Aneityum

v. taro; yams

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 54

v. go up; go east

Speaker: Kirk Keitadi

n. forecast

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 152

v.n. to go

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

adj. black

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 61

v.n. to go seaward

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

v.n. to steer straight

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

v.n. sail without making headway

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 180

v. to grow

Speaker: Kirk Keitadi

v.n. to fall behind; to come late

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 80

v. to split leaves

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 80

det. some

Speaker: Kirk Keitadi

n. a place down, or westward

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 82

n. bramble

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 130

n. kind of flowering plant (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #4759)

Scientific name: Gahnia aspera, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. tree to 6 m, dbh 8 cm (collection: Michael J. Balick #5002)

Speaker: Natu Kenneth

n. kind of fish

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. shrub to 1 m, flower white (collection: Michael J. Balick #4866)

Example: When making a taro patch, and removing soil, add the leaves of this plant to the soil to fertilize the taro, and prevent the bottom part of the taro from rotting. Put a layer of leaves on the bottom of the patch before planting taro and covering with soil.

Scientific name: Codiaeum variegatum, Speaker: Natu Kenneth

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

n. a grove of coconuts

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 87

n. kind of breadfruit

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 118

n. kind of taro

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 119

n. fog or mist

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 114

n. tree, 12-14 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3611)

Example: 1. The nut of this tree is edible and very good. Boil it with skin on or bake it in the earth oven and then cut it in half and eat. 2. Leaves for top of house ridge. 3. Leaves for fertilizing the water taro in swamps.

Scientific name: Inocarpus fagifer, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

n. treelet or shrub, 1 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3204)

Example: To treat a headache, people traditionally would make a small cut ¼ inch long with a bamboo or piece of glass around the eyebrows where it is soft and then drip juice of the crushed leaves in the cut to take away the pain. Let the cut bleed first and then put the juice in it and it will stop the pain. The bleeding will stop the pain and the leaf juice will stop the bleeding – sometimes the pain will go away immediately and sometimes it takes a few minutes. So this technique is used to treat a very strong headache like a migraine.

Scientific name: Malvaviscus arboreus, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. high tide

Speaker: Kirk Keitadi

n. sweet potato

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 173

n. whale

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. kind of fish

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. the center rib of the coconut leaf

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 90

n. tree to 10 m tall, dbh 50 cm (collection: Michael J. Balick #4908)

Example: Wood used for timber.

Scientific name: Burckella, Speaker: Natu Kenneth

n. a giant

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. kind of taro

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 119

n. kind of taro

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 119

n. the seven stars; the children of Kumnyumoi

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 91

v.n. to walk abroad

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 92

[maʊ ipiŋ] n. night of spirits; "left night"

Speaker: David Nasauman

n. Achyranthes aspera L.

Example: juice squeezed from leaves; taken internally against asthma and put into boils

Speaker: Bradacs 2011, p. 439

n. kind of fish

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

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.

Scientific name: Euodia hortensis, Speaker: Natu Kenneth

n. shrub to 1 m tall, frits green. Red clay soil (collection: Michael J. Balick #4880)

Example: Stems are used to produce cyclone houses--secure wild cane (Miscanthus) on the roof of the house. Fold cane in half over the stem of this plant and then lay it on the roof. Makes layers that resist the wind. The stem of this plant can be sharpened to make a fishing spear, or used as the shaft and a few wires are attached to the end.

Scientific name: Tarenna efatensis, Speaker: Natu Kenneth

n. sapling, 3 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #4106)

Example: 1. Sapling wood is used to make fishing spears. A straight sapling is first heated in the fire to render it pliable. The sapling is further straightened and then decorticated. Once cooled, wire can be added a prong to the end of the spear.

Scientific name: Dacrycarpus imbricatus, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

n. tree, 7-8 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3582)

Example: Firewood, timber good for bush houses. Calendar plant – when it is in flower, the old people know it is time to harvest root crops, like yam and other vine crops, in the wild, as yet unspecified. Local names = INYAC, NOMODEJ TAL, NOMODEJ WOU, NOU LELCEI… etc.

Scientific name: Weinmannia denhamii, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

n. small shrub, 0. 5 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3219)

Example: 1. A stimulant plant. If a person is going to their garden early in the morning before the sun come up, break 2 top young leaves and chew and swallow the liquid, spitting out the fiber. This makes the person able to work harder and not feel tired while in the fields. It was noted that "a person can do the work of many people if they chew this." 2. The leaves are used for fertilizer for taro--put a bunch of leaves in a hole were taro is to be planted as a compost/antibiotic. This practice is said to kill all of the bad organisms such as bacttively impact the health of the taro plant. 3. This species is collected in the coastal areas, and is different from the one that looks similar to it, that grows in the forested areas. People take 4 leaves, chew leaves, swallow juice, gives energy to work hard the entire day. For fishing, take lots of ripe fruits and put in pocket, you will be able to catch a lot of fish. It brings good fortune when fishing. Roots – take one root, wash where a woman is giving birth to a newborn baby, give a drop of the juice from the root to clear the mucus in the throat.

Scientific name: Scaevola taccada, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. shrub, 2 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3456)

Example: 1. The leaves of this plant are used as a fertilizer when a person plants taro "to help to feed the ground for next year." 2. Sapwood of this tree, and one more [GMP 3591], in old days take from west side and cross mountain to the east, and on red clay mountain, burn it to make spirits to give more sun instead of rain so that gardens will grow well.

Scientific name: Scaevola cylindrica, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. tree to 15 m, dbh 30-45 cm (collection: Michael J. Balick #4938)

Example: The wood is good for making paddles as well as to make canoes.

Scientific name: Adenanthera pavonina, Speaker: Natu Kenneth

n. kind of tree

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 117

n. sparsely branched tree, growing in open (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3477)

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.

Scientific name: Polyscias schmidii, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

n. kind of crab

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. kind of crab

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. kind of shellfish

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. hedge

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 156

n. kind of shellfish

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. chief

Example: Origin story of Aneityum chiefs on see more on Youtube

Speaker: Kirk Keitadi

n. kind of flowering plant (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #4761)

Scientific name: Pavetta opulina, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. wind-related term; no definition provided

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 113

n. bamboo to 5 m, sterile. (collection: Michael J. Balick #4940)

Example: Used to build walls of local houses. The outer skin is stripped off, stems cut in half then smashed flat, the inside is stripped clean and woven into walls. The cut pieces of entire stems can be filled with food and used for cooking that food. Cover both ends with leaves and cook. If a person has skin that becomes infected, use sharpened stem as a local knife to remove the infected area of skin. Use as a local water pipe to move water from one place to another (nobol). Either split the stem in half or punch the nodes out throughout the entire tube and use as a pipe.

Scientific name: Bambusa vulgaris, Speaker: Natu Kenneth

v. to fish (with a net)

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. kind of banana

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 118

n. a species of thorn

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 97

n. kind of crab

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

[nefiaŋ] n. January (lit. big wild sugar cane)

Speaker: David Nasauman

n. kind of tree

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 117

n. tree, growing in forest at edge of wide tidal stream (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3535)

Example: 1. The wood is strong and good to make house posts. People use these for this purpose on the coast as salt water does not bother this wood. 2. People eat fruit, split fruit in half, carefully scrape the inner part into a pot of water, keep over night – next day rinse, fry or cook with coconut milk and can add tinned tuna for example, very hard work.

Scientific name: Bruguiera gymnorhiza, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

n. Skipjack tuna

Example: Photo by Krw130lm / Fishes of Australia, License: CC BY-A-SA 3.0 via Fishes of Australia

Scientific name: Katsuwonus pelamis via FishBase, Speaker: Jack Keitadi

n. kind of shellfish

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. nellet tree (RPV #116)

Scientific name: Dendrocnide latifolia, Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. cloth of coconut tree; anything useless. Ek idivaig nenis ainyak, I am quite useless

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 99

n. tree, 8-10 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #4141)

Scientific name: Ficus obliqua, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. calabash

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 132

n. tree, 3-4 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3687)

Scientific name: Meryta neo-ebudica, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

n. edible fern

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

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. grass to 70 cm tall, sterile. Cultivated at the side of a field. (collection: Michael J. Balick #4958)

Example: The leaves and stems are boiled in water to make tea. The base of the leaves (the whitish part) is used to cook foods that have a strong odor, such as goat or shark. The base is sliced and put in the soup and this helps to keep the smell of the goat or shark from infusing through the rest of the food and making it less palatable. In some areas of Aneityum, such as in cassava fields, there is a fungus that kills the crops. This species is interplanted with the crops to kill that fungus and protect the crop plants.

Scientific name: Cymbopogon citratus, Speaker: Tony Keith

[niaŋ aɣin] n. August (lit. nasty wild cane)

Speaker: David Nasauman

[niθin neaiɣ] n. coconut milk

Speaker: David Nasauman

n. south-west wind

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 113

n. tree fern, 2-3 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #4100)

Example: 1. There are kinds of this plant. This is considered the black one. See GMP #4102, Cyathea sp, which is considered the white one.

Scientific name: Cyathea decurrens, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

n. shrub, 1-1. 25 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3591)

Example: The fruits of this species are edible when ripe (black) and are very sweet. It grows in the white grass area in the open. It is "numba one" fruit. If a person eats a lot of these it turns their tongue reddish-purple.

Scientific name: Vaccinium macgillivrayi, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

n. outrigger of canoe

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

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. the name of a tree, the leaves of which blister

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 102

[ninahɛn] n. scales

Speaker: Osiani Nerian

[niseuɣ] n. walking stick, staff

Speaker: David Nasauman

n. fruit; also "nohwan"

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 103

n. kind of banana

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

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

[nohos anu ziland opuah] n. kind of banana (gray sp. from New Zealand)

Speaker: David Nasauman

n. a bunch of taro; also "nuhud ucnas"

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 104

n. stem

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 188

n. kind of taro

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 119

n. tree, 8 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3703)

Scientific name: Syzygium nomoa, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. kind of plant, grass, or fern

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 120

n. Morinda citrifolia L.

Example: Fruit: eaten raw, constipation

Speaker: Bradacs 2011, p. 444

n. plain

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 172

n. a bunch of taro

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. wind-related term; no definition provided

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 113

n. shoots of taro for planting

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 105

n. wind-related term; no definition provided

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 114

n. tree, 6 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3263)

Example: 1. A "calendar plant". When this flowers in the bush, and people are making their gardens in that area, it means the garden is ready to harvest. 2. Firewood, calendar, and message plant – for people who live up in the forest can see this coastal plant and when it flowers it is a good time to go fishing or to move to the coastal area for a few weeks to relax. July-August. Tide is low so everything is exposed so it is a good time to fish for there, 2 months. 3. Flowers have a nice nectar, sweet, kids drink.

Scientific name: Metrosideros collina, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

prep. down there

Speaker: Kirk Keitadi

n. tomato

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

Speaker: Romario Yaufati