Overview
Endukaliso is the source of the Ovim runes (named after the first four letters), which were used for writing it and neighboring languages before the adoption of the Omlirt alphabet. They were generally carved into stone, bone, or horn. If carved into wood, the horizontal lines were often drawn on a slant. Some runes were also borrowed by several languages to represent sounds missing from the Omlirt alphabet.
Aside from being used to spell words, each letter also had multiple meanings, based on its origin, association, and symbolic meanings, used interchangeably in inscriptions. There are copious examples in museums, including signposts, monuments, everyday writings, and as decoration on jewelry, weapons, combs, and other items. Runes could be written in any direction, mirrored, or inverted, especially in charms, spells, and prayers.
Each rune has a traditional name, however in daughter languages the name may not start with the associated letter.
The order of the Ovim runes are known from a variety of rune poems, some collected by early linguist Karakkil. Rune poems are alphabetical listings of some or all of the runes with a stanza for each letter describing one or more meaning. These were used as mnemonic devices as well as being a poetic exercise. Modern depictions of the runes are generally based on Karakkil's record of the runes and their meanings, part of which is shown below.
Ovim Runes
The vowel /a/ is considered the default and is not written unless long, in a diphthong, or starting or ending a word.
Meanings and sounds
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| transliteration | o | v | i | m | f |
| phonemes | o | v / ð | ɨ | m / n / ŋ | f / θ |
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| transliteration | r | w | d | s | a |
| phonemes | ɾ / r | w / u | d | s / ts / z | a |
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| transliteration | k | b | j | ʀ | h |
| phonemes | k | b | j / i | ⱱ ʀ | h |
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