sewi

sewi is a core content word, used as a direction word, relating to something physically elevated, and figuratively, to the sacred and divine.

sewi
Pronunciation	/ˈse.wi/
Usage	2023: Core (99% ↘︎ )2022: Core (100%)
Book and era	nimi pu
Part of speech	Content word
Codepoint	󱥚 U+F195A

Etymology

The word sewi is derived from Georgian ზევით (zevit), meaning "upwards".

Semantic space

The semantic space of sewi, when used as a direction word, includes upwards and things physically elevated. It is sometimes used to refer to north as upwards is the conventional direction as shown in most maps, however, lete is more commonly used.

When used figuratively, its semantic space includes divinity and sacredness. It is used as a headnoun for gods, such as sewi Ila for Allah, as well as jan sewi for anthropomorphic gods, however, this can also mean "devoted person", such as a practitioner or a religious leader.

pu

In the "Official Toki Pona Dictionary" section, the book Toki Pona: The Language of Good defines sewi as:

NOUN  area above, highest part, something elevated
ADJECTIVE  awe-inspiring, divine, sacred, supernatural

ku

For Toki Pona Dictionary, respondents in ma pona pi toki pona translated these English words as sewi:

divine⁵81–100% of respondents, upper⁵81–100% of respondents, sacred⁴61–80% of respondents, top⁴61–80% of respondents, holy⁴61–80% of respondents, sky⁴61–80% of respondents, elevated⁴61–80% of respondents, high³41–60% of respondents, spiritual³41–60% of respondents, raise³41–60% of respondents, supreme³41–60% of respondents, highly³41–60% of respondents, peak³41–60% of respondents, God²21–40% of respondents, rise²21–40% of respondents, above²21–40% of respondents, superior²21–40% of respondents, magical²21–40% of respondents, summit²21–40% of respondents, weather²21–40% of respondents, upstairs²21–40% of respondents, religious²21–40% of respondents, arise²21–40% of respondents

sitelen pona

Arabic word for "Allah"

Secular version of sewi as shown in the Esperanto translation of pu

The sitelen pona glyph for sewi (󱥚) is derived from the Arabic word الله (Allāh), meaning "God". There is an alternative, secular version of sewi similar to other glyphs for location words, published in the Esperanto translation of the book Toki Pona: The Language of Good. This version was first proposed by ilo Enke in 2021.^{[citation needed…]}This claim needs references to reliable sources:
fact-checking

Some Muslims reject the original glyph in pu in favor of the secular form, as Allah is considered a sacred name, to which Muslims are supposed to show reverence. There are several alternate glyphs for sewi, both religious (derived from religious symbols) and secular.

Further reading

• "sewi" on lipu Linku
• "sewi" on lipu Wikipesija
• "sewi" on English Wiktionary