An example search has returned 100 entries
ared numta
v. to plant taro
bookmarkelwa nieg
v.n. to blossom as reeds
bookmarkheto
v. to grow again, as hair, feathers, plants; to come out, as teeth
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incetevak
n. Pink Squirrelfish
Example: Photo by Jeffrey T. Williams / Smithsonian Institution, License: CC BY-SA 3.0 via Fishes of Australia
bookmarkincowos
n. herb to 1. 5 m, flowers white with pink tips. Growing on sandy path along coastal walk to ute. (collection: Michael J. Balick #4989)
Example: The leaves of this plant are used to finish the ridge of the house roof. Lay the leaves horzontally on top of the roof, and the sides of the roof are thatched with palms or grass. Layer 10 leaves on top of each other to enable this part of the roof (known as nitjintiniom) to last for a long time--perhaps up to 6 years. If this is used on the top of a roof where there is a fire burning, such as a kitchen, and this leaf gets a lot of smoke, it can last much longer a the top of the roof--perhaps 10 years or more.
bookmarkindijinecei
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.
bookmarkinhai
n. kind of taro
bookmarkinhelegaij
n. kind of sugarcane; also "nalgaij"
bookmarkinhen owuh
inhinid
n. kind of banana
bookmarkinmadidi
n. tree to 5 m, dbh 8 cm (collection: Michael J. Balick #4855)
Example: To treat a flu that has resulted in a thick, runny nose, collect sap of this tree, drink 2-3 drops directly (not in water). This is for treating the type of flu that provokes yellow mucus coming out of the nose. Drinking the sap breaks up the stuffy nose. Use once, it tastes very sour. In 3-4 days the mucus will be expelled. Do not use too much! If a person has a new cut, and the bleeding will not stop, place the sap on the cut and the bleeding will stop. If you have a burn that is bleeding, applying the sap will stop the blood and oozing sore. If a person has a sore on their body, cover it with a layer of the sap from this plant. This will ensure that the sore will not get larger from infection, flies, etc. but stay its original size. This plant is also used for unspecified spiritual practices. To determine if a fish you have caught is poisonous, e.g. with ciguatera, take an 8’ piece of small branch from this tree, peel the bark and put it inside the fish before you cook it on the earth oven. If the stick turns black, then you know that the fish is not good to eat--it has a poison so should be thrown away.
bookmarkinmathethi
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.
bookmarkinmoijeuv an nofomot
inpotaliglighap
n. the thick end of a coconut leaf, used as a mark for throwing spears at; also "inpotin lilighap"
bookmarkintal a Samoa
n. kind of taro
bookmarkintal athunwai
n. kind of taro
bookmarkintesyanam̃a
intisiancai
n. blossom (open)
bookmarkinyade
n. kind of banana
bookmarkisjid
v. to chip off small branches
bookmarkkaliteg
karadakoal
n. a native pudding made of taro, coconut milk, etc.
bookmarklaknu
lelen
adj. unripe
bookmarkleucen
adj. ripe, as taro
bookmarknajeng
n. tree, 8-10 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #4017)
Example: 1. Aerial roots have a natural curve that allows them to be used as a clothing hanger. The outer bark is peeled and dried all day in the sun, before the roots are used. 2. Leaves are used to help remove fish bones lodged in one’s throat. When bones are stuck in one’s throat, then you apply young leaves to the outside of the throat. Apply once and leave until the bones are removed.
bookmarknake
nalgaj
n. small treelet, 1 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3682)
Example: Can be used to stop pain from toothache. Break of the top growth of a branch and remove all leaves. Chew on the green stem at the site where there is a toothache. Keep the juice from chewing in your mouth for 2-5 minutes then spit the juice out. Leave the stem fibers in your mouth at the site of pain for about 20 minutes then remove. Then repeat 2 more times. This makes the tooth thinner so it breaks more easily.
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napijelcau
n. kind of banana
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.
bookmarknariko
n. lentils
bookmarknasjiñaho
natarau
n. a bamboo flute
bookmarknau
n. bamboo; a mountain
bookmarknauram milmat
n. kind of banana
bookmarknecñanman
neduwudu
adj. full of seeds, as the pawpaw apple
bookmarknefitan nedoon nedoon
n. kind of breadfruit
bookmarknehpan neaig
n. kind of plant, grass, or fern
bookmarknejev
nejoplec
nelda
n. kind of plant, grass, or fern
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netvo
n. a species of fruit
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niditau
n. tree, 8 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3636)
Example: The green fruits are edible, as are the young leaf apices--cook these in water and eat them. The wood is used for temporary houses, for example, to provide shade in a garden. For planting taro, or any root crop, sharpen the end of a stick of this tree and use it for making holes, particuarly in river sand where some crops are planted. This tree grows near the river and is an indication that this land is good for agriculture. The wood from the tree is very good for firewood. Name means "who are you." Plant used as an indicator of a tabu place. Take a branch and put it where another person is building or gardening and there is a dispute over that area of land. When this plant is placed there the person who is using the land should stop working it.
bookmarknidnaiñ
nijig an nepig
n. midnight; also "nijihgan nepig"
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niju
n. Green humphead parrotfish, bumphead parrotfish
Example: Photo by Klaus Stiefel / Flickr, License: CC BY-NC 3.0 via Fishes of Australia
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.
bookmarknilupau
n. a species of seaweed
bookmarknipahas
n. tree, 10. 5 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3632)
Example: This plant produces a very strong wood that can be used for an ax or knife handle or a handle for any type of tool. It is a good wood for house posts. It must be dried to use, but it can be dried without the use of fire. Made as with others in ancient days used to make a war club, shape with stone, heat in fire to make it strong.
bookmarknisyeg
n. tree, 7 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3521)
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.
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niʧin neiang
nomotmot ijis
n. kind of plant, grass, or fern
bookmarknoragidi
nowahau
n. Black-spot surgeonfish
Example: Photo by zsispeo / Flickr.com, License: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 via Fishes of Australia
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nuarin eptu
n. meadow
bookmarknugnyiobod
n. kind of plant, grass, or fern
bookmarknumalpau
n. wind-related term; no definition provided
bookmarknumu yehec
nupunyepec
rere
adj. leafless; fading
bookmarksafenunui
n. kind of taro
bookmarksemi
adv. down hither
bookmarksimi
adv. down here; also "sime"
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.
bookmarktatau
n. Sawtooth barracuda
Example: Photo by Stephanie W. Batzer, License: CC BY-SA 3.0 via Fishes of Australia
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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