An example search has returned 100 entries
ahlaujai
v.n. go up
bookmarkgras
han
v.n. to go
bookmarkincat tal
n. basket of taro
bookmarkincei imtaig
n. the heart wood of a tree
bookmarkinhalav imtinjap
n. wind-related term; no definition provided. Possibly referring to "inhalav" ’child’.
bookmarkinharisihau
inhus
n. stump of a tree; shaft of a candlestick
bookmarkinja
n. Moorish idol
Example: Photo by Ian Shaw / iNaturalist.org, License: CC BY-NC 3.0 via Fishes of Australia
bookmarkinmadidi
n. tree to 7 m, dbh 30 com (collection: Michael J. Balick #4870)
Example: This plant is used for spiritual purposes. When fruits are young, the children take the fruit, cut it open and take coconut leaf midribs, impaling the seeds on the midribs and painting themselves with the fruit.
bookmarkinmobolhat
inmoijeuv ahcil
n. false star
bookmarkinp̃a
intinan nopoi
n. the wicker-work bed (constellation?)
bookmarkintisiaicai
n. kind of flower or flowers (see def. for "elwa")
bookmarkintisianmop
n. kind of sugarcane
bookmarkintopasyejitohou
n. herb to 50 cm tall, flowers yellow. (collection: Michael J. Balick #4947)
Example: To treat toothache, collect the uppermost young leaves, rub them in your hand, put mass of crushed leaves into the area of toothache to lessen the pain. Do this as needed until the pain goes away. Keep it in your mouth for 10 minutes then spit out, then add a new one, keep going as needed.
bookmarkintoutau
n. tree, 14 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3586)
Example: To make a fire, take a 1-2 cm diameter stick, sharpen it and rub it against a larger piece, ca. 6 cm in diameter. As a person rubs, the stick will start smoking and then start a fire, especially if there are a few small slivers of stem on the stick that can catch fire. People use other types of sticks to rub against the larger piece as well, and this will make a fire.
bookmarkinwag
n. the evening star
bookmarkinwou apeñ
inyacelcou
n. vine running many meters long over clay soil and grassy area on hillside where the triangular wooden signs are that used to be a landmark for ships coming to the island. Sterile. (collection: Michael J. Balick #5008)
Example: This plant is the focus of an important legend on Aneityum. When the missionary John Geddie and colleaguse first arrived on the island in July of 1848, the Chiefs welcomed them but some of the people did not like the idea. So these people sent a basket containing a peeled coconut and a fish (nopom) to the Chief in Umej to ask him to support the idea of getting rid of the missionary that the Chief of Analcahuat had welcomed. If the Chief of Umej were to eat the fish and coconut meat, it would mean that he agreed with the opposition. The Chief refused to eat the food in the basket and he told the people a parable involving this plant. A person cannot find the tip of the stem or the end of the root in the ground. So if they were to eliminate the missionary, his activity would continue because of God’s power. As it is with this plant, it will continue to grow and flourish if you cut it or try to dig up the root. So he sent a message about this plant to the people in Analcahuat who objected to the presence of the missionary stating this parable. Those people in Analcauhat held a secret meeting and they chose a powerful and strong person to kill the missionary. During the night the person went to the missionary’s house while he was in the toilet. Returning to the house, the missionary found the person in his doorway, and that person lifted his club to strike the missionary. But at that point the attacker’s hands suddenly had no power and the club fell from his hands, and he fell over. The missionary told him to get up, and not come back. After that experience, the people of Umej realized that God’s power was great and they could not go against it. The Chief took the peeled coconut that was sent him and covered it with the skin of another coconut and planted it instead of eating it. This coconut grew and the missionary’s work continued to grow on the island. So this vine played an important role in communicating the power of God to the people of Aneityum.
bookmarkinyebec
n. Bluespine unicornfish
Example: Photo by Ross D. Robertson / Shorefishes of the Neotropics, License: CC BY-SA 3.0 via Fishes of Australia
bookmarkinyuc
n. the name of a plant
bookmarkkatupinmi
n. kind of taro
bookmark
mak
adj. smooth, applied to sugarcane-leaf thatch
bookmarknafanu
n. tree, 3-4 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3570)
Example: This plant grows in coastal areas, and is a good source of firewood. It can be used for house posts. The leaves are used as an unspecified medicine. There is a belief regarding the black and white sea snake, that represents a seawater spirit. Mix this with other unspecified leaves, mash together, squeeze into a bamboo tube and fill it. Give it to a woman to drink to keep the evil snake spirit away. The same preparation can be used to treat toothache, caused by the seawater spirit. "The spirit can trick you into going to fish every day."
bookmarknaheñ
nalak ahod
n. kind of plantain
bookmarknamarere
n. kind of sugarcane
bookmarknamlau
namou
nanad cop̃ou
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.
bookmarknapauwahpa
n. kind of taro
bookmarknapojev
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.
bookmarknap̃at
n. terrestrial fern, growing in dwarf cloud-forest. (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3268)
Example: For performing a weather magic ritual to produce fog, this plant is fermented along with another plant (nirid u numu) in a hole in a sacred stone (called "Naemoso") at a secret location on Aneityum.
bookmarknateng
naupiñiña
n. terrestrial fern, growing in secondary forest along the river. Leaves c. 2. 25 m long. (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3656)
Example: Put several leaves of this species together to wrap food, especially the fresh water eel, and to carry plants of taro, kava, holding the leaves over one’s shoulder to carry these crops.
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.
bookmark
neandel
necna p̃a
n. Largescale mullet
Example: Photo by ANFC, License: CC BY-NC 3.0 via Fishes of Australia
bookmarknegainohos
n. bunch of bananas; also "nigainohos"
bookmarknehel
nekinkin
n. kind of plant, grass, or fern
bookmarknelnjen
nepnou
nerifake
n. kind of taro
bookmarknetethei
n. shrub. Uncultivated around the village disturbed areas. . (collection: Ashley A McGuigan #27)
Example: The fruits are edible when ripe--eating them turns the tongue purple. 1. To cure headaches - Someone other than the woman must prepare this. Break the top branch of netethae and remove leaves for use. Combine with the top leaves of the top branch of nelmaha. Chew the leaves and drink the juice. Do this when the sun is setting on the horizon. The woman gives the leftover fibers to the person who prepared the medicine and that person goes and throws the fibers in the direction of the setting sun. 2. Ancestors 4 top branches and chew and spit out remaining fiber will destroy the effects of a love potion that is too strong – meaning that the husband or wife will miss the other person too much so that they become mentally ill. 3. Edible fruits: eating them turns tongue black/purple.
bookmarknijom arahed
nikam
![1a. This plant is a "message plant." If a person goes to another village with a leaf of this species in their hand, then people know that someone is coming, and this is reflected in the local name. 1b. Message plant – if you pop by someone’s house and drop leaves there, people know someone has visited them. You can ask neighbors who came by. 2. The fruit is a source of a nut that children love to eat raw. 3. It is known in Bislama as "false mango" [kiyaman mango].](/media/aneityum/pix/GMP_3481_MJB_97-scaled.jpg)
n. tree, 8-10 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3481)
Example: 1a. This plant is a "message plant." If a person goes to another village with a leaf of this species in their hand, then people know that someone is coming, and this is reflected in the local name. 1b. Message plant – if you pop by someone’s house and drop leaves there, people know someone has visited them. You can ask neighbors who came by. 2. The fruit is a source of a nut that children love to eat raw. 3. It is known in Bislama as "false mango" [kiyaman mango].
bookmarknipjinamesei
n. Honeycomb grouper
Example: Photo by Jeffrey T. Williams / Smithsonian Institution, License: CC BY-SA 3.0 via Fishes of Australia
bookmark
nokoro vai cai oho
n. orchard
bookmarknomotmot ijis
n. kind of plant, grass, or fern
bookmarknomotmot tucjup
n. kind of plant, grass, or fern
bookmarknop̃a
[nok͡pa] adj. grey ash (color)
bookmarknoragidi
nosocrei
n. kind of plant, grass, or fern
bookmarknucje
n. the Norfolk Island pine
bookmarknumurumu
n. epiphyte on Syzygium tree, growing in secondary forest along trail above river. old fruits. (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3660)
Example: Put several leaves of this species together to wrap food, especially the fresh water eel, and to carry plants of taro, kava, holding the leaves over one’s shoulder to carry these crops. Used as a baby’s remedy for when the baby is crying too much because the parents are having to much sex. The baby will also be slow to grow and be thin. To remedy this, must wash the baby with the following mixture: nekei atimi (bark), nohos atimi (green skin of the stem), nepnatimi ataman (part not specified). Scrap about 1 inch cubed of the nekei atimi into your hand along with 1in x 4in of the first layer of the green skin of the banana stem (nohos atimi), and the top 8 leaves from about two separate branches of the nepnatimi ataman. Bind all ingredients together and pound them and put everything in the baby’s water for bathing. Wash the baby in water made with this mixture. Do not wipe the baby dry but let it air dry. The next day when you wash the baby with soap, you must re-wash them with the mixture again. Do this for 5 days with the same water mixture. It may small bad but that is okay. Finally on day 5, take the juice from the outter layer of skin on the stem of the banana, nohos atimi, and give a full spoonful of the juice to the baby to drink. Other plants can be added to the bathing water but these are the three primary ingredients.
bookmarknup inceen
n. the rib of a leaf
bookmarknusjau
n. tree fern to 5 m tall, fronds 2. 5 m long (collection: Michael J. Balick #5014)
Example: Trunk of this plant is used to make food. Cut the stem in 2-3 foot pieces, peel the outer stem, put the peeled stems in an earth oven to cook for the afternoon through the night--about 12 hours. It will be ready the next day. Peel off any remaining fibrous tissue, slice the stems and eat. They are said to taste like sweet potato. The young fronds are boiled for 5 minutes and coconut milk is added, this mixture is then eaten. It is important to collect only the inrolled fronds that have not yet fully opened. The fronds are used to make temporary houses when camping in the bush. They are used to make a roof. To make a cassava grater, take 2-3 pieces of the frond stype, connect them together by piercing them on the sides with a piece of bamboo or any stick such that they are held together in parallel fashion, and use this to grate uncooked cassava to make lap-lap and to grate banana or any food that needs to be processed in this way. The thorny part of the stipe grates the food.
bookmarknwujvaeñ
n. vine climbing up ficus wassa, growing in dense rainforest. (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #4016)
Example: 1. The vine is use to lash roof rafters to house posts. The vine is collected from the forest and coiled ina figure 8 pattern. It is then heated over a fire before fastening the rafter to the post. 1 minute of heat is sufficient, before one immediately uses the vine.
bookmarkreseiheto
n. a second growth, as grass that springs up after being burned
bookmarktarucai
n. kind of taro
bookmarkuagas
upasin
n. first shoots of old roots
bookmarkwaleh
n. a sweet potato
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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