Aneityum

n. Ficus aspera

Example: Juice squeeved from leaves: conjunctivitis

Speaker: Bradacs 2011, p. 443

white

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

[ala] num. five

Speaker: David Nasauman

v. see

Speaker: Kirk Keitadi

n. Futunas (bad)

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

[apuat pam] n. just dark now, black

Speaker: David Nasauman

v.a. to ascend, to go up

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

v.n. go before

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 154

v.n. expand as a leaf

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 148

v.n. to blossom as reeds

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 129

[eroʊ] num. two

Speaker: David Nasauman

[et apanan amlep aθamoʧ] phr. he went there and he came back

Speaker: Kirk Keitadi

n. "good" (domesticated) kava (RPV #133)

Scientific name: Macropiper latifolium, Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. herb to 1 m, flowers blue. In transitional zone from pine forest to ’primary’ forest. (collection: Michael J. Balick #4982)

Example: This is used to treat Ciguatera disease when a person eats fish that is contaminated. Squeeze juice from a handful of leaves of this herb into a cup, add a small amount of water, and drink 1 cup once a day for 3 days, or continue until the person feels better. This illness is a problem on Aneityum with the reef fish. It is better to eat fish that are farther out to sea. This treatment is also used for dogs who eat contaminated fish. Make the same preparation and forcibly pour this in their mouth as they will not drink it willingly. Do this treatment once daily until the dog feels better. The dogs get this illness because they are fed the scraps, especially the bones of the fish, and this is thought to be where the disease is found. This is considered to be a dangerous illness and dogs who get it frequently die.

Scientific name: Stachytarpheta jamaicensis, Speaker: Tony Keith

n. liana climbing on Fagraea tree (8 m tall), growing in secondary forest (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3663)

Scientific name: Piper macropiper, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. sandalwood

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 85

[inhat auɪɲet] n. a drawing on stones

Speaker: Osiani Nerian

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.

Scientific name: Abutilon indicum, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

n. kind of sugarcane

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 119

n. calabash

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 132

n. first fruits

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 86

n. shrub to 2 m in height, flowers white. In agricultural field. (collection: Michael J. Balick #4951)

Example: The young leaves are used to protect food as it is being cooked on an earth oven. To prepare the oven, pile hot stones, then put a layer of leaves on the stones, and then place hot stones on top of the leaves. To make a hot oven, the stones are lined in a pit, a fire lit, more stones placed on firewood and the top layer of stones gets very hot. Then, remove the stones from the top of the wood, and cook food o the bottom layer of stones, add a layer of leaves, place the food on top of this, then cover with a layer of leaves and then pile the rest of the hot stones on top of the leaves.

Scientific name: Codiaeum variegatum, Speaker: Tony Keith

n. large tree, 20 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3529)

Example: 1. The inner bark of this plant is used as a general rope; peel it and weave it into rope, and use it to tie beams in the house. 2. The wood is good to start fires by rubbing two pieces together.

Scientific name: Trichospermum inmac, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

[inman] n. bird, general name

Speaker: Jack Keitadi

n. kind of bird

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. false star

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 113

n. kind of fish

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. kind of fish

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. Coral hind, coral grouper (deep sea)

Example: Photo by Jan Messersmith, License: CC BY-SA 3.0 via Fishes of Australia

Scientific name: Cephalopholis miniata via FishBase, Speaker: Jack Keitadi

n. a brook that is dry in summer

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 131

n. epiphyte on trees, growing in dense rainforest. (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #4093)

Example: 1. Sickness blo namya. When a man accidentally has intercourse with a woman during her menstrual cycle, he can become sick. The leaves are squeezed, along with others, to produce an extraction. The dose and duration varies according to the degree of the symptoms. Further information about the preparation withheld.

Scientific name: Psilotum complanatum, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

n. top posts of house under construction

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

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

Reef needlefish, Reef longtoms

Example: Photo by ANFC, License: CC BY-NC 3.0 via Fishes of Australia

Scientific name: Strongylura incisa via FishBase, Speaker: Jack Keitadi

n. kind of tree

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 117

v. to fish (with a net)

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. kind of fish

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

[kidibop] n. Grey fantail

Example: Photo by Bernard Spragg, License: Public Domain via Flickr

Scientific name: Rhipidura fuliginosa, Speaker: Jack Keitadi

n. kind of taro

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 119

n. kind of crab

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. tree. Growing on the coast. (collection: Ashley A McGuigan #23)

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. Firewood, house post for bush house.

Scientific name: Guettarda speciosa, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. turtle

Speaker: Chris Nevehev

[naɣai milmat] n. before sun comes up, just light enough to see green toward the east looking down from a hill, "green place"

Speaker: David Nasauman

n. kind of crab

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. low-growing vine, growing next to airstrip just beyond coastal vegetation. Flowers purple. (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3544)

Example: To trap fish, the vine of this plant is rolled in large quantity and put on the reef in a circle at high tide in order to corral and trap the fish. At low tide the fish are then speared and harvested. Placement of the circle depends on the rocks and the reef. Children fold the large leaves and bite parts of the leaf to make designs as a craft object. This is a "message plant." If a person wants to build a house or garden in a specfic place, put a piece of the vine on a stick near the area to tell others that they should not build a garden or house hear this area--this is a Tabu message. There are a few other unspecified leaves added to the stick, not only this one.

Scientific name: Canavalia rosea, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

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.

Scientific name: Dianella ensifolia, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

n. palm tree sp. (RPV #19)

Scientific name: Hydriastele cylindrocarpa, Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. herb to 10 cm, sterile (collection: Michael J. Balick #4985)

Example: This plant is a very important food during a famine. People dig up the roots and roast these on the embers of a fire for 25 minutes, then check the root to get out the starchy material, and spit out the fiber. There is said to be little taste; this is a bland food that a person eats to survive. People on Aneityum have harvested it for a very long time so there is not as much of a supply left as in the past.

Speaker: Tony Keith

n. kind of crab

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

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.

Scientific name: Glochidion ramiflorum, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

n. kind of flowering plant (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #4752)

Scientific name: Croton insularis, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. tree, 4-5 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3542)

Example: Some people use the dried leaves of this plant when there is no tobacco. Roll the leaves and smoke them. This is a good plant to lay under as a shade along the coast. Good firewood. The leaves are used with other leaves as part of a ceremony to calm the sea.* Burn leaves in a special place and toss ashes in the sea – sea will be calm.* When you are paddling to another island. Carry them with you and toss in sea as you go. Also goes with fasting and cleansing when traveling in this way.

Scientific name: Argusia argentea, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

n. a small whirlwind

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 114

n. a cloud, blackness, darkness

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 114

n. sparsely branched tree, 5 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3493)

Example: The leaves of this plant are used in cooking, particuarly with 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.

Scientific name: Polyscias schmidii, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

n. kind of taro

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 119

n. herb to 0. 75 m, fruits brown. Growing in cultivated area near village. (collection: Michael J. Balick #5011)

Example: People use this for an uspecified medicine.

Scientific name: Achyranthes aspera, Speaker: Tony Keith

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.

Scientific name: Polyscias cissodendron, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

n. kind of crab

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

[narasɛn] n. skin

Speaker: Ruben Nerian

n. the poison of the inhac

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 96

n. a crop; fruit which grows spontaneously

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 96

[nawuraniŋ alpas] phr. thank you very much

Speaker: Ruben Nerian

n. shrub to 2 m, flowers white. Red clay soil (collection: Michael J. Balick #4887)

Example: The stem makes a good digging stick to plant taro. Also branches of this tree are cut to tie the canoe to the outrigger. Used for the small sticks that sit at the base of the larger sticks that hold the outrigger (see photos).

Scientific name: Halfordia kendack, Speaker: Natu Kenneth

n. kind of sugarcane

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 120

n. the south wind

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 113

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

Speaker: Chris Nevehev

n. netted brake (RPV #232)

Scientific name: Pteris comans, Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. kind of shellfish

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

[nabejoʊ] n. waves (ocean)

Speaker: Chris Nevehev

n. night

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 114

n. Brassy chub, lowfin drummer

Example: Photo by Biodiversity Institute of Ontario, License: CC BY-SA 3.0 via Fishes of Australia

Scientific name: Kyphosus vaigiensis via FishBase, Speaker: Chris Nevehev

n. kind of shellfish

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

[netupni] n. June (lit. good sugar cane)

Speaker: David Nasauman

n. prepared pandanus leaf

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 170

n. grass to 70 cm tall, sterile. Cultivated at the side of a field. (collection: Michael J. Balick #4958)

Example: The leaves and stems are boiled in water to make tea. The base of the leaves (the whitish part) is used to cook foods that have a strong odor, such as goat or shark. The base is sliced and put in the soup and this helps to keep the smell of the goat or shark from infusing through the rest of the food and making it less palatable. In some areas of Aneityum, such as in cassava fields, there is a fungus that kills the crops. This species is interplanted with the crops to kill that fungus and protect the crop plants.

Scientific name: Cymbopogon citratus, Speaker: Tony Keith

n. frankincense

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 152

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

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

Speaker: David Nasauman

n. type of seashell

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

Speaker: Jack Keitadi

n. breadfruit leaf

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

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. ray of light in the morning

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 177

n. shoots of plants of bananas

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 103

n. banana (gen.)

Speaker: David Nasauman

[nohos itoʊga] n. kind of banana

n. a bunch of taro; also "nuhud ucnas"

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 104

n. corn

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 138

n. kind of taro

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 119

[noporo pora] n. coconut basket

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

Speaker: Osiani Nerian

n. shrub to 1 m, flowers green (collection: Michael J. Balick #4895)

Example: To make bush ropes, remove outer bark, use to tie things when other ropes are not available. This plant is sour and toxic if the fruits or leaves are eaten. Animals will not eat this plant. The elders teach us not to eat this plant.

Scientific name: Wikstroemia indica, Speaker: Natu Kenneth

[noweɪ yaŋ] n. July (lit. a kind of wood when it’s leaves become yellow)

Speaker: David Nasauman

[nowoɣ] n. red clouds after sunset

Speaker: David Nasauman

n. the red star, the "hand" in the constellation Orion; also "necye"

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 113

[nuhialeɣ upni] phr. Good morning. (greeting in early morning, 6 o’clock to 9:30-10 o’clock)

Speaker: Ruben Nerian

n. tree, 10-12 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #4027)

Example: 1. Used to build houses. The wood of this tree is considered very hard and heavy, so it is used as posts in traditional houses.

Scientific name: Syzygium nomoa, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

n. Carica papaya

Example: flower ovary taken internally against ciguatera

Speaker: Bradacs 2011, p. 441

adv. seaward

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 107

adv. near; inshore; near the shore

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 108

n. first quarter of the moon

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 109

[toŋ] n. tongue

Speaker: Ruben Nerian

adj. made of branches

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 111