Aneityum

baby crawling

Speaker: Kirk Keitadi

n. beat coconut fiber

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 127

v. to plant weeds; to make a wilderness or a waste

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 56

v.n. to go up, or go east

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

[amŋi kava] phr. drink kava

Speaker: Kirk Keitadi

n. on another day

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

v. go back into shore; go further up into the bush; go inland

Speaker: Kirk Keitadi

adj. backwards

Speaker: Kirk Keitadi

n. made of branches

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 130

adj. made of branches

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

v. tie

Speaker: Kirk Keitadi

v. plant

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

v.n. to go on to a reef with a canoe or boat

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 72

v.n. expand as a leaf

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 148

n. tree, 7 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3723)

Example: The fruits of this species are cracked open and the seeds eaten. The leaves are mixed with other leaves to make an unspecified traditional medicine. The plant is also used for firewood.

Scientific name: Barringtonia edulis, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

n. kind of bird

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. without branches

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 130

n. shrub, 1 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3543)

Example: Red, dried fruits are fed to small chicks as food.

Scientific name: Rivina humilis, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

n. kind of sugarcane

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 119

n. terrestrial sedge, c. 1 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3496)

Example: Children pull out the young shoots of this plant and play with them as a spear to throw.

Scientific name: Gahnia aspera, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

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. shrub, 2 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3548)

Example: The forked stick of this plant is used as a pole to hold the outrigger on a canoe. Children blow the small fruits of this plant through the hollow petioles of the papaya leaf or a hollowed bamboo stem as a game. As an aphrodisiac, two handfuls of the leaves of this species are boiled in fresh water and men drink these for 7 days. The next week they will be "strong." People cannot have sex while they are drinking this remedy, but then the next week when they have finished the treatment, they will be "very strong."

Scientific name: Vitex trifolia, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

n. kind of turtle

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. kind of taro

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 119

n. kind of sugarcane

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 119

n. kind of shellfish

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. kind of tree

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 117

n. tree to 5 m, dbh 8 cm (collection: Michael J. Balick #4855)

Example: To treat a flu that has resulted in a thick, runny nose, collect sap of this tree, drink 2-3 drops directly (not in water). This is for treating the type of flu that provokes yellow mucus coming out of the nose. Drinking the sap breaks up the stuffy nose. Use once, it tastes very sour. In 3-4 days the mucus will be expelled. Do not use too much! If a person has a new cut, and the bleeding will not stop, place the sap on the cut and the bleeding will stop. If you have a burn that is bleeding, applying the sap will stop the blood and oozing sore. If a person has a sore on their body, cover it with a layer of the sap from this plant. This will ensure that the sore will not get larger from infection, flies, etc. but stay its original size. This plant is also used for unspecified spiritual practices. To determine if a fish you have caught is poisonous, e.g. with ciguatera, take an 8’ piece of small branch from this tree, peel the bark and put it inside the fish before you cook it on the earth oven. If the stick turns black, then you know that the fish is not good to eat--it has a poison so should be thrown away.

Scientific name: Tabernaemontana anguinea, Speaker: Natu Kenneth

[inmeʧihap̃] n. kind of bird

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

[inmopon] n. liver

Speaker: Ruben Nerian

n. Ipomea indica

Example: latex blown from stalk using it like a straw; anti-hemorrhage

Speaker: Bradacs 2011, p. 441

n. a brook that is dry in summer

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 131

n. kind of shellfish

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. stoloniferous herb, 15 cm tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3561)

Example: In the past the ancestors learned to cook the leaves of this species with fish in an earth over and then eat the leaves as well as the fish. Today, fish are wrapped with small leaves and then covered with lap-lap leaf (Polyscias) and cooked in an earth oven.

Scientific name: Wedelia uniflora, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

n. kind of fish

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. parasitic vine scrambling over Scaevola taccada, at edge of strand. Fruits green. (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3545)

Example: 1. Take a handful of vine, pound it and wash hair, like shampoo – makes hair curly and like rasta. 2a. This is a "message plant." If a person is walking through a village that is not his, people know that they come in peace. 2b. Message plant - if a group is discussing something and one person goes out and makes a head les of this vine, it means that there can’t be an agreement. 2.) If you are angry at a person, drop the vine at their door, in the case of a visitor or land dispute and they need to leave.

Scientific name: Cassytha filiformis, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

n. kind of crab

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. pungent scrub, island musk (RPV #101)

Scientific name: Evodia hortensis, Speaker: Romario Yaufati

[kurimataʊ] n. cow (lit. dog’s older brother)

Speaker: Osiani Nerian

adj. long, applied to time

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 92

n. kind of taro

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 119

n. Roundjaw bonefish

Example: Photo by J.E Randall, Fishbase: CC BY-A-NC 3.0

Scientific name: Albula glossodonta via FishBase, Speaker: Jack Keitadi

n. kind of fish

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. kind of crab

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

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

Speaker: David Nasauman

n. large terrestrial herb, 1 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #4142)

Scientific name: Crinum asiaticum, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. kind of tree

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 117

n. pendent epiphyte, growing in dense rainforest. (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #4039)

Scientific name: Ophioderma pendula, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. kind of tree

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 117

n. dwarf (North dialect)

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. kind of plantain

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 119

n. terrestrial orchid, growing in dense rainforest. (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #4116)

Scientific name: Macodes sanderiana, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

n. shrub to 1. 5 m, flowers white. Red clay soil (collection: Michael J. Balick #4882)

Example: Use the leaves to make compost to be placed at the bottom of the hole where taro is to be planted, cover with soil and grow the taro in that hole. Serves as a fertilizer.

Scientific name: Scaevola neoebudica, Speaker: Natu Kenneth

[nawʊnoan] n. neck

Speaker: Ruben Nerian

n. kind of fish

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. kind of shellfish

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. kind of cabbage

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

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. trees; palms; figs

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 117

n. wind-related term; no definition provided

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 113

n. kind of tree

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 117

n. firmament (astronomical)

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. tree

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 195

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

Scientific name: Phyllanthus myrianthus, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. kind of banana

Speaker: David Nasauman

n. shrub to 2 m, dbh 3 cm (collection: Michael J. Balick #4862)

Example: The common name of this plant refers to the footprint of a chicken. Mix the dried leaves of this plant with pieces of coconut and feed to chickens. They are said to really like it. Plant the shrub near the place that chickens are kept. This feed will make the chickens produce more eggs and also increase the number of healthy chickens.

Scientific name: Acalypha, Speaker: Natu Kenneth

n. kind of tree

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 117

n. a wing, a sheath, a covering of bananas

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 98

n. fir; pine

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 150, 172

n. canoe rudder

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

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. Metrosideros collina (RPV #81)

Scientific name: Metrosideros collina, Speaker: Romario Yaufati

[nɛlna] n. fish sp.

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

Speaker: Osiani Nerian

[nɛʝɲan] n. footprints (gen.)

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

Speaker: Osiani Nerian

[nepiŋ θoʊ] n. night, moon has just gone down but enough light to see

Speaker: David Nasauman

n. kind of plant, grass, or fern

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 120

n. kind of flowering plant (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #4763)

Scientific name: Murraya paniculata, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. edible fern

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

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. kind of sugarcane

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 120

[nijaʊ] n. March (lit. a kind of plant like bamboo but smaller)

Speaker: David Nasauman

n. kind of taro

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 119

n. new coconut leaves

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 101

n. tree to 8 m, dbh 20 cm (collection: Michael J. Balick #4867)

Example: Fruits are sweet and edible when ripe. This plant is an indicator of rich soil, a good place to plant one’s garden. The leaves of this species are mixed in with other leaves for an unspecified local medicine that helps to remove spiritual sickness

Scientific name: Ficus adenosperma, Speaker: Natu Kenneth

n. tree. Found in the village. (collection: Ashley A McGuigan #14)

Example: The young leaves and fruits are edible; the fruits are eaten ripe. This species is used for firewood as well as house posts, but they don’t last as long as other types of wood so they are used in temporary structures. A sacred plant on Aneityum. Name means linkage between this world and the spirit world. Agriculture – you find this tree growing, it means that the land is fertile. Birds eat fruits; people burn the tree to release ash and fertilizer and grow their taro around it – it will give more food. Message plant – if someone puts a long brown on your door or in your garden, it means “why are you here?” Implies that you should go back to where you belong. You don’t belong in this place. For example instead of quarreling over land dispute, put the branch and it means that you should leave this place.

Scientific name: Ficus adenosperma, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. shrub, 1-2 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3555)

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.

Scientific name: Pemphis acidula, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. tree, 2 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3479)

Example: The leaves of this plant are used in cooking, particuarly with the earth oven. Use a fire to heat stones, then when the fire burns down and the stones are hot, pile these leaves on top of the hot stones and then place the food being cooked--taro, fish, pig, cassava, banana or other foods--on top of the leaves. Then pile more of these leaves on top of the food and then place additional hot stones on top of that pile of leaves. While the food is cooking--each type of food takes a different amount of time--the leaves give off a very nice smell and help flavor the food. The young stems of this plant are used in home construction but as they are small and thin, they are not used for posts.

Scientific name: Cleidion javanicum, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

n. kind of bush

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. kind of crab

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

[nipʧin ɲelas] n. crab

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

Speaker: Osiani Nerian

n. kind of taro

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 119

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. the north-north-west wind

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 113

n. kind of taro

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 119

n. the red star, the "hand" in the constellation Orion; also "necye"

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 113

n. the early morning

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 104

n. liana, growing at edge of forest. Fruit. (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3475)

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.

Scientific name: Durandea pentagyna, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

n. non-fish creatures in the sea

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. kind of fish (folk name)

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

[nʊpsiʤman] n. finger (gen.)

Speaker: Ruben Nerian

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

Scientific name: Pristiglottis montana

n. kind of taro

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 119