Aneityum

v. remove skin of coconut using a stick

Speaker: Kirk Keitadi

adj. happy

Speaker: Kirk Keitadi

adj. driven to and fro with the wind

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

v. taro; yams

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 54

v.n. to cross over or above, as over a fence, or tree in a path, or on stones through a river

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 58

n. forecast

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 152

v. to fish (with a net)

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

v. go back into shore; go further up into the bush; go inland

Speaker: Kirk Keitadi

v.n. to go ashore

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 66

v.n. go alone

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 154

adj. healed, applied to wounds; ripe; yellow

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 77

wind blowing

Speaker: Kirk Keitadi

v. to split wood

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 80

n. pineapple

Speaker: Kirk Keitadi

adj. soft, as an infant’s foot, or new leaves.

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 82

n. the Pleiades, the seven stars

Speaker: David Nasauman

adj. soft, over-ripe, as breadfruit.

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 82

n. tomorrow

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 84

n. shrub, 0. 7 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3445)

Example: Remedy new cuts – rub leaves together or chew them and put on cut, cover with leaf or cloth.

Scientific name: Lantana camara, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. tree, 3 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3612)

Example: 1. Edible fruits when ripe and turn black – some sweet and some not – eat sweet ones. 2. Timber, firewood.

Scientific name: Syzygium clusiifolium, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

n. kind of crab

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

[indawoɣ] n. Long-tailed jaeger

Example: Photo by jacksnipe1990/Flickr, License: CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 via Flickr

Scientific name: Stercorarius longicaudus, Speaker: Jack Keitadi

n. kind of shellfish

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. Moorish idol

Example: Photo by Ian Shaw / iNaturalist.org, License: CC BY-NC 3.0 via Fishes of Australia

Scientific name: Zanclus cornutus, Speaker: Chris Nevehev

n. a plantation

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 86

n. kind of bird

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. gaiac (RPV #43)

Scientific name: Acacia spirorbis, Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. kind of fish

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. kind of fish

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. tree to 8 m, dbh 20 cm (collection: Michael J. Balick #4927)

Example: The wood of this tree is used as firewood. Children collect the dry fruits and use them for decorations and toys, for example playing with a fruit on the beach, driving it as if it were a toy truck or boat (photo).

Scientific name: Heritiera littoralis, Speaker: Natu Kenneth

n. kind of shellfish

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. tree. Growing near village. (collection: Ashley A McGuigan #13)

Example: 1. 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 inpoutnatmas, 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. 2. This plant is special and people grew it – use it after burial of a chief – wash hands with these leaves and water to cleanse the people who buried the chief. 3. Name means belongs to the spirit

Scientific name: Codiaeum variegatum, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. top posts of house under construction

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

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. a bed, a foundation, a plantation

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 89

n. well branched tree, 6 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3202)

Example: 1. Young shoots are peeled and made into grass skirts. Scrape the stem and take the green part off, tie strips together and put under stones in the sea for retting, let sit 5 days in sea, but check these on a daily basis. When the fiber becomes soft, that is the time to take it from under the stones, clean off the excess materials, and hang it in the sun to dry for 3 days--this will bleach it and give it a whitish color, at which point it can be woven into a skirt. 2. The fiber can be used to make a small rope that is tied with shells and used for custom dances. 3. When the stems of this tree are older, the wood is very hard and it can be used to make the main frame that is arched for a cyclone house. According to Reuben these houses are not made much anymore on Aneityum Island. 4. To cook the intestines of fish that are eaten, take several leaves and put them in a small pile, making a wrapping, then use a local fiber to tie this together and cook on charcoal for as long as needed to prepare the fish parts. 5. In this area, sometimes knowledge of the plants and flowering are used as a calendar to indicate the time for planting of specific crops. Reuben will provide more details on a future trip. 6a. This species is an important "message plant." If a person is not home and you are visiting from the East--e.g. an Eastern part of the Island--that person can leave a 12 inch piece of stick in front of the door of the house so that the inhabitant knows that an eastern visitor (from Anawonjei district) has come by your home. The reason that person has come to visit is to pass an important message to you--good or bad "luck". The bad luck message might be a death, and is not told directly to the person. The good luck message might be a birth, or conflict that has been resolved. These messages are communicated using sticks--each district has a different species of plant. Reuben’s is the hibiscus. 6b. Message plant for Eastern people. If someone dies, use this plant, clip it in front of hem, in front of home, they ask “who” and you can tell them. In Eastern culture you cannot tell them directly. 7. When a person is too drunk with kava, take a branch of this and brush him with it to help make the effects go away. 8. Traditional plates for food.

Scientific name: Hibiscus tiliaceus, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. whale

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. kind of tree

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 117

n. tree, 4 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3497)

Example: The milky sap of this plant is poisonous. Fruit is very poisonous! If a child accidentally consumes this sap it causes them to vomit and they must drink water. Leaves are part of an unspecified spirit medicine.

Scientific name: Cerbera manghas, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

n. a garden of bananas

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 92

adj. ripe, as taro

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 92

n. kind of fish

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. dawn of day

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 141

n. kind of breadfruit

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 118

n. small turtle

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. kind of turtle

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. shrub to 1 m tall, frits green. Red clay soil (collection: Michael J. Balick #4880)

Example: Stems are used to produce cyclone houses--secure wild cane (Miscanthus) on the roof of the house. Fold cane in half over the stem of this plant and then lay it on the roof. Makes layers that resist the wind. The stem of this plant can be sharpened to make a fishing spear, or used as the shaft and a few wires are attached to the end.

Scientific name: Tarenna efatensis, Speaker: Natu Kenneth

n. palm to 15 m tall, dbh 30 cm (collection: Michael J. Balick #4913)

Scientific name: Carpoxylon macrospermum, Speaker: Natu Kenneth

[nakro] v. share

Speaker: Ruben Nerian

[naleθpeɲ] n. Barn Owl

Example: Photo by Matt Knoth, License: CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 via Flickr

Scientific name: Tyto alba, Speaker: Jack Keitadi

[nanaθ] n. shrub, 2-3 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3455)

Example: Fertilizer, take fresh leaves and put in area where plant taro.

Scientific name: Psychotria milnei, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

n. epiphytic fern on fallen log, growing in dense rainforest. (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #4097)

Example: 1. The name means "wood cover", alluding to the habit of this plant. It grows only on the bark of trees.

Scientific name: Davallia pusilla, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

n. kind of tree

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 117

n. kind of fish

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. Orange-socket surgeonfish

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

Scientific name: Acanthurus auranticavus via FishBase, Speaker: Chris Nevehev

n. kind of banana

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 118

n. lentils

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 162

n. trees; palms; figs

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 117

[natʔhat] n. wall

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

Speaker: Osiani Nerian

n. herb, growing on roadside in open disturbed area. (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3607)

Scientific name: Ischaemum muticum, Speaker: Natu Kenneth

n. the north-west wind

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 113

n. bamboo; a mountain

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 97

n. high mountain

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 166

n. a small water-plant

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 98

n. Fringelip mullet

Example: Photo by Jeffrey T. Williams / Smithsonian Institution, License: CC BY-SA 3.0 via Fishes of Australia

Scientific name: Crenimugil crenilabis via FishBase, Speaker: Jack Keitadi

n. small tree, 4 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #4026)

Example: 1. The name of this plant means birdfoot. Accordingly, portions of this plant are used when a fire is smoky, to abate the smoke.

Scientific name: Plerandra actinostigma, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

n. large tree, 15-20 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #4062)

Example: 1. The trunk of this tree is used to make the body and outrigger of a traditional canoe. 2. The inner bark is used as a bandage for cuts and wounds. When the inner bark is grated it yields a sticky substance. The sap acts as a liquid stitch and reduced the chance of scarring. When this is dry one must use a knife to remove the residue.

Scientific name: Hernandia moerenhoutiana, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. kind of bird

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. terrestrial fern, 1. 5-2 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3501)

Example: These ferns can cause injury during the dry season as they can stick into a person, so they are intentionally burned to avoid this.

Scientific name: Dicranopteris linearis, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

n. tree, 4 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #4127)

Example: 1. This wood can be used to start a fire, where there are no matches. Two dried pieces of wood are rubbed vigorously together to create tinder. The tinder is then added to dried material in order to start a fire. 2. The wood of this plant is used as rafters in traditional houses.

Scientific name: Melochia odorata, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. kind of shellfish

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. liana, growing along ridge in dense rainforest. Latex white (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #4074)

Example: 1. The outer stem is used to make an ornament call "Intyecrec". When one returns from the bush, you make this to indicate your trip to the bush. Other plants are at times including in the dressing. Each have their own significance.

Scientific name: Alyxia stellata, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. strangler tree, 12 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3694)

Scientific name: Ficus obliqua, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. calabash

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 132

n. a fresh coconut

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 100

n. tree fern, trunk 2 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #4102)

Example: 1. There are kinds of this plant. This is considered the white one. See GMP #4100, Cyathea sp., which is considered the black one.

Scientific name: Cyathea, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

[niʧɛn asŋa] n. teeth (all)

Speaker: Ruben Nerian

[nijom] n. house

Example: Photo by K. David Harrison, April 2016. see more on Youtube

Speaker: Osiani Nerian

[nipatunanin] n. goat horns

Speaker: Osiani Nerian

n. kind of shellfish

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. kind of tree

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 117

n. tree, 6 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3574)

Example: 1. The inner bark of this plant is used as a dye or paint to provide a brown color. Boil the inner bark in a pot with a shirt and the color of the shirt will be changed to brown. 2. For toothache, people take the inner bark and mix it with sea water, and then rinse the tooth with this mixture to remove the pain. 3a. People macerate the leaves and the bark and when the tide is low, spread this in a pool of water to poison the sea shells that are edible. When they die, the eyes of this organism comes above the sand, indicating where they are, and people harvest and eat them. 3b. To attract and collect clam – NIPJINUMU – scrape bark in a pool of sea water where the clams are attracted immediately and can be collected, coming up from the sand. 4. Firewood, unspecified medical use.

Scientific name: Acacia simplex, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

n. grass to 1. 5-2. 0 m tall, inflorescence white. Red clay soil (collection: Michael J. Balick #4885)

Example: Cut this grass in the morning, let dry for 2 days, and then use to weave the roof of a house. This is thicker and heavier than a coconut leaf. Also, use for cyclone house. (see photos of house) When indicating something is Tabu, tie the leaf and put it in an object like ripe bananas and people know it is Tabu and will not take it away.

Scientific name: Miscanthus sinensis, Speaker: Natu Kenneth

[nowataŋ] n. sky, universe, space

Speaker: Ruben Nerian

n. the sweet banana

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 118

n. kind of taro

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 119

n. cycas (RPV #33)

Scientific name: Cycas seemannii, Speaker: Romario Yaufati

[nok͡pa] adj. grey ash (color)

Speaker: Kirk Keitadi

[noweɪ yaŋ] n. July (lit. a kind of wood when it’s leaves become yellow)

Speaker: David Nasauman

n. terrestrial fern, 0. 4 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3577)

Example: Join two of the inrolled fronds together at the part where the frond is opening (the tip that is curled) such that the leaves are held together by their unfolding growing tips. Place this along the path that is frequented by a wild pig (they travel along paths) and when the pig passes these two leaves, and is chased by a hunter’s dogs, these leaves in this formation are said to sap some of the pig’s energy and thus allow the dogs to catch up with it. This was explained to Tony by another person who mentioned it as a sort of magical power possessed by this type of fern.

Scientific name: Blechnopsis orientalis, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

n. the rib of a leaf

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 105

n. unidentified species

Example: Fresh leaves: special Kastom ceremony used to treat severe abdominal pain during pregnancy

Speaker: Bradacs 2011, p. 445

n. Grewia inmac

Example: Leaf: infusion taken internally against pain

Speaker: Bradacs 2011, p. 442

prep. up there

Speaker: Kirk Keitadi

n. maize

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 164

n. kind of breadfruit (biggest one)

Speaker: David Nasauman

adj. rich; good, as applied to fruits

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 110

n. Stachytarpheta cayennesis

Example: Juice squeezed from leaves, wounds.

Speaker: Bradacs 2011, p. 444

v.n. to sprout

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 111

v.n. to fall, as unripe fruit

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 111

n. kind of banana

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 119