An example search has returned 100 entries
erijai
v.n. to rise up; to overflow as sea on land; to get ashore
bookmarkinhupau
inhuturao
n. Common dolphinfish, mahi mahi
Example: Photo by Alex Kerstitch / Shorefishes of the Eastern Tropical Pacific, License: CC BY-SA 3.0 via Fishes of Australia
bookmarkinjupki upni
inmal ahapol
n. a group of cultivations
bookmarkinmowad
n. vine to 40 cm, flowers blue (collection: Michael J. Balick #4949)
Example: To heal cuts, select a piece of the larger part of the stem (woody) cut a 6 inch piece and blow on one end; the sap comes o ut on the other end and this can be used to cover the wound. As a pig feed, people collect the stems and leaves and feed these to the pigs.
bookmarkinta eled
intaetled
intaig apig
n. kind of taro
bookmarkintakedou
n. Redface Squirrrelfish
Example: Photo by Jeffrey T. Williams / Smithsonian Institution, License: CC BY-SA 3.0 via Fishes of Australia
bookmarkintal eref nein
intal has
n. kind of taro
bookmarkintisiaicai
n. kind of flower or flowers (see def. for "elwa")
bookmarkintisian
n. a flower
bookmarkintisianibul
n. rose
bookmarkintit plen
n. herb, growing on roadside in open disturbed area. (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3605)
Example: 1a. This is an invasive weed that was brought to Aneityum by aircraft. Name means "aircraft mess". 1b. Means “planes waste” refers to white trails as this has lots of white seeds that fly.
bookmarkintopasyej
n. shrub to 2 m tall, flowers yellow. Growing along coast. (collection: Michael J. Balick #4959)
Example: The young leaves are boiled for 15 minutes and coconut milk is added to the warm leaves and this is eaten--the coconut milk it said to make the leaves taste better. New mothers are given this food as it helps them to produce more milk for their babies. As a medicine, take the young shoots, peel the outer skin off of these, macerate a 3’ piece of young stem in a small amount of water, take out the fiber, put the juice in a tablespoon and feed it to a baby that is old enough to swallow water (not a new born) when they have diarrhea. Take once daily for 2-3 days. This remedy is used for babies up to one year of age. For older babies that have diarrhea, peel the young 3’ stems and give them to the child to chew (spit out the fiber) and have them drink a small amount of water after chewing. This treatment is once daily, for 2-3 days until the diarrhea stops. For adults, take 4 young stems about 3’ long and chew these and swallow the juice, twice daily (morning and afternoon) and use until the diarrhea stops. When this plant is in flower, hunters know that the turtle has more fat and can be harvested--a calendar plant.
bookmarkinwaj
n. Hound needlefish, crocodile long-tom
Example: Photo by Philippe Bourjon / Fishbase, License: CC BY-SA 3.0 via Fishes of Australia
bookmarkinyat
maranapa
n. kind of banana
bookmarkmetagi asori
n. kind of taro
bookmarknabudwä
nadine
n. kind of plant, grass, or fern
bookmarknafakeka
n. coconut spathes
bookmarknaheñ
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.
bookmarknaijema
n. flax
bookmarknaipumnyu
n. kind of plant, grass, or fern
bookmarknalak cai
n. kind of plantain
bookmarknalak mideuc
n. kind of plantain
bookmarknamarai
n. preserved breadfruit
bookmarknamñiañia
narasinipjin necsei nupu afrika
nasanma
n. the juice of the breadfruit tree
bookmarknasjiñao
nauun
n. a stem
bookmarknawou
necna p̃a
n. Largescale mullet
Example: Photo by ANFC, License: CC BY-NC 3.0 via Fishes of Australia
bookmarknecñanpaeñ
neiang
nekrolas
nelm̃ai apeñ
n. tree 6 m tall, dbh 15 cm (collection: Michael J. Balick #4864)
Example: Fiber: Collect the stems of this plant, peel off the outer bark, soak (ret) in seawater for 1 week, then put stone on top of it-the fibers are loosened by the retting, peel them off and hang in the sun to dry and bleach. Weave small baskets, grass skirts and other things from this fiber. When sticks are placed in areas of the sea, shells are attracted to these sticks and people can collect the shells used for adornment--the animals in the shells like to eat the material on the sticks. Dried fruits of this plant are eaten by birds.
bookmarknemit
n. kind of tree
bookmark
nerere
n. tree to 10 m, dbh 75 cm (collection: Michael J. Balick #4988)
Example: The young aerial roots are cut from the stems of the tree and used as a local rope, to tie things, help construct temporary shelters, as well as to make string for a hunting bow. Flying foxes like to eat this fruit so in the night when the fruit is mature hunters come by this tree to hunt flying foxes as well as hunting birds during the day. Hunters use bows and arrows for birds, and throwing sticks (natou) made from any plant to hunt flying foxes.
bookmarknetohranmul
n. wind-related term; no definition provided
bookmarknigie
n. shrub, 1. 5 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3537)
Example: This plant is an aphrodisiac. Eat with coconut meat to make the body strong. Take 1/2 handful of leaves and mix with coconut leaves, use as needed. Mostly men eat this combination. It is best to eat with dry coconut that has no water in it. Eat it any time you wish.
bookmarknihivai
n. Macaranga dioca
Example: Inner bark: bathe in cold infusion, wounds. Mix heated over fire and taken out during sunset. Healer clenches the package in his fist, then gently punches the patients left, then right knee, then his forehead and finally squeezes over his head, migraine a
bookmarknijig an nepig
n. midnight; also "nijihgan nepig"
bookmarknilec
nimtac
n. kind of tree
bookmarknipjid
n. the orange tree (117); an orange, a lime, a lemon (102)
bookmarknispeheñ
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.
bookmarknititan cei
nohlaig
n. a species of seaweed
bookmarknohwan nefara
n. kind of taro
bookmarknop̃a
[nok͡pa] adj. grey ash (color)
bookmarknouraju
n. shrub to 1 m, flowers green (collection: Michael J. Balick #4895)
Example: To make bush ropes, remove outer bark, use to tie things when other ropes are not available. This plant is sour and toxic if the fruits or leaves are eaten. Animals will not eat this plant. The elders teach us not to eat this plant.
bookmarknowanu
n. Longfin African conger, moustache conger
Example: Photo by Patrick Randall, License: CC BY-SA 3.0 via Fishes of Australia
bookmarknucye
n. the red star, the "hand" in the constellation Orion; also "necye"
bookmarknupsin hudain
nusjai um legad
n. kind of sugarcane
bookmarknuwuneto
suko
adv. downwards or westwards
bookmarkupuhas
v.n. to sprout
bookmarkyah
n. a creeping plant
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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