An example search has returned 100 entries
anaclelen
n. forecast
bookmarkatcatcaiyu
v. to emit sound from a bottle or coconut
bookmarkhui asan
v. trees; fruit
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inceimohos
incet edwa
inharedej
inhau amai
n. moderately branched treelet, 2 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3203)
Example: 1a. This type of hibiscus has young leaves that are reddish in color and it is an edible type. The stems are eaten during April-July. Harvest the stems, beat them and cut off the outer bark. Collect inner bark, slicing it off the stem and wrapping it in a banana type leaf with coconut milk added. Bake all night at least 8 hours, then it is eaten. Said to taste like a root vegetable. Used during the dry season when there are not many crops available. 1b. Take young shoot of the tree then pound the base to separate the base of the bark from the stem but leave it on the stem, say pound 4-5 inches around the base, then come back 3-4 months and the rest of the bark would be thicker. Then cut where it was pounded, cut stem in 1.5-foot pieces, bake on an earth oven, leaves on bottom layer (on top of charcoal) then sticks, then leaves on top, then hot stones, and then more leaves. Bake for 1.5 hours, then remove a stick at a time and use shell to scrape away outer bark, cut into 6 inch pieces, put on log, pound to make softer, put in lap lap leaves leaf wrapping, add coconut milk, put in stone oven, cook for one hour then open lap lap leaves and eat. 2. This variety is for this purpose just like Pohnpei. 3. This variety is not used for grass skirt.
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injedete anawanarin
inmapoded
n. kind of breadfruit
bookmarkinmesese
n. the cold season; winter
bookmarkinmop
n. a horse-chestnut tree
bookmarkinmora
n. Foxface
Example: Photo by Biodiversity Institute of Ontario, License: CC BY-SA 3.0 via Fishes of Australia
bookmarkinmoupog
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).
bookmarkinp̃al cap̃ nesgin
n. shrub. Found in the village, Unames. (collection: Ashley A McGuigan #31)
Example: 1. To cure when the anus falls out - Pound together 1 braches worth of inpalcapnesgin leaves and of both inloptiri (2-4 leaves, any age) , also take the inner bark of nekeaitimi and nakhe. Put this into your hand, or another leaf and give it to the person to use it. This should be applied to the anus whenever the anus comes out. USed to use a clam shell to extract the bark but not anymore.
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intelopse atamaig
n. kind of plant, grass, or fern
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.
bookmarkinwai
n. water; fresh water
bookmarkinwau
n. a creeper, a vine
bookmarkinyebec
n. Bluespine unicornfish
Example: Photo by Ross D. Robertson / Shorefishes of the Neotropics, License: CC BY-SA 3.0 via Fishes of Australia
bookmarkinyecelcoli
n. vine to 1 m, flowers purple. (kudzu plant). (collection: Michael J. Balick #4920)
Example: Roast the tuber of this vine on an open fire for 20-40 minutes, peel off the skin and eat like cassava or taro. Chew it and drink the "juice" while spitting out the fiber. It grows wild, season of harvesting is in May. Very tasty food for people, considered "numba wan" food for this island.
bookmarkinyehpok
n. mouth of a river
bookmarkkaru uwaruwa
n. wind-related term; no definition provided
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nafirama
nagedauyag
n. kind of taro
bookmarknaha
n. a thistle
bookmarknahad
n. kind of plant, grass, or fern
bookmarknapapotan
narasinipjin necsei nupu afrika
narevaro
nasahas
n. a small water-plant
bookmarknasanma
n. the juice of the breadfruit tree
bookmarknasjiñaho
natapin
n. hedge
bookmarknatcai
n. kind of plant, grass, or fern
bookmarknathat uwun jap
nattri
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
bookmarknatuun
n. kind of banana
bookmarknauhoig yi amud an nadiat
n. the break of day
bookmarknauhuluc
n. wind-related term; no definition provided
bookmarknaurakiti
n. kind of plant, grass, or fern
bookmarknaytmas
n. tree to 5 m, dbh 4 cm (collection: Michael J. Balick #4898)
Example: The leaves are used to cover goat or pig meat when a person is roasting it on an earth oven It prevents it from burning and enhances the taste of the meat.
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nehio
n. a hurricane
bookmarknelmaha
n. tree. Growing near village. (collection: Ashley A McGuigan #6)
Example: 1. To cure spirit sickness of the niteitau. Use plants that also end with "au" : niditau, intoutau, naoyerop. Go to the top of the plant to get the soft leaves of the plants niditau, intoutau, naoyerop, also take the bark. The person making the medicine should be holding the these leaves with a piece of nelmaha. Nelmaha means go away. The sick person chews the leaves and bark and swallows the juice spitting out the fiber into the nelmaha the medicine maker is holding. The medicine person then takes the spit out fiber in the nalmaha leaf and throws it into the sea in front of the village. 2. To cure headaches casued by bad spirit - Take one top from Nelmaha and one from inrowod (white stripe variety) Combine and chew these then spit them out and apply to the sick persons forehead. 3. To cure headaches - Someone other than the woman must prepare this. Break the top branch of netethae and remove leaves for use. Combine with the top leaves of the top branch of nelmaha. Chew the leaves and drink the juice. Do this when the sun is setting on the horizon. The woman gives the leftover fibers to the person who prepared the medicine and that person goes and throws the fibers in the direction of the setting sun. 4. 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 inpounatmas, 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. 5. Used to fight against black magic in an unspecified way. 6. Roll leaf and put in pocket for protection when walk in a new area. 7. Message plant if a land dispute – if a person puts this stem or leaf in another’s garden whom they are angry with it means go away!! 8. To treat sick people, especially who fall ill from black magic to save their life. Symptoms vary, for example a person with small boils over body,* a person chews the leaf and spits it on the sick person, 1x and then puts the branch with leaves near the sick person when they sleep – 3x (1x day) branch is ca. 25cm long. (*headache, severe)
bookmarknepek cat
neta
n. cane (sugar)
bookmarknidel
n. a meteor; also "nidil"
bookmarknijinga
n. shrub to 2 m, flowers blue-purple. Red clay soil (collection: Michael J. Balick #4878)
Example: A stem of this shrub is sharpened and used to dig a hole for planting kava. When a person plants kava in a hole made from this stick, there is the belief that it will make kava root stems strong and large. The fruits are edible when ripe and said to be sweet.
bookmarknilyat
n. the name of a tree, the leaves of which blister
bookmarknipjin
n. branch (tender)
bookmarknipjin nalmu
nirak
niri
niri atga
nitai auanipin upene
n. frankincense
bookmarkniyeg
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.
bookmarknohor
n. kind of taro
bookmarknohwai itai
n. berry
bookmarknopan
n. a season
bookmarknop̃ou
n. large epiphyte on dead tree, growing in open forest. (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3478)
Example: The wood of this plant is very hard and can be used for house posts. Because the wood is somewhat heavy, younger stems can be sharpened at one end and the pole can be used to plant dryland taro, to make holes for the tubers. For planting swamp taro, the leaves can be used to line the pit that the taro is planted in; it is a local fertilizer for the taro, and as it rots the soil becomes soft while the taro is growing. The flowers are placed behind one’s ear to enjoy the fragrance or can also be used to make a floral necklace (Intañ).
bookmarknuhialeg upni
nuhujcei
n. liana, climbing on fallen tree (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3500)
Example: 1. When the stems of this plant are older, and it is a vine, is used to tie thatch on roof rafters as it bends well. 2. Burned leaves and rubbed on fishing line and spear to increase catch – used with other unspecified leaves, that are forageable. When you are fishing and if you set a basket or mat it means danger and you have to return to shore – the spirit is telling you that it is enough fishing.
bookmarknuput, noho’ich
n. cultivated anthropogenic landscape (lawn and planted trees). (collection: Keith E. Clancy #6655)
bookmarknätiädäl
n. alstonia vitiensis var. neo ebudica
Example: young leaf--cold maceration used as contraceptive in mixture with Apulda mutica, Cyclosorus truncatus, and Dioscorea bulbifera or alone.
bookmarksiki
adv. down there, at a short distance; also "sike"
bookmarktesyapotan
n. terrestrial orchid growing in cloud forest along ridge. Flowers white. (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3281)
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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