An example search has returned 100 entries
ahwai lelcai
v. to plant weeds; to make a wilderness or a waste
bookmarkapig
adj. black
bookmarkatause
v.n. to go ashore
bookmarkeceijo
n. tide flowing a little, begun to flow
bookmarkham
v.n. to come
bookmarkheto
v. to grow again, as hair, feathers, plants; to come out, as teeth
bookmarkincispev
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.
bookmarkinharisihau
injupki
n. afternoon
bookmarkinmapoded
n. kind of breadfruit
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.
bookmarkinmauwad itoga
n. a foreign convolvulus
bookmarkinmayinepad
n. Squaretail coralgrouper
Example: Photo by Mark Rosenstein / iNaturalist.org, License: CC BY-SA 3.0 via Fishes of Australia
bookmarkinmehei
n. herb to 1. 5 m tall, sterile. Growing in weedy patch behind buildings on edge of trail. (collection: Michael J. Balick #4986)
Example: People use the leaves of this plant to wrap lap-lap for cooking on the earth oven or when boiling foods. The leaves can also be used as serving plates and to cover the stones on the earth oven.
bookmarkintal u unpoded
n. kind of taro
bookmarkinwah iran
n. seed
bookmarkinwaj
Reef needlefish, Reef longtoms
Example: Photo by ANFC, License: CC BY-NC 3.0 via Fishes of Australia
bookmarkinyiivac
kaias elauoh
n. kind of taro
bookmarkkitlel
mako amyiñ
n. tree to 5 m, fdby 35 cm (collection: Michael J. Balick #4979)
Example: The fruits are edible and ripen during November-December. The leaves can be boiled as a medicine. If a person has a hoarse voice, boil 4 or or a few more leaves in 1 liter of water. Cool the mixture and drink once daily until the voice returns to normal. The trunk of this tree is good for timber, as it is a very hard wood. But a productive tree is not cut for timber--only the wild mangos that have flowers and small fruits that do not ripen; these trees are cut for timber. This particular tree, "Mango Amgie" bears fruit with a great deal of fiber, so the name refers to the "mango that you drink." Amgie means "drink" in the Aneityum language. There is another variety of mango, "Mango Cig" that means the mango that you eat. It has a little fiber but good fleshy fruits. This species is introduced from outside of Aneityum.
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nagatia
n. treelet 2. 0-2. 5 m tall, dbh 3 cm (collection: Michael J. Balick #4858)
Example: If a chief passes away, they are burred in a sacred place. After burial, the people wash their hands with these leaves, mixed with water. The chiefs have a spiritual power and this is used to cleanse the people attending the funeral so that they do not get large sores on their leg or elsewhere on their body. This is part of the ritual for burying the chief.
bookmarknagedauyag
n. kind of taro
bookmarknahrin hat
n. kind of taro
bookmarknala
n. shrub to 2 m, coastal vegetation (collection: Michael J. Balick #4961)
Example: The stem of this plant is used for firewood. If a person has been drinking kava and the next morning feels hung over, they can take a handful of the leaves of this plant, crush them in cool water, and wash their face with this. This treatment will help the kava feeling to disappear.
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nalvara
n. the beginning of cold wind
bookmarknamarere
n. kind of sugarcane
bookmarknaporkos
n. kind of taro
bookmarknapupwi
n. kind of sugarcane
bookmarknaridjai o un
n. east
bookmarknariko
n. bean
bookmarknasieij
n. kind of tree
bookmarknatau anyiyi
n. kind of banana
bookmarknathut u nadiat
n. dawn of day
bookmarknatuh
n. a sweet-smelling plant
bookmarknau
n. bamboo; a mountain
bookmarknauras
n. kind of tree
bookmarknawa
n. shrub. Village pathways. ornamental. (collection: Ashley A McGuigan #7)
Example: 1. Heat the leaves then place on the sore muscle. 2. Edible plant, cook young leaves until soft and then can eat, as a vegetable or soup, with any food. 3. Same use as AAM 3 to heat and put on body to heal pain. 4. On a reef when it is time to protect the reef to conserve it and bring more fish, you take this plant and put it in the hole in the reef – cut stem and put it in reef in several parts. People will know it is under protection and respect it.
bookmarknecna p̃a
n. Largescale mullet
Example: Photo by ANFC, License: CC BY-NC 3.0 via Fishes of Australia
bookmarknedwodou
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.
bookmarknedwonomo
nehivaing
nemtanla
n. herb to 1 m, flowers yellow. (collection: Michael J. Balick #4892)
Example: If a person is coming to a "new" village, e.g. not their own, and they have a branch in their hand, it means that they are coming in peace and not trying to harm anyone else in the new village. Or if they are asking for something that might be found in the new village, they hold the branch of this species and pass it to a person from that village so they will accept you.
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nepig
n. night
bookmarknerophat
n. Yellowspotted trevally, Turrum
Example: Photo by Rick Stuart-Smith / Fishes of Australia, License: CC BY-A 3.0 via Fishes of Australia
bookmarknhujac
nidi cai
n. frankincense
bookmarknilamese
n. a species of orchid (there are three on the island)
bookmarknilbudou
nimit
n. sparsely branched tree, 12 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3208)
Example: The flying fox eats the fruit of this tree. When the fruits are ripe, the seeds are edible and children cut off the outside of the fruit and eat the nut. Wrap fish with this leaf and cook it on top of a fire--it tastes good. House posts are made from the trunk of the tree. It grows in the coastal area.
bookmarknipnyineuc
n. another name for "masoa"; arrowroot
bookmarknipʧinite
niri atga
niskes
n. Harry hotlips, blubberlip
Example: Photo by ANFC, License: CC BY-NC 3.0 via Fishes of Australia
bookmarknisʧi
nodieg
n. a bundle of reeds; also "nohudieg"
bookmarknoweitopgat
nucsei
n. kind of taro
bookmarknuhihialeg
n. the early morning
bookmarknämdokai
yasua
n. kind of taro
bookmarkyecreig
adj. beginning to be ripe, as fruit
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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