Aneityum

[aɣes noraŋitei] phr. sing a song

Speaker: Kirk Keitadi

adj. sun just down

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 48

[aj] v. fly

v. to open, as leaf; to expand

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

v. lay down

Speaker: Kirk Keitadi

v. apply (as in oil to skin); paint

Speaker: Kirk Keitadi

n. kind of banana

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 118

v. to come out, as banana fruit

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 72

v. to grow

Speaker: Kirk Keitadi

n. plant shoots; also "ehcohodaig"

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 183

v. to fish (by torchlight)

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

v. to begin to form, as fruit

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 77

adv. soon

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 92

v. to split wood

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 80

phr. on that side

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 82

adj. soft, over-ripe, as breadfruit.

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 82

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.

Scientific name: Stachytarpheta jamaicensis, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. the name of a poisonous plant

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 85

n. tree, 4 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3647)

Example: 1. The straight poles of this plant are sharpened and used to plant kava, and only for kava. Not used for planting other crops. 2. Special for catching eels in fresh water, poke stick with leaves into hole where eel lives and they don’t like it so they come out and you catch them, by cutting with knife.

Scientific name: Maoutia diversifolia, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

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.

Scientific name: Abutilon indicum, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. a bamboo flute

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 86

[inʤa] n. blood

Speaker: Ruben Nerian

n. kind of flowering plant (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #4768)

Scientific name: Tabernaemontana pandacaqui, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. a collection of plantations

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 87

n. kind of cabbage or leaf

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

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. kind of banana

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 118

n. gaiac (RPV #43)

Scientific name: Acacia spirorbis, Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. tree to 15 m, dbh 50 cm (collection: Michael J. Balick #4918)

Example: The fruits of this tree are collected, mixed with ground coconut, boiled in water and the oil collected. The resulting oil is used medicinally, put on the skin for any condition to promote healing. Apply once a day until the condition resolves. Also can be used to treat head lice. Add the oil mixture to the hair, massage in, keep the hair dry for a day, then wash. Use once daily for 3 days.

Scientific name: Calophyllum inophyllum, Speaker: Natu Kenneth

n. kind of taro

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 119

n. kind of fish

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. tongs for removing food from fire

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

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. terrestrial plant and epiphyte at base of trees, growing in cloud forest in valley between inrerow and adjacent summit. Inflorescences pale yellow. (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3278)

Scientific name: Collospermum montanum, Speaker: Natu Kenneth

n. kind of sugarcane

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 120

n. kind of fish

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

[inʧataheɪjn] n. hen

Speaker: Osiani Nerian

adv. a long time ago

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 91

n. tree to 10 m tall, dbh 50 cm (collection: Michael J. Balick #4908)

Example: Wood used for timber.

Scientific name: Burckella, Speaker: Natu Kenneth

n. Yellowmargin triggerfish

Example: Photo by Mark Rosenstein / iNaturalist.org, License: CC BY-SA 3.0 via Fishes of Australia

Scientific name: Pseudobalistes flavimarginatus via FishBase, Speaker: Chris Nevehev

n. kind of flowering plant (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #4797)

Scientific name: Coix lacryma-jobi, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. the middle of the forenoon

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 114

n. sparsely to moderately branched tree, 6-8 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3220)

Example: 1. Wood is used for carving as it is a nice black wood. 2. Also used for house posts. 3. Use sapwood – cut a piece of wood, long one 1-2 m. Put it in front of the house or take a smaller piece on top of the entrance door – protects against bad spirits.

Scientific name: Thespesia populnea, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. treelet 2. 0-2. 5 m tall, dbh 3 cm (collection: Michael J. Balick #4858)

Example: If a chief passes away, they are burred in a sacred place. After burial, the people wash their hands with these leaves, mixed with water. The chiefs have a spiritual power and this is used to cleanse the people attending the funeral so that they do not get large sores on their leg or elsewhere on their body. This is part of the ritual for burying the chief.

Scientific name: Euodia hortensis, Speaker: Natu Kenneth

n. kind of breadfruit

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 118

[naha] n. plant for wrapping fish, lily plant that grows in coastal areas

Speaker: Ruben Nerian

n. early morning; around 3 o’clock

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 94

n. half-tide when ebbing

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 94

[nalauba] n. Emerald Dove

Example: Photo by Dr. Raju Kasambe/Wikimedia Commons, License: CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Scientific name: Chalcophaps indica, Speaker: Jack Keitadi

n. kind of shellfish

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

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. terrestrial fern, growing in secondary forest along the river. Fronds dimorphic. (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3644)

Example: This is a sacred plant, it will keep crops, such as foods, in good condition and protect people from famine and loss of crops. It grows wild along the river and people leave it there and also move the plants to the house along with Terminalia fruiticosa and other unspecified plants for use in protecting their crops. For example, when people go to the garden, they take their planting stick and place it near these plants for a while, and being near it will help protect the garden as a person then works with their planting stick to plant the garden.

Scientific name: Oceanopteris gibba, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

n. tree, 7-8 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3582)

Example: Firewood, timber good for bush houses. Calendar plant – when it is in flower, the old people know it is time to harvest root crops, like yam and other vine crops, in the wild, as yet unspecified. Local names = INYAC, NOMODEJ TAL, NOMODEJ WOU, NOU LELCEI… etc.

Scientific name: Weinmannia denhamii, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

n. epiphytic orchid, growing in dense rainforest along river. Flowers pink. (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #4058)

Scientific name: Dendrobium rarum, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. tree to 15 m, dbh 30-45 cm (collection: Michael J. Balick #4938)

Example: The wood is good for making paddles as well as to make canoes.

Scientific name: Adenanthera pavonina, Speaker: Natu Kenneth

n. kind of taro

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 119

n. kind of crab

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. the north wind

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 113

n. shrub to 1 m, flowers greenish-white. (collection: Michael J. Balick #4932)

Example: The roots are used to treat toothache. Take the roots, strip off the outer bark and chew the root. Stops pain from the toothache. Use 3x daily until the pain is gone.

Scientific name: Breynia disticha, Speaker: Natu Kenneth

n. kind of shellfish

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. dawn of day

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 141

n. kind of fern (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #4780)

Scientific name: Adiantum hispidulum, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. kind of banana

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 118

[nawuraniŋ alpas] phr. thank you very much

Speaker: Ruben Nerian

n. prostrate creeping vine along coastlines. (collection: Ashley A McGuigan #10)

Example: 1. To cure rubbush blood - Take a handfull f leaves of any age, pound it into a cupfull of water, squeeze the juice and drink when woman feels pain in head or inside the body or when the inside of the body is hot. Drink this once a day until the pain goes away. 2. To cure excessive bleeding after giving birth - boil naojapdak leaves (2-16) in seawater until leaves are soft and the water is brown. Sit on this water. 3. To close the cervix - boil 2 naojapdak leaves in water and bath in it. 4. Medicine: Smash leaves 1 handful, into cup and add a small amount of water to treat constipation—1 cup for children; 1.5 litres for adults. 5. Stomachache: same treatment, will clear bowel. 6. For leg sores, collect whole plant, put in water – a pool of water for 1 week, then use to dip sore as on leg into it for 10-15 minutes cure the sore.

Scientific name: Vigna marina, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. kind of shellfish

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. small tree, 5 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #4059)

Scientific name: Leukosyke australis, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. tree, 3 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3518)

Example: People plant this tree near the coast, specifically as small fish and shellfish hide in it to breed and people know this.

Scientific name: Rhizophora samoensis, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

n. Pacific kauri (RPV #13)

Scientific name: Agathis macrophylla, Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. Group of fish including triggerfish, wrasses, chubs, mullets, jacks, and sweetlips

Speaker: Chris Nevehev

n. kind of taro

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 119

n. tree, 18 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3667)

Example: Children suck the nectar from the young flowers just as they open. Wood from this plant is used for poles for rafters as well as for firewood. Flying foxes drink juice from the flowers.

Scientific name: Geissois denhamii, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

n. small tree. Found in the village, but not cultivated. (collection: Ashley A McGuigan #17)

Example: 1. Ancestors used this plant to make fish line – cut young branches, remove outer bark and tie together, put in salt water or fresh water for a week, it is now strong, dry in sun, take fibers and twist them together to make a very long fishing line. 2. Leaves are used to feed pigs. 3. Take inner bark, scrape it and put on boils. Attach with any leaf and it takes out the boil. 4. Trunk for temporary bush house.

Scientific name: Pipturus argenteus, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. before daylight

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 100

[nesŋan ʤap] n. waves (beach)

Speaker: Chris Nevehev

[nesʤiŋ ʤin] n. October (lit. time to fertilize and plant the garden)

Speaker: David Nasauman

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.

Scientific name: Melastoma malabathricum, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. south-west wind

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 113

n. kind of shellfish

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

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.

Scientific name: Ficus adenosperma, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

n. tree to 4 m, dbh 10 cm (collection: Michael J. Balick #4936)

Example: The leaves are used to cover earth ovens when cooking big fish or taro.

Scientific name: Cleidion neoebudicum, Speaker: Natu Kenneth

n. kind of banana

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 118

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.

Scientific name: Macaranga tanarius, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

[niʧɛn] n. tooth

Speaker: Ruben Nerian

[nijom huboʊ] n. round house; troka house, possibly named after Trochus niloticus

Speaker: David Nasauman

n. seaweed

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 102

n. the castor-oil plant

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 117

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

[nilin] n. shoulder

Speaker: Ruben Nerian

n. terrestrial fern, growing in primary rainforest. (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3614)

Example: People who go fishing take this plant along with other unspecified leaves, crush them and rub them on the fishing line that the person is using. This is said to attract more fish to the bait. It is also a "message plant" to be put in a person’s hat when they come back from fishing and then people know that they caught fish. Local name means "fish gill."

Scientific name: Schizaea dichotoma, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

n. grass. Found in disturbed area behind the village. (collection: Ashley A McGuigan #12)

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. Main plant to thatch roof of local houses. 3. Collect the dry stems, tie together, use as a torch at night for walking or walking along the reef when fishing. 4. Take 1 cane and tie the leaves together and tie on a tree to indicate tabu – e.g. a citrus tree that will be ripe soon to tell people not to pick it. 5. To catch crabs just before sunset, burn the torch and shake the ashes on the rocks; come back an hour or so later and the crabs are attracted by the ashes and you can collect them. 6. Can also use to weave walls of house. 7. Women clean the leaves of the stem and use the hard part of the stem to strip pandanus leaf before weaving a basket. 8. Cut wild cane in half and sharpen the end, use this to cut the dried pandanus leaves into small strips. 9. Tie leaves into a knot and stick the knot on the kava stem; t is means that this kava goes “express” so the carrier goes to one border of a village and passes it to another person who knows it cannot stop in this village but goes to the next border and is passed on 10. This plant is a “message plant” to say “don’t stop,” referring to something being delivered.

Scientific name: Saccharum maximum, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

[nowataŋ] n. sky

Speaker: Chris Nevehev

n. the duck (constellation), the Southern Cross

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 113

n. kind of shellfish

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. large well branched tree, 18-20 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3216)

Example: 1. The trunk of this plant is used to make canoes. 2. It is also a good timber for the inside part of houses. 3. Mix the sap from the stem with other unspecified leaves and rub them into dreadlocks. 4. To attract shells in the sea, scrape a branch and drop in the sea where shells are attracted to the branches and they can be collected for sale to the Island’s visitors. 5. Seeds are used to make beautiful black necklaces. Said to be a lot of work as it is difficult to remove the seed. Rub with sandpaper or soak in water and then make the hole in the seed. 6. Fruit is a children’s toy – used as a whistle to make a nice sound.

Scientific name: Hernandia nymphaeifolia, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. the ebbing tide

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 104

n. vine to 5 m, flower yellow (collection: Michael J. Balick #4937)

Example: In the old days, the hooks of this plant were used as a kind of small fishing hook. Heat the hook over a fire to make it strong, tie a rope to it and use it to catch fish. Take inner bark--1 handful and boil in a full pot of water and wash the body 1x daily to treat scabies. Can work in as soon as 2 days. It cures the sores very fast.

Scientific name: Durandea pentagyna, Speaker: Natu Kenneth

n. kind of tree

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 117

v.n. get off the reef

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 154

[tarinʤipnan] adj. very strong (has a lot of muscles)

Speaker: Ruben Nerian

adj. rotten, applied to fruit

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 111