Aneityum

adj. happy

Speaker: Kirk Keitadi

v.a. pass over or through a country

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

v.n. go down

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 154

n. sunset

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 62

v. to fish

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

v.n. go alone

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 154

wind blowing

Speaker: Kirk Keitadi

v. to sharpen the point of a reed like a spear

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 80

n. kind of breadfruit

Speaker: David Nasauman

n. kind of breadfruit

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 118

n. one of the best kinds of breadfruit

Speaker: David Nasauman

n. the cold season; winter

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 87

n. treelet, 1. 75 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #4077)

Scientific name: Ixora aneityensis

[inmohoɣ la] n. September (lit. clear month)

Speaker: David Nasauman

n. Coral hind, coral grouper (deep sea)

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

Scientific name: Cephalopholis miniata via FishBase, Speaker: Jack Keitadi

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. unbranched treelet, 1. 25 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3526)

Example: People use the leaves for cooking any ground up food that is cooked on a fire such as manioc or bananas, roasted or boiled in water. Fish can be cooked this way. The roots of this plant can be cooked in an earth oven. These need to be cooked for 2 days or 2 nights, lke a yam. The plant has large roots that are good to eat. Chew like a piece of surgarcane, the taste is sweet like honey. Swallow the juice and spit out the fiber. The roots, once cooked, can be stored for 6 months. In ancient times they were eaten during times when there was no food. This food is said to be able to sustain a person for one day, if eaten in the morning, the person not be hungry until sunset. Today, people eat this plant at festivals, as it is no longer a famine food.

Scientific name: Cordyline fruticosa, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

n. kind of fish

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. the following day

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 61

[intas] language

n. boards for people to sit on

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

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. kind of fish

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

[indi] n. excrement (gen.)

Speaker: Ruben Nerian

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.

Scientific name: Crassocephalum crepidioides, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. terrestrial orchid, 1 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3708)

Scientific name: Calanthe chrysantha, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

n. kind of banana

Speaker: David Nasauman

n. liana climbing on Syzygium, growing along ridge in dense rainforest. Latex white (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #4079)

Scientific name: Tylophora aneityensis, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. fishing line

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. Homalium aneityense (RPV #105)

Scientific name: Homalium aneityense, Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. kind of tree

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 117

n. kind of breadfruit

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 118

n. kind of banana

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 118

v.n. to walk abroad

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 92

adj. dry

Speaker: Kirk Keitadi

[nadimi dowaŋ] phr. six men (there are)

Speaker: David Nasauman

[nadimi itij] phr. one man

Speaker: David Nasauman

n. tree. Growing on the coast. (collection: Ashley A McGuigan #23)

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. 2. Firewood, house post for bush house.

Scientific name: Guettarda speciosa, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. kind of plant, grass, or fern

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 120

[nahanemek] n. kind of breadfruit, old name for "naho"

Speaker: David Nasauman

n. kind of fish

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. tree to 7 m, dbh 20 cm (collection: Michael J. Balick #4860)

Example: This is a common tree. If a person travels from one district to another on Aneityum, and you see the tree planted in that other district, a person knows they are free to come into this area. When the leaves are yellow, as in a young tree, the local name is nala’gay. If a person carries a branch of this tree into a village it is a symbol that the person is coming with peaceful intentions.

Scientific name: Dendrolobium umbellatum, Speaker: Natu Kenneth

n. terrestrial orchid growing in rain forest on the mountain slope. Flowers white. (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3288)

Scientific name: Calanthe chrysantha, Speaker: Natu Kenneth

n. kind of sugarcane; also "inhelegaij"

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 119

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.

Scientific name: Cyrtandra aneiteensis, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. herb to 10 cm, sterile (collection: Michael J. Balick #4985)

Example: This plant is a very important food during a famine. People dig up the roots and roast these on the embers of a fire for 25 minutes, then check the root to get out the starchy material, and spit out the fiber. There is said to be little taste; this is a bland food that a person eats to survive. People on Aneityum have harvested it for a very long time so there is not as much of a supply left as in the past.

Speaker: Tony Keith

n. isle, island

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 160

n. preserved breadfruit

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 95

n. kind of bush

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

[nawʊn niʧman] n. arm

Speaker: Ruben Nerian

n. Slender silver-biddy

Example: Photo by John E. Randall, License: CC BY-NC 3.0

Scientific name: Gerres oblongus via FishBase, Speaker: Jack Keitadi

n. kind of sugarcane

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 120

n. firmament (astronomical)

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. kind of flowering plant (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #4773)

Scientific name: Phyllanthus myrianthus, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. a stem

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 97

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.

Scientific name: Delarbrea paradoxa, Speaker: Natu Kenneth

[neɪjanθel] n. coconut with sprout

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

Speaker: Osiani Nerian

n. prostrate creeping vine along coastlines. (collection: Ashley A McGuigan #10)

Example: 1. To cure rubbush blood - Take a handfull f leaves of any age, pound it into a cupfull of water, squeeze the juice and drink when woman feels pain in head or inside the body or when the inside of the body is hot. Drink this once a day until the pain goes away. 2. To cure excessive bleeding after giving birth - boil naojapdak leaves (2-16) in seawater until leaves are soft and the water is brown. Sit on this water. 3. To close the cervix - boil 2 naojapdak leaves in water and bath in it. 4. Medicine: Smash leaves 1 handful, into cup and add a small amount of water to treat constipation—1 cup for children; 1.5 litres for adults. 5. Stomachache: same treatment, will clear bowel. 6. For leg sores, collect whole plant, put in water – a pool of water for 1 week, then use to dip sore as on leg into it for 10-15 minutes cure the sore.

Scientific name: Vigna marina, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. tree to 6 m, dbh 10 cm (collection: Michael J. Balick #4865)

Example: To bring luck when fishing. Take 4 leaves with stems still on them-- first thing in the morning, when it is cool and quiet and there is not much noise, break the left hand side from two leaves and the right hand side from two leaves (total 4 half leaves) and take those pieces and put in the bag containing your fishing gear. The meaning of the local name is that "these leaves will please the Sea God" who will not understand it if a fisherman does not have leaves with them on their trip. There are groups of people who are part of the Sea Gods and you must notify these people before you go out to fish. If you have these leaves in your bag, you are said to get many fish. In the past certain people were responsible for the harvest from the sea; these people used to know this ritual. Not much known at present. Birds eat the fruit of this tree as does the flying fox.

Scientific name: Ficus glandifera, Speaker: Natu Kenneth

[nefat̚po] n. November (lit. relax, don’t have to work)

Speaker: David Nasauman

n. bunch of bananas; also "nigainohos"

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 98

n. cliff

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 135

n. a mat of coconut leaf

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 99

n. shrub to 2 m, flowers pale green-white (collection: Michael J. Balick #4899)

Example: If a person chews the branches of this tree, their teeth will not grow or will fall out. Common name refers to "bad teeth.

Scientific name: Psychotria aneityensis, Speaker: Natu Kenneth

n. kind of taro

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 119

n. tree, 18 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3667)

Example: Children suck the nectar from the young flowers just as they open. Wood from this plant is used for poles for rafters as well as for firewood. Flying foxes drink juice from the flowers.

Scientific name: Geissois denhamii, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

n. wind-related term; no definition provided

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 114

n. a tree from the inner rind of which fishing lines and nets are made. na elmai or elumai, cloth

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 99

n. kind of shellfish

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. kind of tree

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 117

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

Scientific name: Ficus obliqua, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. kind of tree

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 117

n. the chewed fiber of sugarcane

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 101

n. Green humphead parrotfish, bumphead parrotfish

Example: Photo by Klaus Stiefel / Flickr, License: CC BY-NC 3.0 via Fishes of Australia

Scientific name: Bolbometopon muricatum via FishBase, Speaker: Jack Keitadi

n. a species of orchid (there are three on the island)

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 102

n. wind

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 113

n. wind-related term; no definition provided

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 113

n. house (gen.)

Speaker: Kirk Keitadi

n. type of seashell

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

Speaker: Jack Keitadi

n. kind of crab

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

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. coconut leaves, plaited for covering ridge of roof

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 103

n. a fern

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 120

n. ladder fern, fishbone fern (RPV #221)

Scientific name: Nephrolepis cordifolia, Speaker: Romario Yaufati

[nohoɪjam] n. fan of woven pandanus leaf

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

Speaker: Osiani Nerian

n. the Futuna banana

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 118

[nohos u natmas] n. kind of banana

Speaker: David Nasauman

n. Two-striped sweetlips, giant sweetlips

Example: Photo by Ross D. Robertson / Shorefishes of the Neotropics, License: CC BY-SA 3.0 via Fishes of Australia

Scientific name: Plectorhinchus albovittatus via FishBase, Speaker: Jack Keitadi

n. kind of plant, grass, or fern

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 120

n. plat (a map, drawn to scale, showing divisions in a piece of land)

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 172

n. kind of tree

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 117

[numra napo] n. the Southern Cross

Speaker: David Nasauman

n. kind of fish (folk name)

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. kind of fish (folk name)

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. wind-related term; no definition provided

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 114

n. unidentified species

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

Speaker: Bradacs 2011, p. 445

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

Speaker: Kirk Keitadi

adv. seaward

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 107

n. kind of breadfruit (biggest one)

Speaker: David Nasauman

v. talk

Speaker: Kirk Keitadi

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

Scientific name: Pristiglottis montana

n. sprouts

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 188