An example search has returned 100 entries
ahlaujai
v.n. go up
bookmarkarijai
v.n. to go ashore, to go from sea, to arise or overflow, as sea over land.
bookmarkataka
v.n. sail without making headway
bookmarkdapanan ja jai et lok sto em̃ikope stoi lok
igcase
n. a place down, or westward
bookmarkincei u nasuantan
n. herb to 1 m, flowers blue. In transitional zone from pine forest to ’primary’ forest. (collection: Michael J. Balick #4982)
Example: This is used to treat Ciguatera disease when a person eats fish that is contaminated. Squeeze juice from a handful of leaves of this herb into a cup, add a small amount of water, and drink 1 cup once a day for 3 days, or continue until the person feels better. This illness is a problem on Aneityum with the reef fish. It is better to eat fish that are farther out to sea. This treatment is also used for dogs who eat contaminated fish. Make the same preparation and forcibly pour this in their mouth as they will not drink it willingly. Do this treatment once daily until the dog feels better. The dogs get this illness because they are fed the scraps, especially the bones of the fish, and this is thought to be where the disease is found. This is considered to be a dangerous illness and dogs who get it frequently die.
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inhetelga
n. a runner, the fruit of which is round like a cake
bookmarkinjupjupura
n. night; quite dark
bookmarkinlepei u inpoded atamaiñ
inmadeded
n. kind of tree
bookmarkinmadidi
inmaefata
n. kind of breadfruit
bookmarkintapin
n. a hedge; a shelter
bookmarkintelopse
n. kind of plant, grass, or fern
bookmarkinteri amu
n. kind of taro
bookmarkintidin
n. a crop, but not the first ripe
bookmarkintiklan cai
n. tops of branches
bookmarkintisiaicai
n. kind of flower or flowers (see def. for "elwa")
bookmarkinwoapeñ
inwoudec
n. liana climbing on large Dillenia tree, growing in primary forest at edge of river. flower white. (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3677)
Example: If a person is building a temporary house and has no other way of attaching the poles, collect the vine of this species, roll it a bit to break the fiber, heat it in a figure 8 form and then use for tying poles while warm.
bookmarkinyac
n. kind of plant, grass, or fern
bookmarkinyehec
n. mandrake
bookmarkinyihev
n. kind of tree
bookmarkkaliteg
karadakoal
n. a native pudding made of taro, coconut milk, etc.
bookmarkkatupinmi
n. kind of taro
bookmarkmasoa
n. herb to 1 m, fruits green (collection: Michael J. Balick #4915)
Example: This plant was said to have been brought in by the early missionaries, used to starch their clothes and grown as a crop for export to England. Used as a food crop as well, the root is mashed, dried in the sun and kept until needed. To process, put the roots in a bowl, add water and soak for 1 day and night, pour off the water and keep the starch. Prepare this food like lap-lap that is cooked on a fire in a pan.
bookmarkm̃orom̃ora
[ŋmoroŋmora] n. ants
bookmarknadiat meto
n. the middle of the forenoon
bookmarknadine
n. kind of plant, grass, or fern
bookmarknahaigjopdak
n. kind of plant, grass, or fern
bookmarknahcai milmat
naho
n. a plant, the fruit of which is prepared like arrowroot, and used as a food for sick people
bookmarknaijema
n. flax
bookmarknakoaha
n. kind of taro
bookmarknalgaij
n. kind of sugarcane; also "inhelegaij"
bookmarknamaunirij
n. herb to 30 cm, fruits green. (collection: Michael J. Balick #4934)
Example: Take the leaves, squeeze out the juice in a cup of water, drink 3x daily for 3 days to treat dengue fever--use one handful of leaves in a cup of water and drink cool. The fruits are edible. Peel the outer part off and eat like a tomato.
bookmarknamlau
nam̃caca
n. vine climbing in understory, growing in rainforest along river. (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #4057)
Example: 1. This plant is named in relation to a winged fish. The leaves are rough and resemble the body the fish. 2. The leaves of this plant are used to wrap grated taro or manioc. After it is fastened with rope and boiled or baked.
bookmarknapijelcau
n. kind of banana
bookmarknapojev
n. sparsely branched tree, growing in open (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3477)
Example: The leaves of this plant are used in cooking, particuarly with the earth oven. Use a fire to heat stones, then when the fire burns down and the stones are hot, pile these leaves on top of the hot stones and then place the food being cooked--taro, fish, pig, cassava, banana or other foods--on top of the leaves. Then pile more of these leaves on top of the food and then place additional hot stones on top of that pile of leaves. While the food is cooking--each type of food takes a different amount of time--the leaves give off a very nice smell and help flavor the food.
bookmarknap̃ojev
n. well branched tree, 14 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3651)
Example: Poles made from this plant are used for house rafters and burned for firewood. To plant taro in a swampy area, collect the leaves of this species and put them in the hole where the taro is to be planted, mix with a bit of soil and then plant the taro on top of that. Leaves are a type of fertilizer. Used when baking with the earth oven. Hot stones cover the food and then the leaves from this plant cover the stones. The leaves stay on the branch.
bookmarknareram
n. kind of banana
bookmarknarijo
natimihas
n. terrestrial fern, growing in dense rainforest. (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #4095)
Example: 1. The name means "cranky person". If someone fastens this plant around his head as a deocrative lei, it means that this person is not happy. He does not want to talk or communicate with anybody. The use is no longer common, and now many people do not know the signficance.
bookmarknauram aged
n. kind of banana
bookmarknawa
n. shrub. Village pathways. ornamental. (collection: Ashley A McGuigan #7)
Example: 1. Heat the leaves then place on the sore muscle. 2. Edible plant, cook young leaves until soft and then can eat, as a vegetable or soup, with any food. 3. Same use as AAM 3 to heat and put on body to heal pain. 4. On a reef when it is time to protect the reef to conserve it and bring more fish, you take this plant and put it in the hole in the reef – cut stem and put it in reef in several parts. People will know it is under protection and respect it.
bookmarknecñopod
nejomti
nejoplec
nelehel
n. a light wind
bookmarknelmaha
n. tree. Growing near village. (collection: Ashley A McGuigan #21)
Example: 1. To cure spirit sickness of the niteitau. Use plants that also end with "au" : niditau, intoutau, naoyerop. Go to the top of the plant to get the soft leaves of the plants niditau, intoutau, naoyerop, also take the bark. The person making the medicine should be holding the these leaves with a piece of nelmaha. Nelmaha means go away. The sick person chews the leaves and bark and swallows the juice spitting out the fiber into the nelmaha the medicine maker is holding. The medicine person then takes the spit out fiber in the nalmaha leaf and throws it into the sea in front of the village. 2. To cure headaches casued by bad spirit - Take one top from Nelmaha and one from inrowod (white stripe variety) Combine and chew these then spit them out and apply to the sick persons forehead. 3. To cure headaches - Someone other than the woman must prepare this. Break the top branch of netethae and remove leaves for use. Combine with the top leaves of the top branch of nelmaha. Chew the leaves and drink the juice. Do this when the sun is setting on the horizon. The woman gives the leftover fibers to the person who prepared the medicine and that person goes and throws the fibers in the direction of the setting sun. 4. To cure toothache when pregnant - Take the inner bark from Intejed and boil it in a pot of seawater (about 1 liter) along with 2 leaves from each of inpounatmas, narayag, nahayag, and nelmaha. Boil until juice is visibly leaving the plants. Put this water into your mouth and hold it there for 2-3 minutes. Do this this with one cup in the morning, 1 cup in the afternoon, and 1 cup in the evening. 5. Used to fight against black magic in an unspecified way. 6. Roll leaf and put in pocket for protection when walk in a new area. 7. Message plant if a land dispute – if a person puts this stem or leaf in another’s garden whom they are angry with it means go away!! 8. To treat sick people, especially who fall ill from black magic to save their life. Symptoms vary, for example a person with small boils over body,* a person chews the leaf and spits it on the sick person, 1x and then puts the branch with leaves near the sick person when they sleep – 3x (1x day) branch is ca. 25cm long. (*headache, severe)
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nenis
n. cloth of coconut tree; anything useless. Ek idivaig nenis ainyak, I am quite useless
bookmarkneta
n. cane (sugar)
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nidel
n. a meteor; also "nidil"
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nimhag
n. branch (large)
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nimtinjap
n. wind
bookmarknimtinjap par alau
n. wind-related term; no definition provided
bookmarknipjid acen
n. citron; lemon; lime tree
bookmarknipyipei
n. kind of plant, grass, or fern
bookmarknisalau
n. blossoms on breadfruit
bookmarknitsichäi
n. Hornstedtia sp.
Example: Subterranean part: cold maceration, taken internally against "cancer", diabetes, or as tonic
bookmarknopou
n. tree to 5 m, dbh 10 cm (collection: Michael J. Balick #4881)
Example: The wood of this tree is used to make house-posts, it is strong. The leaves are used as a compost for the taro patch; line the hole with the leaves of this tree, then place soil over that and plant the taro. When the fruits are ripe, local people say that the hermit crabs are "fat" and ready to collect and eat. When a person is in the forest and there is no coconut fruit fiber to start a fire with, use a dry stick, shave it and use a match to start a pile of this tinder to make a good fire. The wood is said to be "oily." This gives it a nice aroma. To perfume coconut oil, drop the dry flowers in it--use 1 handful of dried flowers added to a pot of oil boiling on the fire while making it. Strain out flowers and the oil smells good. Flowers can also be added to the oil once it is bottled to perfume it.
bookmarknälmaha
n. unidentified species
Example: Fresh leaves: special Kastom ceremony used to treat severe abdominal pain during pregnancy
bookmarktarere
adv. near; inshore; near the shore
bookmarktatau
n. Blackfin barracuda
Example: Photo by Jan Messersmith, License: CC BY-SA 3.0 via Fishes of Australia
bookmarkupreupre
n. tough; a kind of coral
bookmarkwaleh
n. a sweet potato
bookmarkThere are currently 2431 entries, 1543 audio files, and 860 images.
All content copyright © Aneityum community. (2015)
Talking Dictionary produced by K. David Harrison, Gregory D. S. Anderson and Jeremy Fahringer. Botanical consultants: Michael J. Balick, Gregory M. Plunkett and Sean Thackurdeen. (2015-2018)
Aneityum language contributors include Kirk Keitadi, Tony Keith, Titiya Lalep, David Nasauman, Osiani Nerian, Ruben Nerian, Chris Nevehev, Romario Yaufati and others as credited within the dictionary entries. Based in part on materials from Inglis, John (1882) A Dictionary of the Aneityumese Language: In Two Parts. I. Aneityumese and English. II. English.
The Aneityum-English Talking Dictionary was made possible by award no. 1555675 from National Science Foundation for “Collaborative Research: Plant, Fungal and Linguistic Diversity of Tafea Province, Vanuatu.” This support is gratefully acknowledged.
Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
All rights reserved. Do not distribute or reproduce without permission.
how to cite:
K. David Harrison. 2015.
Aneityum Talking Dictionary.
Swarthmore College.
http://www.talkingdictionary.org/aneityum
Interface and database design under the direction of Jeremy Fahringer and Swarthmore College ITS.
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