An example search has returned 100 entries
-ko
affix yonder; away from
bookmarkehpai
v. to peel off bark
bookmarkereinmerei
n. the clear part of the moon when first seen
bookmarketuko, cai
v. to split wood
bookmarkgirigiri
n. coconut basket
bookmarkgras
han
v.n. to go
bookmarkimjav
adj. soft, over-ripe, as breadfruit.
bookmarkincauaij aho
n. kind of tree
bookmarkincipiñti
indawoc
indijinecei
n. Whitespotted surgeonfish, southern dialect
Example: Photo by Jeffrey T. Williams / Smithsonian Institution, License: CC BY-SA 3.0 via Fishes of Australia
bookmarkingejei wou
n. tree, 4 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3647)
Example: 1. The straight poles of this plant are sharpened and used to plant kava, and only for kava. Not used for planting other crops. 2. Special for catching eels in fresh water, poke stick with leaves into hole where eel lives and they don’t like it so they come out and you catch them, by cutting with knife.
bookmarkinhakli kwori
inlop̃ot
inmac
inmadedi
n. Tabernaemontana padacaqui
Example: leaf used for for wounds; cold maceration taken internally against "skin cancer" (severe wounds?). Stalk, chewed, influences sex of an embryo in favor of a girl.
bookmarkinmauwad
n. a convolvulus
bookmarkinmauwad ahi
n. a convolvulus with white flowers; also "inmauwad picad"
bookmarkinmoijeuv adpoig
intelopse
n. kind of plant, grass, or fern
bookmarkintesyaniau
n. grass to 3 m, flowers brown. Growing in degraded secondary forest along trail. (collection: Michael J. Balick #4969)
Example: The stem of this plant is used to make walls of houses. Collect the stem and remove the leaves, and then take one of the bush vines (any of them) and tie the stems into bundles for making house walls or fences for chicken pens. Children make a whistle from a hollow piece of stem from this plant.
bookmarkinwah
n. food or seed of all sorts; the juice of any plant
bookmarkinya
n. large tree, 16 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3222)
Example: 1. As a child’s game, some times children put the segments of the needles together to see who can make the largest one. 2. A "calendar plant"--when the needles are brown, it is an indication that people should not work hard, but should rest or they will not feel well. If they try to work they will feel sleepy--an indication of the season of higher heat. 3. Wood is used as firewood. 4. Firewood, inner bark good for ciguatera poisoning, scratch the inner bark and squeeze juice into a cup of water and give to the sick person to drink – very effective. Use the largest most mature part of the stem.
bookmarkinyipei
n. the flour, as of arrowroot
bookmarkisgeig pan
adj. adjacent
bookmarkkidie ~ kithi
n. shrub, 1. 5 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3205)
Example: 1. Plant this tree at each of the four corners of a fence to keep your pigs in and protect against a type of bad luck. If a man sleeps with his wife who is having her period, and then the man goes to see the pig, the pig will suffer and not grow strong and not have many piglets. So the presence of this plant controls against bad luck that others can bring to your pig farm. 2. This is an ornamental plant grown around the home. Sticks of this plant are planted around the outside of the garden and grow to create a fence, to protect the crops and keep them healthy, as well as protect the crops from people that are not cleansed in the ritual way. 3. This species is also planted around the house to add color and is very decorative in general. 4. For fertilizer in taro holes for water taro. For baly(?) taro and water taro, lay these flat on the surface of the charcoal, then lay the food – taro, cassava – on this and cover with another layer, add hot stones and cook. 4. Pig food, goat food.
bookmarkna elmai
n. cloth (related to nelmai)
bookmarknaha
n. a thistle
bookmarknahca
n. a burden of pandanus leaf
bookmarknahraren nepig
n. dawn of day
bookmarknahtau
n. kind of sugarcane
bookmarknamlau
n. tree to 15 m tall, dbh 40 com (collection: Michael J. Balick #4857)
Example: The wood of this tree is good for carving. The fibers go in one direction so it is easier to carve, for example, to make a kava bowl. In general, this is the species used to make kava bowls. If your kava is not strong, then making it in this bowl will make it stronger. The kind of bowl made from this tree has a handle on each side of the bowl and it is held with 2 hands. The place name Anumwmamlau is named after this tree. There are said to be two types of this tree--one with all green leaves (this specimen) and one with white and green leaves. If a person is going to a Tabu place and is concerned about spirits, they should take a handful of these leaves and wash the body all over with it--take a swim (bath) with it. Then the person can go to the Tabu place without risk. There are other unspecified spiritual uses of this tree.
bookmarknanad cop̃ou
n. small shrub, 0. 5 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3219)
Example: 1. A stimulant plant. If a person is going to their garden early in the morning before the sun come up, break 2 top young leaves and chew and swallow the liquid, spitting out the fiber. This makes the person able to work harder and not feel tired while in the fields. It was noted that "a person can do the work of many people if they chew this." 2. The leaves are used for fertilizer for taro--put a bunch of leaves in a hole were taro is to be planted as a compost/antibiotic. This practice is said to kill all of the bad organisms such as bacttively impact the health of the taro plant. 3. This species is collected in the coastal areas, and is different from the one that looks similar to it, that grows in the forested areas. People take 4 leaves, chew leaves, swallow juice, gives energy to work hard the entire day. For fishing, take lots of ripe fruits and put in pocket, you will be able to catch a lot of fish. It brings good fortune when fishing. Roots – take one root, wash where a woman is giving birth to a newborn baby, give a drop of the juice from the root to clear the mucus in the throat.
bookmarknapod
n. kind of tree
bookmarknapudve
n. kind of plant, grass, or fern
bookmarknap̃ojev
narasincai
n. bark
bookmarknasanma
n. the juice of the breadfruit tree
bookmarknaupitcat
naurakiti
n. kind of plant, grass, or fern
bookmarknauyerop̃
n. sparsely branched small tree, 3 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3209)
Example: The fruit is edible when ripe and when it is younger can be eaten with salt. The young leaves are eaten raw, after being rubbed with coconut meat and salt. Cover pork to be cooked in the oven with the leaves of this plant, tie them on with a rope made from Pandanus leaf and put taro on the fire as well. The oily part of the pig will mix with the taro and enhance its flavor.
bookmarknawod
n. tree, 12 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3641)
Example: 1. The wood of this tree is used to make temporary houses, for example, when making a garden by the river. 2. The wood can be sawn into timber. 3. People collect red leaf and put under tongue when want to talk about conflicted issues such as a dispute to make their argument stronger.
bookmarknefelelicai
n. grass; weeds; thistle
bookmarknejev
nelmaha
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)
bookmark
neroa
neta
n. cane (sugar)
bookmarknetcetec
n. trees, 3-4 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3473)
Example: 1. This species is excellent for firewood as it gives off less smoke than other types of wood. 2. The wood is good for making roof rafters on which to tie thatch. 3. Use this for planting pole, for taro, cane, and kava.
bookmarknete
n. kind of tree
bookmarknetet
n. the name of a tree
bookmarkneuled
n. kind of sugarcane
bookmarkneyo
n. grass to 70 cm tall, sterile. Cultivated at the side of a field. (collection: Michael J. Balick #4958)
Example: The leaves and stems are boiled in water to make tea. The base of the leaves (the whitish part) is used to cook foods that have a strong odor, such as goat or shark. The base is sliced and put in the soup and this helps to keep the smell of the goat or shark from infusing through the rest of the food and making it less palatable. In some areas of Aneityum, such as in cassava fields, there is a fungus that kills the crops. This species is interplanted with the crops to kill that fungus and protect the crop plants.
bookmarknidi yebeg
n. Humpback unicornfish
Example: Photo by Ross D. Robertson / Shorefishes of the Neotropics, License: CC BY-SA 3.0 via Fishes of Australia
bookmarknidupau
n. kind of tree
bookmarknijiga
n. a branch of red coral
bookmarknijin nedoon
n. brow of a hill
bookmarknilbudou
nilcasau
n. the castor-oil plant
bookmarknilpudou
n. herb to 50 cm, flowers yellow. (collection: Michael J. Balick #4944)
Example: As a tonic medicine, collect a full handful of leaves, boil in one liter of water until fully cooked, then drink 1 cup 3x daily, warm, to treat a person who has worked too much, who is tired, to help their stomach and to help make them strong. For children and adults. Child’s dose is 1/2 cup, 3x daily until the child feels stronger.
bookmarknipjid
n. the orange tree (117); an orange, a lime, a lemon (102)
bookmarknirid unmu
n. terrestrial fern, growing in primary rainforest. (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3614)
Example: People who go fishing take this plant along with other unspecified leaves, crush them and rub them on the fishing line that the person is using. This is said to attract more fish to the bait. It is also a "message plant" to be put in a person’s hat when they come back from fishing and then people know that they caught fish. Local name means "fish gill."
bookmarknisalau
n. blossoms on breadfruit
bookmarknithidao
nititan cei
nononhat
n. Blue-lined large-eye bream
Example: Photo by Jean-Lou Justine / Wikimedia Commons, License: CC BY-SA 3.0 via Fishes of Australia
bookmark
nudto
n. small tree, 4 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3452)
Example: 1a. The stem of this plant is used to make a spear, as it is always straight and very strong. It is a small growing plant, just right for length of a spear. 1b. Make a spear for fishing, peel bark, heat stem, affix points to end. 2. Name is the name of a fish. 3. Rafters for roof.
bookmarktabake
n. herb 1 m tall, flowers pink (collection: Michael J. Balick #4923)
Example: Collect the yellow leaves, the mature ones, roll it between one’s hands, squeezing it, and dry it in the sun for a day and hang it in the kitchen near the place where fires are made, and within a week it will turn black. It is ready to be smoked--roll paper around it and smoke it. Take 6-10 leaves, roll them up and squeeze them into a bucket of water mixing the juice with the water until it turns somewhat green. Use this water to wash crops such as legumes and other garden plants to kill insects that might be attacking them.
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.
Supported by
