Aneityum

[aɣes noraŋitei] phr. sing a song

Speaker: Kirk Keitadi

v. remove skin of coconut using a stick

Speaker: Kirk Keitadi

adj. driven to and fro with the wind

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

[akro te haŋaiŋ] v. share food together

Speaker: Ruben Nerian

adv. aforetime

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. near morning

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 61

v.a. to ascend, to go up

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 62

[arinʤi] adj. very strong (?)

Speaker: Ruben Nerian

n. kind of banana

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 118

inter. where

Speaker: Kirk Keitadi

v.n. to go

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 81

[indawoɣ] n. Long-tailed jaeger

Example: Photo by jacksnipe1990/Flickr, License: CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 via Flickr

Scientific name: Stercorarius longicaudus, Speaker: Jack Keitadi

n. this collection is a seedling sprouting from a coconut fruit. the adult palm is growing in an agricultural field. (collection: Michael J. Balick #4950)

Example: The young seedlings are removed from the coconuts and fed to pigs. Children like to eat the apical meristems of the sprouts, peeling off the harder, outer leaves and eating the soft white part. The endosperm of the sprouted coconut is edible. The local name means "young seedling."

Scientific name: Cocos nucifera, Speaker: Tony Keith

n. kind of shellfish

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

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.

Scientific name: Hibiscus tiliaceus, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. kind of sugarcane

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 119

n. kind of sugarcane

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 119

[inhosumeljaŋ] n. Black-tailed whistler

Example: Photo by Lip Kee, License: CC BY-SA 2.0 via Flickr

Scientific name: Pachycephala melanura, Speaker: Jack Keitadi

[inhuboʊ] n. shell (helical shell, white with purple spots)

Speaker: Chris Nevehev

n. bird

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. kind of breadfruit

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 118

n. a stringy bark tree

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 117

n. kind of breadfruit

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 118

n. Garcinia sp.

Example: leaf chewed against liver pain

Speaker: Bradacs 2011, p. 441

[inmohoɣ la] n. September (lit. clear month)

Speaker: David Nasauman

n. tree, 4 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3270)

Scientific name: Oxera lehuntei, Speaker: Natu Kenneth

n. kind of palm

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 118

n. kind of taro

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 119

n. flower

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. Whitespotted surgeonfish

Example: Photo by Jeffrey T. Williams / Smithsonian Institution, License: CC BY-SA 3.0 via Fishes of Australia

Scientific name: Acanthurus guttatus via FishBase, Speaker: Jack Keitadi

n. a bed, a foundation, a plantation

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 89

n. blossom (open)

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 130

n. kind of shellfish

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. kind of shellfish

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. kind of breadfruit

Speaker: David Nasauman

n. food or seed of all sorts; the juice of any plant

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 89

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.

Speaker: Tony Keith

n. tree, 15 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #4082)

Example: 1. The trunk is used to produce timber.

Scientific name: Burckella obovata, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

[inʧatamaɪjn] n. rooster

Example: Photo by K. David Harrison, April 2016.

Speaker: Osiani Nerian

n. celestial

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 134

n. shrub, 1. 5 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3205)

Example: 1. Plant this tree at each of the four corners of a fence to keep your pigs in and protect against a type of bad luck. If a man sleeps with his wife who is having her period, and then the man goes to see the pig, the pig will suffer and not grow strong and not have many piglets. So the presence of this plant controls against bad luck that others can bring to your pig farm. 2. This is an ornamental plant grown around the home. Sticks of this plant are planted around the outside of the garden and grow to create a fence, to protect the crops and keep them healthy, as well as protect the crops from people that are not cleansed in the ritual way. 3. This species is also planted around the house to add color and is very decorative in general. 4. For fertilizer in taro holes for water taro. For baly(?) taro and water taro, lay these flat on the surface of the charcoal, then lay the food – taro, cassava – on this and cover with another layer, add hot stones and cook. 4. Pig food, goat food.

Scientific name: Codiaeum variegatum, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. tree to 5 m, fdby 35 cm (collection: Michael J. Balick #4979)

Example: The fruits are edible and ripen during November-December. The leaves can be boiled as a medicine. If a person has a hoarse voice, boil 4 or or a few more leaves in 1 liter of water. Cool the mixture and drink once daily until the voice returns to normal. The trunk of this tree is good for timber, as it is a very hard wood. But a productive tree is not cut for timber--only the wild mangos that have flowers and small fruits that do not ripen; these trees are cut for timber. This particular tree, "Mango Amgie" bears fruit with a great deal of fiber, so the name refers to the "mango that you drink." Amgie means "drink" in the Aneityum language. There is another variety of mango, "Mango Cig" that means the mango that you eat. It has a little fiber but good fleshy fruits. This species is introduced from outside of Aneityum.

Scientific name: Mangifera indica, Speaker: Tony Keith

adj. ripe, as arrowroot; also "murre"

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 93

n. shrub, 1. 5 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3725)

Scientific name: Leucaena forsteri, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

[nafɛtʊ manava] n. heart

Speaker: Ruben Nerian

n. kind of breadfruit

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 118

n. kind of taro

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 119

n. lily. Cultivated grows in village. (collection: Ashley A McGuigan #3)

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. 2. Wrap leaf around fish to cook it on fire, tie with pandanus or any bush, vine. Also used to bake Cyrtosperma merkusii in same way as AAM 1 because it has thick watery leaves. 3. For a person who has been burned by the fire, cut the leaf and drip the sap on the burn to cool it – stops burning feeling. 4. If your joints – elbow, wrist, knee, ankle – feel so cold that they are painful, then heat the leaf on both sides and lay it on painful area. It will take the cold and pain away.

Scientific name: Furcraea gigantea, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. young vine, still erect (1 m tall) (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3551)

Example: The leaves of this plant are used as a soap. People collect the leaves and mash them and dip in fresh water and use the water to wash their bodies.

Scientific name: Colubrina asiatica, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

n. kind of flowering plant (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #4755)

Scientific name: Pittosporum, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. kind of bird

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. shrub to 1. 5 m, dbh 4 cm (collection: Michael J. Balick #5005)

Example: In areas such as this, where more traditional leaves used to wrap lap-lap are scarce, this leaf can be used as it is quite large.

Scientific name: Cyrtandra, Speaker: Natu Kenneth

n. shrub, 1. 5 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3684)

Example: People on Anietyum carve a kava bowl from the wood of this species, that is unique to this island. It is oblong in shape and has a handle on each side.

Scientific name: Glochidion ramiflorum, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

n. kind of fish

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. kind of shellfish (m)

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. vine climbing in understory, growing in rainforest along river. (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #4057)

Example: 1. This plant is named in relation to a winged fish. The leaves are rough and resemble the body the fish. 2. The leaves of this plant are used to wrap grated taro or manioc. After it is fastened with rope and boiled or baked.

Scientific name: Joinvillea plicata, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

[nawʊnoan] n. neck

Speaker: Ruben Nerian

n. Slender silver-biddy

Example: Photo by John E. Randall, License: CC BY-NC 3.0

Scientific name: Gerres oblongus via FishBase, Speaker: Jack Keitadi

n. kind of flowering plant (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #4765)

Scientific name: Adenanthera pavonina, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. east

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 146

n. bean

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 127

n. trees; palms; figs

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 117

n. a sweet-smelling plant

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 97

n. lightning

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 114

n. kind of shellfish

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. Macaranga tanarius L.

Example: Inner bark: mouthwash with decoction, toothache.

Speaker: Bradacs 2011, p. 442

n. tree, 8 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3514)

Example: 1. The wood is strong and good to make house posts. People use these for this purpose on the coast as salt water does not bother this wood. 2. People eat fruit, split fruit in half, carefully scrape the inner part into a pot of water, keep over night – next day rinse, fry or cook with coconut milk and can add tinned tuna for example, very hard work.

Scientific name: Bruguiera gymnorhiza, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

n. grey mangrove (RPV #2)

Scientific name: Avicennia marina, Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. tree, 5-6 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3522)

Example: This is a "calendar plant." When it flowers, people know that the taro is ready to harvest. It does not grow in the forest, but only along the coast in grassy areas. Use wood as posts for roof of house.

Scientific name: Geissois denhamii, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

n. kind of taro

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 119

n. kind of flowering plant (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #4795)

Scientific name: Pipturus argenteus, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. spiny holy mangrove (RPV #118)

Scientific name: Acanthus ilicifolius, Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. kind of shellfish

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. the tow of flax

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 100

n. cane (sugar)

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 133

n. kind of flowering plant (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #4792)

Scientific name: Excoecaria agallocha, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. kind of tree

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 117

n. fallen tree, growing in canopy gap in primary forest. (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3465)

Example: When the flowers of this plant are green, it is an indication that the cool season is approaching; when the flowers are brown, the dry season is coming. The wood is used to make rafters for the roof of houses, on which to tie thatch.

Scientific name: Commersonia bartramia, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

n. outrigger of canoe

Example: Photo by K. David Harrison, Dec. 2018, Aneityum island.

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. kind of tree

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 117

n. liana climbing on calophyllum trunk, growing along sandy beach. Leaves variegated. (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #4144)

Scientific name: Epipremnum, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. kind of flowering plant (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #4776)

Scientific name: Polyscias schmidii, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

[ninahɛn] n. scales

Speaker: Osiani Nerian

n. wooden dish

Example: Photo by K. David Harrison, Dec. 2018, Aneityum island.

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. kind of shellfish

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

[niŋa] n. shell

Speaker: Kirk Keitadi

n. meadow

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 165

n. Bigeye scad

Example: Photo by J.E. Randall / Fishbase, License: CC BY-A-NC 3.0 via Fishes of Australia

Scientific name: Selar crumenophthalmus via FishBase, Speaker: Jack Keitadi

n. kind of banana

Example: Photo by K. David Harrison, April 2016.

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

[nohos upene] n. kind of banana (lit. "good banana")

Speaker: David Nasauman

[nugep] n. Mackinlay’s cuckoo dove

Example: Photo by David Cook Wildlife Photography / Wikimedia Commons, License: CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Scientific name: Macropygia mackinlayi, Speaker: Jack Keitadi

n. a yam

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 104

n. the early morning

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 104

n. kind of fish (folk name)

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. fallen tree, 15 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3609)

Example: The leaves of this palm are used for thatch. Split trunks for house walls. Middle fiber of pinnae for broom. Seed is carved – handcrafts.

Scientific name: Metroxylon warburgii, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

n. kind of breadfruit (old kind no longer known)

Speaker: David Nasauman

v.n. to fall, as unripe fruit

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 111

n. three days ago; three days hence

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 141

n. a sweet potato

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 111

adj. perennial (applied to water); also "etweite", "inweite"

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 171