An example search has returned 100 entries
atga nethanethan
v. passed by on the other side
bookmarkdawarivi
ehcodaig
n. plant shoots; also "ehcohodaig"
bookmarkehgin
adj. afar
bookmarkeucupupu (nieg)
v. to swell, as reeds when near blossoming
bookmarkham
v.n. to come
bookmarkincat
n. flax
bookmarkincispev
n. tree. Growing in village garden. (collection: Ashley A McGuigan #19)
Example: 1. To cure the sea snake (nispev) curse that causes missed periods. First the husband must combine 4 young leaves of incispev and 4 young leaves of nafanu and mash and squeeze the juice into a small bamboo (1-1.5 inch diameter) The nafanu is important because it is a plant that connects to the sea. Use wildcane leaves cover the bamboo closed. Go to the sick person and unwrap the snake from her. Start from the top and let the woman drink a small part of the potion then wash her with the mixture, making sure to wash head, elbows, knees, feet, and belly. Then take a leaf of naha and break it over the woman’s belly button to break the snake off. Smash the bamboo vessel to pieces. Leave the woman there until the wash dries on her. This takes one whole day and the ceremony in the evening so she can sleep and she must not eat. This ritual is performed by men.
bookmarkinhachac
inhosumeljag ~ nu inhosumeljag
inp̃a
inwah iran
n. seed
bookmarkinwau an nadiat
n. the Milky Way
bookmarkinwoapeñ
inwouse
isjid
v. to chip off small branches
bookmarkkava
n. a plant from which an intoxicating drink is prepared
bookmarkleyei
n. kind of taro
bookmarkma
adj. ripe, as fruit; healed, as a wound; also "mah"
bookmarkmeto
adj. ripe; also "metto"
bookmarkna elmai
n. cloth (related to nelmai)
bookmarknaero
n. sapling directly under large tree of same species (20-25 m tall), growing in primary forest. Sterile. (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3451)
Example: 1. Wood used for timber boards. 2. Timber tree, sawn timber young stems for spear fishing, clean bark, heat it, affix tips on the end.
bookmarknaheñ
naipom̃yiv
n. terrestrial plant, 60 cm tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3498)
Example: Children take a shoot of this plant and make a whistle from it. However, when children do this, they are told not to, as it will attract the rains, or a snake, that will hear the noise and come to the person. This is a folk belief. The base of the shoot of this plant is chewed and applied to fresh cuts as a styptic. Pull out top growth of plant that has not flowered and blow on it like a whistle. Ancestors used this as a whistle to attract snakes for edible – not today. Name means “balls or heaps of snakes” refer to their attraction.
bookmarknakoai
n. species of palm tree
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.
bookmarknalvara
n. the beginning of cold wind
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.
bookmarknamlau
napudve
n. kind of plant, grass, or fern
bookmarknap̃ojev
n. well branched tree, 14 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3651)
Example: Poles made from this plant are used for house rafters and burned for firewood. To plant taro in a swampy area, collect the leaves of this species and put them in the hole where the taro is to be planted, mix with a bit of soil and then plant the taro on top of that. Leaves are a type of fertilizer. Used when baking with the earth oven. Hot stones cover the food and then the leaves from this plant cover the stones. The leaves stay on the branch.
bookmarknariko
n. shrub to 3 m, flowers yellow with red outer coverings (appearing red when closed) (collection: Michael J. Balick #4957)
Example: This plant is used to fertilize fields, especially by growing it in fields that have been used for other crops for a very long time. The seeds can be cooked when dry and hard, boiled in water, or eaten directly without preparation when green and soft.
bookmarknataimu
n. Brassy trevally
Example: Photo by ANFC, License: CC BY-NC 3.0 via Fishes of Australia
bookmarknauanieg
n. reed
bookmarknefelelicai has
n. tares
bookmarknegainohos
n. bunch of bananas; also "nigainohos"
bookmarknehpan
n. a wing, a sheath, a covering of bananas
bookmarknelm̃ai
n. tree to 8 m, dbh 10 cm (collection: Michael J. Balick #4863)
Example: Fiber: Collect the stems of this plant, peel off the outer bark, soak (ret) in seawater for 1 week, then put stone on top of it-the fibers are loosened by the retting, peel them off and hang in the sun to dry and bleach. Weave small baskets, grass skirts and other things from this fiber. When sticks are placed in areas of the sea, shells are attracted to these sticks and people can collect the shells used for adornment--the animals in the shells like to eat the material on the sticks. Dried fruits of this plant are eaten by birds.
bookmarknelpon nohop a nelco
nepiloan
n. tender shoots
bookmarknerop
n. kind of banana
bookmarknete
n. kind of tree
bookmarknetohranmul
n. wind-related term; no definition provided
bookmarknetto
n. sugarcane
bookmarkneusjai
n. a fern tree
bookmarknidid
n. Ambon emperor
Example: Photo by FAO / Fishbase, License: CC BY-NC 3.0 via Fishes of Australia
bookmarkniditau
n. tree, 3 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3507)
Example: The young leaves and fruits are edible; the fruits are eaten ripe. This species is used for firewood as well as house posts, but they don’t last as long as other types of wood so they are used in temporary structures. A sacred plant on Aneityum. Name means linkage between this world and the spirit world. Agriculture – you find this tree ?? it means that the land is fertile. Birds eat fruits; people burn the tree to release ash and fertilizer and grow their taro around it – it will give more food. Message plant – if someone puts a long brown on your door or in your garden, it means “why are you here?” Implies that you should go back to where you belong. You don’t belong in this place. For example instead of quarreling over land dispute, put the branch and it means that you should leave this place.
bookmarknijcel
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.
bookmarknimtac
n. kind of tree
bookmarkniri
niseaig
n. kind of tree
bookmarknispev
n sea snake
bookmarknititan cei
nobom
n. Bigeye scad
Example: Photo by J.E. Randall / Fishbase, License: CC BY-A-NC 3.0 via Fishes of Australia
bookmarknodieg
n. a bundle of reeds; also "nohudieg"
bookmarknohlaig
n. a species of seaweed
bookmarknowahau
n. Black-spot surgeonfish
Example: Photo by zsispeo / Flickr.com, License: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 via Fishes of Australia
bookmarknuden
n. coconut leaves in the middle of the cluster, neither old nor new
bookmarknudto
n. small tree, 4 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3452)
Example: 1a. The stem of this plant is used to make a spear, as it is always straight and very strong. It is a small growing plant, just right for length of a spear. 1b. Make a spear for fishing, peel bark, heat stem, affix points to end. 2. Name is the name of a fish. 3. Rafters for roof.
bookmarknumlah
n. kind of tree
bookmarknusjai um legad
n. kind of sugarcane
bookmarkpejadi
v.n. get off the reef
bookmarkpospos
n. a small red berry used as beads
bookmarksimi
adv. down here; also "sime"
bookmarkupuhas
v.n. to sprout
bookmarkuvid
n. three days ago; three days hence
bookmark


