An example search has returned 100 entries
alwa
v. to bud; to put forth leaves
bookmarkfetofeto
ianiv
n. yesterday
bookmarkidahod
v. to sprout largely; also "ujipsotan"
bookmarkincipiñti
incipñekrei
inhupau
inlepei
n. native petticoat
bookmarkinlobot
n. croton plant
bookmarkinmac
n. tree to 10 m, dbh 1 m (collection: Michael J. Balick #4991)
Example: The young trees are a good source of lumber as they are straight and can be used as poles or sawn timber. This tree is also a source of firewood and is known to be easy to light and burns well. The fruits are a source of oil. Collect the ripe fruits, remove the seeds from the shell, macerate the seeds to release the white endosperm inside, place this in a pot without water and heat it. The brown-yellow oil will come out from the crushed fruits. It is good for using on the body but not edible. It is a good massage oil, or to lubricate the skin or to heal small wounds. For the latter, drop some oil on the wound once daily until the wound heals.
bookmarkinmauwad ahi
n. a convolvulus with white flowers; also "inmauwad picad"
bookmarkinmauwad picad
n. a convolvulus with white flowers; also "inmauwad ahi"
bookmarkinmehtas
n. kind of breadfruit
bookmarkinmerei
n. tree to 2 m tall,dbh 40 com (collection: Michael J. Balick #4877)
Example: To treat a local disease (that causes pain in the stomach) called "Namya," peel off the outer bark, collect 1 handful of inner bark, boil with 1/2 liter of water, drink warm, 3 cups/daily, for 3 days. At that point the person will feel that "the weakness is no longer in the body." After 3 days of treatment the pain in the stomach goes away. Wood is used for posts; leaves for compost for holes that people will plant taro in--line the bottom of the hole before placing soil and taro in it.
bookmarkinrokdania
n. epiphyte on trees, growing in dense rainforest. (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #4093)
Example: 1. Sickness blo namya. When a man accidentally has intercourse with a woman during her menstrual cycle, he can become sick. The leaves are squeezed, along with others, to produce an extraction. The dose and duration varies according to the degree of the symptoms. Further information about the preparation withheld.
bookmarkintate a nelgo waj
intidin
n. a crop, but not the first ripe
bookmarkintinan nopoi
n. the wicker-work bed (constellation?)
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intop̃ hau
n. well branched tree, 6 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3202)
Example: 1. Young shoots are peeled and made into grass skirts. Scrape the stem and take the green part off, tie strips together and put under stones in the sea for retting, let sit 5 days in sea, but check these on a daily basis. When the fiber becomes soft, that is the time to take it from under the stones, clean off the excess materials, and hang it in the sun to dry for 3 days--this will bleach it and give it a whitish color, at which point it can be woven into a skirt. 2. The fiber can be used to make a small rope that is tied with shells and used for custom dances. 3. When the stems of this tree are older, the wood is very hard and it can be used to make the main frame that is arched for a cyclone house. According to Reuben these houses are not made much anymore on Aneityum Island. 4. To cook the intestines of fish that are eaten, take several leaves and put them in a small pile, making a wrapping, then use a local fiber to tie this together and cook on charcoal for as long as needed to prepare the fish parts. 5. In this area, sometimes knowledge of the plants and flowering are used as a calendar to indicate the time for planting of specific crops. Reuben will provide more details on a future trip. 6a. This species is an important "message plant." If a person is not home and you are visiting from the East--e.g. an Eastern part of the Island--that person can leave a 12 inch piece of stick in front of the door of the house so that the inhabitant knows that an eastern visitor (from Anawonjei district) has come by your home. The reason that person has come to visit is to pass an important message to you--good or bad "luck". The bad luck message might be a death, and is not told directly to the person. The good luck message might be a birth, or conflict that has been resolved. These messages are communicated using sticks--each district has a different species of plant. Reuben’s is the hibiscus. 6b. Message plant for Eastern people. If someone dies, use this plant, clip it in front of hem, in front of home, they ask “who” and you can tell them. In Eastern culture you cannot tell them directly. 7. When a person is too drunk with kava, take a branch of this and brush him with it to help make the effects go away. 8. Traditional plates for food.
bookmarkinwoapeñ
inwowityuwun
inyat
inyehec
n. mandrake
bookmarkjigkom
[ʧiŋkum] n. chewing gum
bookmarklaulau
adj. long, applied to time
bookmarknabuthwä
nadeni
n. the name of a prickly shrub
bookmarknafirama
nahaijcai
n. kind of plant, grass, or fern
bookmarknahed u paralecei
naheñ
nahleuco yag
n. kind of taro
bookmarknakhe
n. fern. Growing in a village back path. (collection: Ashley A McGuigan #29)
Example: 1. To cure when the anus falls out - Pound together 1 braches worth of inpalcapnesgin leaves and of both inloptiri (2-4 leaves, any age), also take the inner bark of nekeaitimi and nakhe. Put this into your hand, or another leaf and give it to the person to use it. This should be applied to the anus whenever the anus comes out. USed to use a clam shell to extract the bark but not anymore.
bookmarknalad iran
n. seed of a fig
bookmarknalgaj
nalvimtinjap
n. a light wind; the beginning of a wind
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nanad
n. shrub. Growing near the beach. (collection: Ashley A McGuigan #4)
Example: 1. Dried branches from this plant can be used to roast vegetable crops that women eat if they have problems becoming pregnant. 2. Firewood, burns well. 3. Some people will eat the green fruit for protection against black magic. Eat 5 fruits for this. Eat it only once – will last for a year.
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napannopotan
napayu
n. kind of tree
bookmarknapdaj
napoijec
n. kind of tree
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napuleman
n. kind of banana
bookmarknap̃od
nasjiñaho
nauyerop
n. species of sycamore (117); a sycamore fig (97)
bookmarknauyerop
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.
bookmarknegainohos
n. bunch of bananas; also "nigainohos"
bookmarknekrei
n. a large bat; the flying fox
bookmarknelean takere
n. wind-related term; no definition provided
bookmarknelka
nese uinman
n. tree to 3 m tall, 20 cm dbh (collection: Michael J. Balick #4869)
Example: To treat toothaches, take a handful of leaves, boil them in 1 cup of water, take the warm liquid and leaves and wash or rinse the affected area as needed until pain resolves. The wood is used for carving and is yellowish in color. The stems are used to secure the outrigger to a traditional canoe.
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nijcel
n. tree, 10-12 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #4061)
Example: 1. When cooking "Naura" (freshwater prawns), the leaves are used to wrap them before they are roasted in a fire. 2. When making lap-lap (a traditional dish made of grated root crops), and the lap-lap leaf is unavailable (Heliconia sp.), use the large leaf of this species to wrap the taro.
bookmarknimit
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.
bookmarknirid unmu
n. terrestrial fern, growing in primary rainforest. (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3614)
Example: People who go fishing take this plant along with other unspecified leaves, crush them and rub them on the fishing line that the person is using. This is said to attract more fish to the bait. It is also a "message plant" to be put in a person’s hat when they come back from fishing and then people know that they caught fish. Local name means "fish gill."
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nohwai itai
n. corn
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oho
v.n. to bear fruit as a tree
bookmarkridiau mayi
n. kind of taro
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There 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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