Aneityum

affix yonder; away from

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 91

n. Ficus aspera

Example: Juice squeeved from leaves: conjunctivitis

Speaker: Bradacs 2011, p. 443

v.n. go out

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

[alpos] adj. big

Speaker: David Nasauman

v. open

Speaker: Kirk Keitadi

n. Lattice soldierfish, violet soldierfish

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

Scientific name: Myripristis violacea via FishBase, Speaker: Jack Keitadi

n. kind of banana

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 118

n. tide flowing a little, begun to flow

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 72

adj. healed, applied to wounds; ripe; yellow

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 77

[eseʧ] num. three

Speaker: Chris Nevehev

[et amai kava] phr. he chews kava

Speaker: Kirk Keitadi

[et emθan] phr. he is strong

Speaker: Kirk Keitadi

[et hal t̚imi ] phr. some people

Speaker: Kirk Keitadi

adj. bad, wicked; eheshas, very bad

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 81

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

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 82

[iɲara] n. Honeyeater, grey and orange (Vanuatu Honeyeater)

Example: Photo by Olivier Boissier, IBC973343. Photo of Vanuatu Honeyeater Gliciphila notabilis at Sola, Vanuatu. License: All rights reserved. Accessible on Internet Bird Collection

Scientific name: Gliciphila notabilis, Speaker: Jack Keitadi

n. green peppers

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

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. tree. Growing in village garden. (collection: Ashley A McGuigan #19)

Example: 1. To cure the sea snake (nispev) curse that causes missed periods. First the husband must combine 4 young leaves of incispev and 4 young leaves of nafanu and mash and squeeze the juice into a small bamboo (1-1.5 inch diameter) The nafanu is important because it is a plant that connects to the sea. Use wildcane leaves cover the bamboo closed. Go to the sick person and unwrap the snake from her. Start from the top and let the woman drink a small part of the potion then wash her with the mixture, making sure to wash head, elbows, knees, feet, and belly. Then take a leaf of naha and break it over the woman’s belly button to break the snake off. Smash the bamboo vessel to pieces. Leave the woman there until the wash dries on her. This takes one whole day and the ceremony in the evening so she can sleep and she must not eat. This ritual is performed by men.

Scientific name: Sophora tomentosa, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. herb to 1 m, flower bracts yellow. (collection: Michael J. Balick #4921)

Example: Introduced species, used for decoration. Planted near houses and roads. Use the flower for decorating hair.

Scientific name: Alpinia purpurata, Speaker: Natu Kenneth

[inhapli kuri] n. puppy (lit. small dog)

Speaker: Osiani Nerian

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. kind of banana

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 118

n. type of seashell

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

Speaker: Jack Keitadi

n. kind of fish

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. a bamboo flute

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 86

n. epiphyte, growing in secondary forest along trail above river. (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3664)

Example: This plant is used to make a head garland, but if you are going hunting or fishing do not put this on your head as you will not be successful in your quset. This is the grass skirt for the spirits; you can hear them but you cannot see them.

Scientific name: Phlegmariurus phlegmaria, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

n. kind of bird

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. kind of cabbage or leaf

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

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

[inmoho] n. moon

Speaker: Chris Nevehev

n. fog or mist

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 114

n. kind of palm

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 118

n. kind of fish

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. herb, 1 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3221)

Example: This plant is used as a wild cabbage. The leaves are used to cover fish when baking in an earth oven and then these leaves are eaten. This is another "calendar plant" of Aneityum. When this plant flowers it means that turtles are very fat, so it is the indication that it’s time to go fishing for turtles. Also a "message plant." If a person wishes to break an agreement then the person puts the top leaves of this plant on another individual’s doorstep to indicate that the agreement is broken.

Scientific name: Wollastonia biflora, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. kind of plant, grass, or fern

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 120

n. kind of tree

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 117

v. read; count

Speaker: Kirk Keitadi

n. fishing line

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

conj. but

Speaker: Kirk Keitadi

n. kind of bird

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

[kuretemain] n. dog (male)

Speaker: Osiani Nerian

[kuri] n. dog (general)

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

Speaker: Osiani Nerian

n. coconut crab

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

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. an astronomy term; no definition given

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 113

adv. (already?)

Speaker: Kirk Keitadi

n. kind of crab

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. p. taro for the dead

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 94

n. tree, 4 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #4066)

Example: 1. Young saplings are used to prepare a fishing spear. First a straight sapling is chosen and sized. Then it is heated over a fire to render it pliable. After the length is straightened, it is decorticated. Once cooled, a portion of wire can be affixed to an end to aid in spearing fish.

Scientific name: Pavetta opulina, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. kind of taro

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 119

n. well branched tree, 10 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #4083)

Example: 1. The ripe fruits (yellow) are eaten. It is considered very sweet. 2. Young saplings are used to fashion a digging stick to plant kava and taro.

Scientific name: Garcinia pseudoguttifera, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. cotton

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 95

n. kind of fish

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. kind of crab

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. tree, 7-8 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3582)

Example: Firewood, timber good for bush houses. Calendar plant – when it is in flower, the old people know it is time to harvest root crops, like yam and other vine crops, in the wild, as yet unspecified. Local names = INYAC, NOMODEJ TAL, NOMODEJ WOU, NOU LELCEI… etc.

Scientific name: Weinmannia denhamii, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

n. kind of bush

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. kind of bush

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. kind of flowering plant (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #4764)

Scientific name: Tarenna, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. kind of crab

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. epiphytic orchid, growing in dense rainforest. Flowers orange. (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #4113)

Example: 1. Children often take the leaves of this plant and blow across the surface of a taut leaf to make a whistle sound. Older folks say this blowing invited rain.

Scientific name: Liparis condylobulbon, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

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. stone wall for building a garden

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

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. Canarium vulgare

Example: leaf--cold maceration in coconut milk and seawater, taken internally against diarrhea or ciguatera. Cold maceration of chewed leave, spat into a cup and mixed with coconut water: taken internally against ciguatera

Speaker: Bradacs 2011, p. 440

n. firmament (astronomical)

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. lightning

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 114

n. treelet, 2 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #4067)

Example: 1. When pig is cooked in an earth oven, branches of this speces are used to cover the pig, before hot rocks are heaped on top.

Scientific name: Ficus kajewskii, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. kind of banana

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 118

[neŋeʧwaj] n. Island imperial pigeon

Example: Photo by Tony Morris, License: CC BY-NC 2.0 via Flickr

Scientific name: Ducula pistrinaria, Speaker: Jack Keitadi

n. fir; pine

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 150, 172

n. species of pine

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 117

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

[nɛlʝo] n. canoe

Speaker: Osiani Nerian

[nelɣo] n. canoe

Speaker: Ruben Nerian

n. small tree. Found in the village, but not cultivated. (collection: Ashley A McGuigan #17)

Example: 1. Ancestors used this plant to make fish line – cut young branches, remove outer bark and tie together, put in salt water or fresh water for a week, it is now strong, dry in sun, take fibers and twist them together to make a very long fishing line. 2. Leaves are used to feed pigs. 3. Take inner bark, scrape it and put on boils. Attach with any leaf and it takes out the boil. 4. Trunk for temporary bush house.

Scientific name: Pipturus argenteus, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. kind of banana

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 118

n. prepared pandanus leaf

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 170

n. a reed

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 101

n. shrub, 1-1. 25 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3591)

Example: The fruits of this species are edible when ripe (black) and are very sweet. It grows in the white grass area in the open. It is "numba one" fruit. If a person eats a lot of these it turns their tongue reddish-purple.

Scientific name: Vaccinium macgillivrayi, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

n. the castor-oil plant

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 117

[nilin] n. shoulder

Speaker: Ruben Nerian

n. orange

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 169

[nipʧinɛtŋaŋ] n. belly

Speaker: Ruben Nerian

n. another name for "masoa"; arrowroot

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 103

n. kind of shellfish

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. sparsely branched tree, 2. 5 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3628)

Example: This plant is used to make a grass skirt for women. There are two different methods decribed. In the first, collect the leaves, tear off 1/2 of the leaf and pleat the halves. Then dry these in the sun by hanging them from the midrib. After they are dry, weave them into a skirt. In the second, take one leaf at a time, tear the leaf down the center and throw away the midrib. The soft part is used in making the skirt by holding a piece of twine between your toes and under your armpit. Weave the length of the twine with the leaf. The let the pieces to dry in the sun for 2-3 days. The skirt can be thrown in the sea before drying to make the skirt white. Bark of inhao is usually used as twine. Retted strips of leaves, later sun dried, can be used to make pillows. When dogs or humans have fish poisoning this plant can help. Take 2 leaves and pound them (use 1 leaf for dogs) and mix with 1/4 cup of water. no further instructions given. (OR - Leaves to cure ciguatera, chew 1 leaf and swallow juice and spit out fiber. Or extract juice into a cup to drink 1x. Give juice + water in cup for dog that is sick.) There is also a belief that you can use the whole stem of this plant as a digging spade to plant sugarcane so the sugarcane is soft and sweet.

Scientific name: Dracaena sp., Speaker: Titiya Lalep

n. a sago palm

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 118

[nohos anu ziland opuah] n. kind of banana (gray sp. from New Zealand)

Speaker: David Nasauman

n. shrub to 2 m, flowers white (collection: Michael J. Balick #4874)

Example: This plant is an indicator of rich soil, especially up on the hills from the coast. Therefore, this is where people choose to do their gardens. This specimen is in red soil that is not rich so it does not grow tall, but in the mountains it does grow tall and that is where gardens are planted. Wood from the tree is used for carving.

Scientific name: Weinmannia denhamii, Speaker: Natu Kenneth

n. tree, 12 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3639)

Example: This tree is a good source of wood for house posts and roof rafters. Some people eat the ripe fruits of this species but even on the same tree, some of the ripe fruits have a sour taste, even though they look alike.

Scientific name: Syzygium nomoa, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

n. fruit dove

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

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.

Scientific name: Fagraea berteroana, Speaker: Natu Kenneth

n. Black-spot surgeonfish

Example: Photo by zsispeo / Flickr.com, License: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 via Fishes of Australia

Scientific name: Acanthurus bariene, Speaker: Chris Nevehev

[nowanɣat] n. pandanus fruit (sg)

Speaker: Osiani Nerian

n. kind of flowering plant (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #4753)

Scientific name: Arytera neoebudensis, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. wind-related term; no definition provided

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 113

[nʊpsɛθoʊn] n. toe

Speaker: Ruben Nerian

n. wind-related term; no definition provided

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 114

adv. seaward here

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 107

[puarapuanan par lei] phr. he went there and he took it

Speaker: Kirk Keitadi

v. talk

Speaker: Kirk Keitadi

n. Pickhandle barracuda

Example: Photo by Mark Rosenstein / iNaturalist.org, License: CC BY-SA 3.0 via Fishes of Australia

Scientific name: Sphyraena jello via FishBase, Speaker: Jack Keitadi

n. terrestrial orchid growing in cloud forest along ridge. Flowers white. (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3281)

Scientific name: Pristiglottis montana