An example search has returned 100 entries
ataka
v.n. sail without making headway
bookmarkeloah
v. to blossom, as reeds; also "elwa"
bookmarkelum
v. to begin to form, as fruit
bookmarkhogelcou
n. royal albatross
bookmarkigcapok
n. seaward
bookmark
inhoam̃a
n. shrub, 1 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3441)
Example: Flowers put in hear as an ornament that has power because it is so beautiful. Leaves are burned and added to a bamboo pipe and mix with a foam that forms in fresh water, when people go to a traditional dance, men paint part of their face eyebrows and beard to attract attention, hence the name, pone part of which "am̃a" means "staring", because it will cause people to stare at the one wearing it.
bookmark
inlepei u inpoded
n. epiphyte, growing in dense rainforest. (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #4104)
Example: 1. This plant is considered bad luck when hunting or fishing. When doing these activities, do not decorate your hair with them. 2. This plant is used to weave the sheath portion of "nambas". First the stems are retted, then the inner portion of the plant removed. Once removed, the sheath is woven with the blanched fiber. 3. This is considered the male version of this plant. See GMP #4105, Phlegmarius sp. for the female version.
bookmark
inmauwad itoga
n. a foreign convolvulus
bookmarkinmehtas
n. kind of breadfruit
bookmark
intakedou
n. Redface Squirrrelfish
Example: Photo by Jeffrey T. Williams / Smithsonian Institution, License: CC BY-SA 3.0 via Fishes of Australia
bookmarkintal a Samoa
n. kind of taro
bookmarkinteses
n. parasite in tree, flowers orange with reddish base. Growing in secondary forest. (collection: Michael J. Balick #5000)
Example: This plant is said to have a type of magical use. Young men take one node of the stem of this plant and use it in an unspecified way to attract young women.
bookmarkintinan mese
n. dry land planted
bookmarkinyehec
n. mandrake
bookmarkisgeig pan
adj. adjacent
bookmarkisjid
v. to chip off small branches
bookmarklaknu
masoa
n. herb to 1 m, fruits green (collection: Michael J. Balick #4915)
Example: This plant was said to have been brought in by the early missionaries, used to starch their clothes and grown as a crop for export to England. Used as a food crop as well, the root is mashed, dried in the sun and kept until needed. To process, put the roots in a bowl, add water and soak for 1 day and night, pour off the water and keep the starch. Prepare this food like lap-lap that is cooked on a fire in a pan.
bookmarknadeij
nagagnit
n. Harlequin sweetlips, many-spotted sweetlips
Example: Photo by Mark Rosenstein / iNaturalist.org, License: CC BY-SA 3.0 via Fishes of Australia
bookmarknagai
n. the name of a tree with fruit like almonds
bookmarknagdajija
n. kind of breadfruit
bookmarknaha
n. a thistle
bookmarknahanemek
n. kind of breadfruit
bookmarknajeng
n. tree, 8-10 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #4017)
Example: 1. Aerial roots have a natural curve that allows them to be used as a clothing hanger. The outer bark is peeled and dried all day in the sun, before the roots are used. 2. Leaves are used to help remove fish bones lodged in one’s throat. When bones are stuck in one’s throat, then you apply young leaves to the outside of the throat. Apply once and leave until the bones are removed.
bookmarknala
n. tree to 7 m, dbh 20 cm (collection: Michael J. Balick #4860)
Example: This is a common tree. If a person travels from one district to another on Aneityum, and you see the tree planted in that other district, a person knows they are free to come into this area. When the leaves are yellow, as in a young tree, the local name is nala’gay. If a person carries a branch of this tree into a village it is a symbol that the person is coming with peaceful intentions.
bookmarknamlau
n. shrub, 2 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3490)
Example: 1. The larger stems of this plant can be used to build houses, for rafters. 2. It is also a good source of firewood. 3. Ancestors, before go to chief’s canal and want to talk about a complicated issue – a person would cut a branch and bring it to the sea and tap the water surface and would say what he wants, ask that he would want that issue to be solved and that others would follow his ideas and then go back to the meeting place and take stick, keep wind at his back, moving stick in all directions and then he will convince the people of his ideas. This is done by the chief’s spokesman. Helps convince the opposition. Helps keep power in hands of parent(??) chief rather than subchiefs who might have other ideas.
bookmarknanec
n. tree, 7 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3633)
Example: To cook Alocasia (wild taro), use the dry wood of this plant as firewood. The leaves of this plant are also used to line the earth oven on top of the food and on bottom of the food to insulate it from the high heat of cooking.
bookmarknapun nitai caig
n. the skin or rind of food
bookmarknatec
n. trees; palms; figs
bookmarknathat
nattri
n. Canarium vulgare
Example: leaf--cold maceration in coconut milk and seawater, taken internally against diarrhea or ciguatera. Cold maceration of chewed leave, spat into a cup and mixed with coconut water: taken internally against ciguatera
bookmarknatuu
n. withered banana leaves
bookmarknauram
n. kind of banana
bookmarkneandel
neduodo
n. kind of tree
bookmarknehivaing
neroa
n. tree, 6 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3513)
Example: 1. The flower is used to make a necklace and the wood used as poles for a house roof. The flower is very fragrant and people put it behind their ear to enjoy the aroma. The leaf is used to bake taro in 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. 2. Firewood, flower smells good, put in coconut oil to give it aroma. Grate coconut, add small amount of water, put in bowl, heat until water is evaporated, the oil is on top, take all the coconut cream on bottom save oil in another pot. Drop 2-3 flowers into coconut oil and boil, or more flowers. Try not to burn the oil. Take out flowers and use pure oil. Also used for final covering of large earth oven during feast along with GMP 3503 – esp. wedding feast. Planting pole and hard and heavy wood – sharp end. 3. This is a "calendar plant." When it flowers, people know that the taro is ready to harvest.
bookmarknetopdecraiñ
n. herb to 45 cm, seeds brown. Red clay soil (collection: Michael J. Balick #4888)
Example: The name of this plant means "division" -- if someone wants to help to destroy your business or home, they put this plant in front of your business or your home and this will help to scatter out your family from where they are living.
bookmarkneudan tauoc nohos
n. the center sprout of the banana plant
bookmark
nihkanwai
n. brook
bookmarknijwou
n. vine climbing up a macaranga tree, growing in open disturbed area. Fruits green. (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3588)
Example: 1. To build a cyclone house, take the vine of this species to tie pieces of the house. To prepare the vine for use as rope, collect many feet of it, put it in a fire, roll it in a figure 8, wait until it softens and then use for tying. This vine is hard and needs to be heated to a high temperature in the fire to make it soft; the person preparing this must use gloves to tie it to the posts and rafters while it is still warm. When it cools, it is very strong. Rope made from this vine will last a long time--perhaps 10-15 years. It can also be used to make a regular house. However, it is not as strong as GMP #3589. 2. For men who want rasta in hair, take a few leaves and dry them, burn with some other plants to rub on the rasta and keeps it healthy, keep from splitting.
bookmarknilpudou
n. herb to 70 cm, florets yellow (collection: Michael J. Balick #4998)
Example: To treat a headache, especially from the flu, boil a handful of leaves in 1 liter of water for a few minutes, let cool and drink 1 cup of liquid per day . Also can treat this type of headache by using the plant in a steam bath, by boiling 4 handfuls of leaves in a pot of water, covering the head with a towel and breathing in the steam from the pot.
bookmarknipjin
n. branch (tender)
bookmarknohos anhas
n. the Futuna banana
bookmarknokoko
n. tree, 3-4 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3540)
Example: The straight trunk of this tree is used to make canoes. The black seed in the fruit is used to make necklaces. The inner bark is peeled and crushed in sea water and rubbed in the hair to make it curly. People do this treatment every day to make long hair curl like a rasta.
bookmarknom̃o
nosjacai
n. Two-striped sweetlips, giant sweetlips
Example: Photo by Ross D. Robertson / Shorefishes of the Neotropics, License: CC BY-SA 3.0 via Fishes of Australia
bookmarknuarin abras
n. cliff
bookmarknuarin aridjai vaig
n. an upward slope
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.
bookmarknupsi itai
n. corn
bookmarkpahai
adj. inland
bookmarktehtehin
n. an open blossom
bookmarkugnis
v.a. to take off sprouts of taro
bookmarkupasin
n. first shoots of old roots
bookmarkupuhasin
n. sprouts
bookmark
wukau
n. kind of taro
bookmarkyasua
n. kind of taro
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.
Supported by
