Aneityum

v. bite, sing

Speaker: Kirk Keitadi

[apuat pam] n. just dark now, black

Speaker: David Nasauman

v. to plant taro

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 62

v.n. go alone

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 154

v. to burn ground for planting

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 74

v. to fish (with a net)

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

[et aparaiŋ troʊses tuwuna] phr. he is wearing his trousers backwards

Speaker: Kirk Keitadi

v.n. to fall behind; to come late

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 80

n. green peppers

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

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. tree, 3 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3612)

Example: 1. Edible fruits when ripe and turn black – some sweet and some not – eat sweet ones. 2. Timber, firewood.

Scientific name: Syzygium clusiifolium, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

n. fishing hook

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. tree, 4 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3647)

Example: 1. The straight poles of this plant are sharpened and used to plant kava, and only for kava. Not used for planting other crops. 2. Special for catching eels in fresh water, poke stick with leaves into hole where eel lives and they don’t like it so they come out and you catch them, by cutting with knife.

Scientific name: Maoutia diversifolia, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

n. puppy, dog

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

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. taro patch

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

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

[inhuboʊ] n. shell (helical shell, white with purple spots)

Speaker: Chris Nevehev

n. kind of shellfish

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

[inʤap] n. sea

Speaker: Chris Nevehev

n. belt

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. coarse tassel fern (RPV #220) ("belt" + an ethnonym, plant used to make a type of ceremonial belt attrbuted to a specific ethnic group)

Scientific name: Huperzia phlegmaria, Speaker: Romario Yaufati

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

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

Speaker: David Nasauman

n. vine to 40 cm, flowers blue (collection: Michael J. Balick #4949)

Example: To heal cuts, select a piece of the larger part of the stem (woody) cut a 6 inch piece and blow on one end; the sap comes o ut on the other end and this can be used to cover the wound. As a pig feed, people collect the stems and leaves and feed these to the pigs.

Scientific name: Ipomoea, Speaker: Tony Keith

n. vine to 5 m tall in trees, fruits maturing yellow-brown. Growing in agroforest/secondary forest. (collection: Michael J. Balick #5009)

Example: People collect this vine and feed it to pigs. It also has an unspecified medicinal use. The vine of this plant forms a thick canopy so some people plant it around the house near trees that do not give much shade in order to reduce the intensity of the sun on the house and thus keep the temperature lower. The vine grows quickly into the trees.

Scientific name: Operculina (?) turpethum, Speaker: Tony Keith

n. trees, 3-4 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #4133)

Scientific name: Caryota ophiopellis, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. kind of taro

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 119

n. tongs for removing food from fire

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

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. a bed, a foundation, a plantation

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 89

n. blossom (open)

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 130

n. brook

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 131

n. large tree, 15 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #4051)

Example: 1. When in flower (yellow), taro is said to be ready in the garden.

Scientific name: Metrosideros collina, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

[inʧatamaɪjn] n. rooster

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

Speaker: Osiani Nerian

n. back of canoe

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

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. kind of crab

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

adj. smooth, applied to sugarcane-leaf thatch

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 107

n. kind of bird

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. kind of flowering plant (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #4797)

Scientific name: Coix lacryma-jobi, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. the name of a prickly shrub

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 93

n. kind of flowering plant (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #4766)

Scientific name: Cf. Tapirira guianensis, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. bay (of the sea); creek

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 127, 139

n. coconut spathes

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 136

[nafirama] n. a kind of basket

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

Speaker: Osiani Nerian

n. canarium nut (RPV #25)

Scientific name: Canarium indicum, Speaker: Romario Yaufati

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

Speaker: David Nasauman

n. kind of tree

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 117

n. dawn of day

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 141

n. kind of flowering plant (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #4771)

Scientific name: Dianella ensifolia, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. dwarf (North dialect)

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. kind of taro

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 119

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.

Scientific name: Dendrolobium umbellatum, Speaker: Tony Keith

n. chicken feathers

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

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. shrub to 1. 5 m, dbh 4 cm (collection: Michael J. Balick #5005)

Example: In areas such as this, where more traditional leaves used to wrap lap-lap are scarce, this leaf can be used as it is quite large.

Scientific name: Cyrtandra, Speaker: Natu Kenneth

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. kind of flowering plant (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #4778)

Scientific name: liana, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. kind of sugarcane

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 120

n. tree to 5 m, dbh 10 cm (collection: Michael J. Balick #4889)

Example: The leaves are used to cover meat when baking it in a stone oven (inmawum). This will soften the meat and keep it moist. Used when other species of this genus are not available, for example if you are in the bush.

Scientific name: Polyscias cissodendron, Speaker: Natu Kenneth

n. a mound or hillock for yams

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 96

[narasɛn natimi] n. skin (human)

Speaker: Ruben Nerian

n. native cabbage

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 132

n. the north-east-east wind

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 113

n. a sweet-smelling plant

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 97

n. reed

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 177

n. kind of banana

Speaker: David Nasauman

n. tree. Village home garden. (collection: Ashley A McGuigan #9)

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. Edible fruits, when ripe or green, does not taste when green, but sweet when ripe. 3a. Leaves (young) are edible, for example wrap around coconut meat and eat or cook with island cabbage and other leaves, boil and add coconut milk and eat. 3b. The young leaves are edible, after boiling for 5 minutes. A piece of coconut and a pinch of salt is wrapped in the leaves and eaten. The mature leaves are used to wrap food such as pig or cow meat and cooked in an earth oven. Tie this bundle with a piece of Pandanus fiber to secure it before putting in the earth oven. 4. During big feast, use this a lot – circumcison or wedding feast, harvest leaves and wrap around meat and bake on earth oven – sometimes we cut down a whole tree to gather leaves. 5. To make men’s custom belt – split stem, peel outer bark off to take inner bark and peel it, tear end to make strap that can be tied. Dry in sun but not direct sunlight. 6. Older large trunks were burned by ancestors to keep fire going – this was during the time when people did not have matches and did not need them as the embers of this tree would stay hot for days and when it was time to make a stronger fire, people would add smaller branches to make a flame appear.

Scientific name: Ficus aspera, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. understory tree, 2-3 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #4050)

Scientific name: Schefflera neoebudica, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. shrub, somewhat scandent (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3443)

Scientific name: Acalypha grandis, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. a bone, a foot

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 98

n. a hurricane

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 114

n. kind of plant, grass, or fern

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 120

n. stage of coconut

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

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. species of pine

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 117

n. tree, 4 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #4126)

Example: 1. The wood of this tree can be used as posts and rafters in traditional houses.

Scientific name: Spiranthemum, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. kind of tree

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 117

n. shark

Speaker: Kirk Keitadi

n. tender shoots

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 183

n. kind of banana

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 118

n. kind of tree

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 117

n. kind of plant, grass, or fern

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 120

n. balsam; resin

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 127, 178

n. shrub to small tree, growing in clumps among rocks in open area along river. Fruits green. (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #4064)

Example: 1. This plant is an indication of good soil. 2. Dry wood is used as a firewood.

Scientific name: Ficus adenosperma, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. the chewed fiber of sugarcane

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 101

n. kind of flowering plant (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #4775)

Scientific name: Commersonia bartramia, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. leaves to put food on

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 102

n. a species of seaweed

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 102

n. branch (large)

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 130

n. kind of flowering plant (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #4760)

Scientific name: Polyalthia nitidissima, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. shoots of plants of bananas

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 103

n. kind of shellfish

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. kind of banana (sweet)

Speaker: David Nasauman

n. the New Caledonian banana

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 118

n. kind of shellfish

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. fruit trees

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 104

n. kind of taro

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 119

n. species of vine runner; a basket net

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 104

n. tree to 5 m, dbh 10 cm (collection: Michael J. Balick #4881)

Example: The wood of this tree is used to make house-posts, it is strong. The leaves are used as a compost for the taro patch; line the hole with the leaves of this tree, then place soil over that and plant the taro. When the fruits are ripe, local people say that the hermit crabs are "fat" and ready to collect and eat. When a person is in the forest and there is no coconut fruit fiber to start a fire with, use a dry stick, shave it and use a match to start a pile of this tinder to make a good fire. The wood is said to be "oily." This gives it a nice aroma. To perfume coconut oil, drop the dry flowers in it--use 1 handful of dried flowers added to a pot of oil boiling on the fire while making it. Strain out flowers and the oil smells good. Flowers can also be added to the oil once it is bottled to perfume it.

Scientific name: Fagraea berteroana, Speaker: Natu Kenneth

n. Orangespot surgeonfish

Example: Photo by Ian Shaw / iNaturalist.org, License: CC BY-NC 3.0 via Fishes of Australia

Scientific name: Acanthurus olivaceus, Speaker: Chris Nevehev

n. tree, 10-12 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #4027)

Example: 1. Used to build houses. The wood of this tree is considered very hard and heavy, so it is used as posts in traditional houses.

Scientific name: Syzygium nomoa, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

n. seed

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 182

n. Macaranga dioca

Example: Inner bark: bathe in cold infusion, wounds. Mix heated over fire and taken out during sunset. Healer clenches the package in his fist, then gently punches the patients left, then right knee, then his forehead and finally squeezes over his head, migraine a

Speaker: Bradacs 2011, p. 441

[rabaθ] n. Peregrine Falcon

Example: Photo by Teddy Llovet, License: CC BY-NC 2.0 see more on Flickr See how this bird is featured in the origin story of Aneityum chiefs at see more on Youtube

Scientific name: Falco peregrinus, Speaker: Jack Keitadi

adj. leafless; fading

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 107