

The Savara people used to worship ‘Daru Brahma’ (the Wooden Form of God). But when Lalita, the Savara princess, fell in love with a Brahmin and revealed to him the secrets of this worship, the Brahmin won over the Lord. The Lord vanished and no longer responded to the prayers of the Savara people.

Then the Savaras said, “Wonderful! You do not listen to me, nor do you respond to me. But you listen to the Brahmin, who is an outsider. Alright, I say, from today I will offer you only blood and liquor. When you come back to us again and teach us to become wise and good, we will worship you then with due sanctity.”

The Savara people took such a resolution, and since then they began sacrificing cocks, goats, buffaloes, and, according to tradition, even human beings during certain rituals. They worshipped and paid obeisance, and then poured blood and liquor upon the deity.

However, after many days, at the end of the Kali Yuga, the Lord came back and said:

“Now I have come to you, not as Daru Brahma, but as ‘Akshara Brahma’—the Alphabetic Form of God. Worship me in this form. I will be visible on the Matter Banom Vijyana Hills.”

The Savara then went there and saw the twenty-four letters appearing in his vision. A shrine was subsequently built on that site, and from that day onwards, the worship of ‘Akshara Brahma’ commenced.

Mangai thus spiritualised his invention of the Sora script and established a new religious order designated as ‘Mattar Banom Dmreen’—a religion that opens the eyes and makes people good and wise. His script, symbolising the Akshara Brahma, is enshrined on a hill near Marichaguda, about 20 kilometres from the nearest town of Gunupur.

The image is in the shape of ‘OM’ in the Odia character, having the 24 letters, 9 numerals, and a crest inscribed on it. During the past forty years, Mangai proselytised a considerable number of his tribesmen and established sub-centres throughout the Sora-speaking tracts of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.

In many villages, regular evening schools have been established to make people literate in the script. Particularly in the areas around Padampur, Gunupur, and the villages surrounding Marichaguda and Dombasara, literacy has spread to a recognizable extent. The script is, in fact, being used for intra-community communication and literary activities.