Aneityum

v. cover

Speaker: Kirk Keitadi

[ama] num. four

Speaker: David Nasauman

v.n. go after

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

v. burn

Speaker: Kirk Keitadi

v.a. to climb

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 78

phr. the flowers are come out.

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 77

adj. bad, wicked; eheshas, very bad

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 81

conj. and

Speaker: Kirk Keitadi

n. basket of taro

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 127

n. tree to 8 m, dbh 5 cm (collection: Michael J. Balick #4896)

Example: The young stems of this tree are used to make spears, either by sharpening the end or attaching several wires to the tip.

Scientific name: Alangium vitiense, Speaker: Natu Kenneth

n. a coconut with a sweet husk

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 85

n. kind of turtle

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. wild ginger (RPV #180)

Scientific name: Hornstedtia scottiana, Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. Ocellated eagle ray

Example: Photo by Anne Hoggett / Lizard Island Research Station, License: CC BY-SA 3.0 via Fishes of Australia

Scientific name: Aetobatus ocellatus, Speaker: Chris Nevehev

n. a runner, the fruit of which is round like a cake

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 86

n. kind of banana

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 118

n. calabash

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 132

n. night; quite dark

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 86

n. kind of flowering plant (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #4754)

Scientific name: Passiflora suberosa, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. epiphyte on fallen log on ground, growing in dense rain forest. (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #4012)

Scientific name: Phlegmariurus phlegmaria, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. sea bird

Speaker: Kirk Keitadi

n. herb to 1. 5 m tall, sterile. Growing in weedy patch behind buildings on edge of trail. (collection: Michael J. Balick #4986)

Example: People use the leaves of this plant to wrap lap-lap for cooking on the earth oven or when boiling foods. The leaves can also be used as serving plates and to cover the stones on the earth oven.

Scientific name: Heliconia indica, Speaker: Tony Keith

n. kind of breadfruit

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 118

n. kind of fish

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. vine climbing on Geissois denhamii (GMP #3522), growing in open (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3524)

Example: The word itougo means from a different country or place outside of Aneityum. The plant was introduced by the first missionaries who came to Port Patrick. Calendar plant – sea cost people see this flower in the forest and they know it is time to go into garden and harvest taro or make new gardens– see GMP 3263. This is also good firewood.

Scientific name: Operculina turpethum, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

n. kind of tree

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 117

n. kind of banana

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 118

n. kind of taro

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 119

n. tree. Growing in village garden. (collection: Ashley A McGuigan #22)

Example: 1. Timber for houses, hard wood. 2. Fruits have a highly desirable nut that is edible when fresh after cracking the fruit. 3. Medicine – 5 young tips, boiled in 3 cups of water, and steam eyes when have conjunctivitis. 1x. 3. Calendar plant – When the leaves turn red and are ready to fall off from the tree – the lobsters are ready to be harvested – best time to harvest lobsters. Firm tasty meat. This was a traditional population management so that lobsters were not harvested year around but only during this season, Oct–Nov, for a month or 1.5 months.

Scientific name: Terminalia catappa, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. tree, 7-8 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3635)

Example: The wood from this tree is used for house posts. Used to heal bad spirits, headaches, fever, or any other kind of illness that modern medicine cannot fix. Must be taken and performed in the evening before the sun sets. Take four leaves from the top of the intoutau, netethae, nelmaha, inrowod plants. Combine them with 1/4 cup of water and squeeze the juice out of the leaves and pour into a piece of bamboo. Give the mixture to the sick person to drink. The woman must drink half of the mixture and use the other half of the mixture to wash their body with. The woman then has to stay away from other people except for those who helped wash her. Then you must smash the bamboo that contained the mixture where the sun sets.

Scientific name: Aceratium oppositifolium, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

n. bush land; also "inteucjip"

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 89

n. two days ago or two days hence

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 141

n. Pacific ironwood, horsetail tree (RPV #26)

Scientific name: Casuarina equisetifolia, Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. kind of tree

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 117

n. pungent scrub, island musk (RPV #101)

Scientific name: Evodia hortensis, Speaker: Romario Yaufati

v. distinguish (between two things)

Speaker: Kirk Keitadi

n. kind of shellfish

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. a native pudding made of taro, coconut milk, etc.

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 91

n. kind of taro

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 119

[lawoñ] n. Vanuatu Scrubfowl (Used to live here, died out, now only live up north)

Example: Photo by Dubi Shapiro, IBC1406511. Photo of Vanuatu Scrubfowl Megapodius layardi at Palikulo Point, Vanuatu. Accessible on Internet Bird Collection

Scientific name: Megapodius layardi, Speaker: Jack Keitadi

n. tree to 5 m, fdby 35 cm (collection: Michael J. Balick #4979)

Example: The fruits are edible and ripen during November-December. The leaves can be boiled as a medicine. If a person has a hoarse voice, boil 4 or or a few more leaves in 1 liter of water. Cool the mixture and drink once daily until the voice returns to normal. The trunk of this tree is good for timber, as it is a very hard wood. But a productive tree is not cut for timber--only the wild mangos that have flowers and small fruits that do not ripen; these trees are cut for timber. This particular tree, "Mango Amgie" bears fruit with a great deal of fiber, so the name refers to the "mango that you drink." Amgie means "drink" in the Aneityum language. There is another variety of mango, "Mango Cig" that means the mango that you eat. It has a little fiber but good fleshy fruits. This species is introduced from outside of Aneityum.

Scientific name: Mangifera indica, Speaker: Tony Keith

v. die

Speaker: Kirk Keitadi

[naɣo aɣo] n. just after sundown, still light

Speaker: David Nasauman

n. a plant from which twine is made

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 94

n. kind of taro

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 119

[nakajaŋ] n. palm of hand

Speaker: Ruben Nerian

n. palm tree sp. (RPV #19)

Scientific name: Hydriastele cylindrocarpa, Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. grass; also "namutmut"

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 95

n. kind of bush

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

[nawʊn nɛθoʊn] n. leg

Speaker: Ruben Nerian

[napat ireɣpo] n. round clouds that bring rain

Speaker: David Nasauman

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.

Scientific name: Polyscias cissodendron, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

n. hedge

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 156

n. kind of shellfish

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. the juice of the breadfruit tree

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 96

n. a crop; fruit which grows spontaneously

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 96

n. shrub to 1 m, flowers greenish-white. (collection: Michael J. Balick #4932)

Example: The roots are used to treat toothache. Take the roots, strip off the outer bark and chew the root. Stops pain from the toothache. Use 3x daily until the pain is gone.

Scientific name: Breynia disticha, Speaker: Natu Kenneth

n. shrub, 0. 8 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3603)

Example: This plant has an unspecified use that is considered secret.

Scientific name: Breynia disticha, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

n. trees; palms; figs

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 117

n. kind of tree

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 117

n. sparsely branched understory tree, 4-5 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #4030)

Example: 1. It is considered "tabu" to cover laplap with the leaf of this species. It is said to spoil the laplap.

Scientific name: Delarbrea paradoxa, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

n. kind of shellfish

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. epiphyte on prop roots and main tree trunks, growing in dense rainforest. (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #4044)

Scientific name: Asplenium amboinense, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. tree, 5-6 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3522)

Example: This is a "calendar plant." When it flowers, people know that the taro is ready to harvest. It does not grow in the forest, but only along the coast in grassy areas. Use wood as posts for roof of house.

Scientific name: Geissois denhamii, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

n. Anchor tuskfish, Orange-dotted tuskfish

Example: Photo by Mark Rosenstein, iNaturalist: CC BY-A-NC-SA 3.0 via Fishes of Australia

Scientific name: Choerodon anchorago via FishBase, Speaker: Jack Keitadi

n. treelet, 1 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3468)

Scientific name: Micromelum minutum, Speaker: Natu Kenneth

[ɲɛsŋa nɛmtan nʊmʊ] n. fish eye

Speaker: Ruben Nerian

n. tree fern, trunk 2-2. 5 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3693)

Scientific name: Cyathea vieillardii, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

[netupni] n. June (lit. good sugar cane)

Speaker: David Nasauman

n. kind of sugarcane

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 120

n. frankincense

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 152

n. Bidens pilosa L.

Example: shoot -- cold maceration taken internally against cough

Scientific name: Bidens pilosa L., Speaker: Bradacs 2011, p. 440

n. kind of shellfish

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. sparsely branched tree, 12 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3208)

Example: The flying fox eats the fruit of this tree. When the fruits are ripe, the seeds are edible and children cut off the outside of the fruit and eat the nut. Wrap fish with this leaf and cook it on top of a fire--it tastes good. House posts are made from the trunk of the tree. It grows in the coastal area.

Scientific name: Cerbera manghas, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. type of seashell

Example: Photo by K. David Harrison, Dec. 2018, Aneityum island.

Speaker: Jack Keitadi

n. type of seashell

Example: Photo by K. David Harrison, Dec. 2018, Aneityum island.

Speaker: Jack Keitadi

n. bank (of a river)

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 127

n. the Futuna banana

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 118

[nohos vietnam] n. kind of banana(sp. from Vietnam)

Speaker: David Nasauman

n. epiphytic orchid, growing in dense rainforest. (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #4119)

Example: 1. The name means "ripe banana".

Scientific name: Dendrobium, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

n. kind of shellfish

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. vine to 2 m, aerial tubers and lobed leaves. (collection: Michael J. Balick #4946)

Example: This is a root crop. It is harvested in April-June. The leaves turn yellow and indicate that the crop is ready to harvest. If planted in the old days the root would get much larger. It is a good cyclone disaster food. Grows wild now. Boil the tuber in fresh water, when it is cooked add a bit of sea water to give it a salty taste. Chew the starchy root and spit out the fiber. Another variety is like sweet potato and a person can eat the entire root without spitting out the fiber. Can mix with coconut milk as well to eat.

Scientific name: Dioscorea pentaphylla, Speaker: Natu Kenneth

n. Spangled emperor

Example: Photo by Richard Ling, License: CC BY-SA 3.0 via Fishes of Australia

Scientific name: Lethrinus nebulosus via FishBase, Speaker: Jack Keitadi

[nomrɪn diʧinan] n. fin (of a fish)

Speaker: Osiani Nerian

n. kind of fish (folk name)

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

[nuʤaɣ] n. kind of shell

Example: Photo by K. David Harrison, April 2016.

Speaker: Chris Nevehev

n. epiphyte on Syzygium tree, growing in secondary forest along trail above river. old fruits. (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3660)

Example: Put several leaves of this species together to wrap food, especially the fresh water eel, and to carry plants of taro, kava, holding the leaves over one’s shoulder to carry these crops. Used as a baby’s remedy for when the baby is crying too much because the parents are having to much sex. The baby will also be slow to grow and be thin. To remedy this, must wash the baby with the following mixture: nekei atimi (bark), nohos atimi (green skin of the stem), nepnatimi ataman (part not specified). Scrap about 1 inch cubed of the nekei atimi into your hand along with 1in x 4in of the first layer of the green skin of the banana stem (nohos atimi), and the top 8 leaves from about two separate branches of the nepnatimi ataman. Bind all ingredients together and pound them and put everything in the baby’s water for bathing. Wash the baby in water made with this mixture. Do not wipe the baby dry but let it air dry. The next day when you wash the baby with soap, you must re-wash them with the mixture again. Do this for 5 days with the same water mixture. It may small bad but that is okay. Finally on day 5, take the juice from the outter layer of skin on the stem of the banana, nohos atimi, and give a full spoonful of the juice to the baby to drink. Other plants can be added to the bathing water but these are the three primary ingredients.

Scientific name: Procris pedunculata, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

n. the rib of a leaf

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 105

[nʊpsiʤman] n. finger (gen.)

Speaker: Ruben Nerian

n. maize

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 164

[rabaθ] n. Peregrine Falcon

Example: Photo by Teddy Llovet, License: CC BY-NC 2.0 see more on Flickr See how this bird is featured in the origin story of Aneityum chiefs at see more on Youtube

Scientific name: Falco peregrinus, Speaker: Jack Keitadi

adj. leafless; fading

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 107

adv. down here

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 108

[tai napat] n. flying clouds, preceding a storm or cyclone

Speaker: David Nasauman

[t̚elajnej] phr. they cry now

Speaker: David Nasauman

n. Sida rhombifolia L.

Example: Leaf: infusion taken internally against diarrhea

Speaker: Bradacs 2011, p. 442

adv. by land; on land

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 109

n. Stachytarpheta cayennesis

Example: Juice squeezed from leaves, wounds.

Speaker: Bradacs 2011, p. 444

n. white sweet potato

Example: Photo by K. David Harrison, April 2016.

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. kind of taro

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 119