Avoiuli

Avoiuli (from Raga avoi "talk about" and uli "draw" or "paint") is a writing system used by the Turaga indigenous movement on Pentecost Island in Vanuatu. It was devised by Chief Viraleo Boborenvanua over a 14-year period, based on designs found in traditional sand drawings, and intended as a native alternative to the Western alphabet. It is used mainly for writing in the area's native Raga language, although it can also be used for other languages including Apma, Bislama and English.

The Avoiuli alphabet comprises characters equivalent to the letters A-Z, decimal numerals and other symbols. Although in some respects it is a relatively straightforward imitation of the Latin alphabet, it has a few distinctive features. Like the sand drawings on which it is based, Avoiuli words are designed to be formed in a single stroke, and can be written either left-to-right or right-to-left (the symmetry of most characters makes the script easy to read in either direction).

Scholars learn to write in Avoiuli at Turaga's traditional school at Lavatmanggemu in north-eastern Pentecost, paying substantial school fees for the privilege. Avoiuli is also used in record-keeping by the Tangbunia indigenous bank.