An example search has returned 100 entries
ataka
v.n. sail without making headway
bookmarkdapanan ja jai et lok sto em̃ikope stoi lok
incei u nasuantan
n. subshrub, 0. 5 to 0. 7 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3212)
Example: The common name of this plant means "the plant that belongs to Nasuantan" that being the person who introduced it to Aneityum. He was a person taken from the island as a blackbirder and came back with this plant. It is used for medicine. When a person gets a fresh cut, squeeze the juice from the leaf and put the liquid on the cut to help it heal.
bookmarkincowos
n. herb to 1. 5 m, flowers white with pink tips. Growing on sandy path along coastal walk to ute. (collection: Michael J. Balick #4989)
Example: The leaves of this plant are used to finish the ridge of the house roof. Lay the leaves horzontally on top of the roof, and the sides of the roof are thatched with palms or grass. Layer 10 leaves on top of each other to enable this part of the roof (known as nitjintiniom) to last for a long time--perhaps up to 6 years. If this is used on the top of a roof where there is a fire burning, such as a kitchen, and this leaf gets a lot of smoke, it can last much longer a the top of the roof--perhaps 10 years or more.
bookmarkinhaij
n. the candle-nut tree; also "inhaig"
bookmarkinhau am̃a
n. shrub, 1. 5 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3560)
Example: In ancient times this plant was used as a fiber to make skirts and rope. Take the stems, remove the leaves, rett the stems in sea water for a few weeks, sun dry the stems and then weave into rope or skirts. This plant is not much used for this purpose at the present time. This plant is used to make a medicine with an unspecified use.
bookmarkinhau cap̃
n. low tree. Found along the coast. (collection: Ashley A McGuigan #11)
Example: 1. To speed up delivery and reduce painin labor - Take a piece of stem from a small branch and take the skin and outter bark off. Grate out the inner part with water and squeeze out juice into a cup for the woman to drink. 2. To help with pain/difficulty giving birth - Take even numbers of inhoa top leaves (Must have a partner so the lone top is not vulnerable to bad spirits - in all Rosita’s medicines, she always uses partners like this). Using 2, 4, or 6, of these leaves chew them and swallow the whole thing. This is slippery. Take at the first pain.
bookmarkinhelegaij
n. kind of sugarcane; also "nalgaij"
bookmarkinhetelga
n. a runner, the fruit of which is round like a cake
bookmarkinmahe
n. the pandanus leaf
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inp̃a
intelgal
n. Whitespotted surgeonfish, northern dialect
Example: Photo by Jeffrey T. Williams / Smithsonian Institution, License: CC BY-SA 3.0 via Fishes of Australia
bookmarkintoutau
n. tree, 7-8 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3635)
Example: The wood from this tree is used for house posts. Used to heal bad spirits, headaches, fever, or any other kind of illness that modern medicine cannot fix. Must be taken and performed in the evening before the sun sets. Take four leaves from the top of the intoutau, netethae, nelmaha, inrowod plants. Combine them with 1/4 cup of water and squeeze the juice out of the leaves and pour into a piece of bamboo. Give the mixture to the sick person to drink. The woman must drink half of the mixture and use the other half of the mixture to wash their body with. The woman then has to stay away from other people except for those who helped wash her. Then you must smash the bamboo that contained the mixture where the sun sets.
bookmarkkaleteug
n. kind of tree
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maprum
naero
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.
bookmarknahmas
n. kind of plant, grass, or fern
bookmarknahoai
n. a plant from which twine is made
bookmarknairo
n. sapling, 3 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #4106)
Example: 1. Sapling wood is used to make fishing spears. A straight sapling is first heated in the fire to render it pliable. The sapling is further straightened and then decorticated. Once cooled, wire can be added a prong to the end of the spear.
bookmarknala
nalad iran
n. seed of a fig
bookmarknalak ahod
n. kind of plantain
bookmarknalak u nije
namaj
n. kind of taro
bookmarknarayag
n. tree. Growing in village garden. (collection: Ashley A McGuigan #20)
Example: 1. To cure toothache when pregnant - Take the inner bark from Intejed and boil it in a pot of seawater (about 1 liter) along with 2 leaves from each of inpounatmas, narayag, nahayag, and nelmaha. Boil until juice is visibly leaving the plants. Put this water into your mouth and hold it there for 2-3 minutes. Do this this with one cup in the morning, 1 cup in the afternoon, and 1 cup in the evening. 2. Plant used to check with fish has ciguatera, in same way as other collection – GMP #4768. Stick white – OK to eat. Stick black or brown – not good.
bookmarknariko
n. bean
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nateg
n. tree, 3. 5 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3489)
Example: The fruits of this species are edible. Take the ripe fruits, squeeze coconut milk into the ripe fruits and cook in an earth oven. The leaves are used to wrap small fish caught in a net for cooking in an earth oven. For clothing, strips of bark are peeled and the inner bark removed, and this is used as a strap around the waist, and leaves are tucked in front and back. This is traditional clothing when other clothing is not worn.
bookmarknauad
n. kind of tree
bookmarknaupitcat
nauram milmat
n. kind of banana
bookmarkneaig auyag
n. kind of palm
bookmarkneau
n. a small water-plant
bookmarknecsap
n. shrub, 2 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3534)
Example: This tree has very hard wood. 1. Use the small stems to plant dry land or swamp taro, sharpening the end and pushing it into the ground to make a hole. 2. It also is useful for fence, posts for houses. 3. Small stems are also used to make a comb for the hair. 4. Plant pole for taro kava. 5. A branch is shaped and used to husk coconut. 6. The wood is hard and in ancient times people would take a forked piece and put string on one side of it, sharpen the other side and use with the string as a fish hook – need to keep rope tight until it is in the canoe. Do not give it slack – strong use AAM 17.
bookmarknedaugatmas
n. kind of tree
bookmarknefelelicai
n. grass; weeds; thistle
bookmarkneheptal
n. tree to 15 m tall, dbh 25 cm (collection: Michael J. Balick #4903)
Example: Wood is used to make canoe as it is very light and lasts in salt water. As a styptic to stop bleeding, when a person gets a cut in the bush, scrape off outer bark and use inner bark scrapings to put on cut. Stops bleeding, leave on for one day.
bookmarknejecjec
nekro
nelaijo
n. wind-related term; no definition provided
bookmarknepcev
n. shark
bookmarknepig u wara
n. wind-related term; no definition provided
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netit tidai
n. kind of plant, grass, or fern
bookmarknetto
n. sugarcane
bookmarkniegred
nigyi neto
n. the chewed fiber of sugarcane
bookmarknihivaeñ p̃ap̃
n. tree, 4 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3517)
Example: 1. The leaves of the young plant are used to wrap food for cooking on a fire. 2. The wood is used for temporary houses, for making rafters that are said to last a long time. 3. The wood is strong and used to carve paddles for the canoe. 4. It is also grown and used for firewood. 5. Firewood, (6) use as local plate. 7. On west side of island, take old coconut, fill with water, put lead into hole on end, take out and give to baby to drink and it will help the baby talk.
bookmarknijeuc nijeuc
n. kind of plant, grass, or fern
bookmarknijom arahed
nijwou
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.
bookmarknilam
n. seaweed
bookmarkninja
niprij
niseaig
n. kind of tree
bookmarknohopcop
nomojced
n. terrestrial fern growing in rain forest on the mountain slope. Leaves dimorphic. (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3285)
bookmarknowat apen
n. Striated surgeonfish
Example: Photo by Mark Rosenstein / iNaturalist.org, License: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 via Fishes of Australia
bookmarknuae
n. vine, growing in open disturbed area. flowers white. (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3589)
Example: 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
bookmarknuputreiki
n. kind of tree
bookmarknäthoiatmas
yasua
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.
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