Aneityum

adj. crooked

Speaker: Kirk Keitadi

v.n. to come up, or come east

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

v.n. to cross over or through a river, as by wading, or in a boat.

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

[an] pro. him

Speaker: Kirk Keitadi

v.n. to go

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

v. go out

Speaker: Kirk Keitadi

v.a. to ascend, to go up

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

v.n. go alone

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 154

v. plant

Speaker: Kirk Keitadi

v. to burn ground for planting

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 74

adj. healed, applied to wounds; ripe; yellow

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 77

adj. green, blue

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 77

[eroʊ nadimi] phr. two men

Speaker: David Nasauman

v. to fish

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

[et elel] phr. is dripping

Speaker: Kirk Keitadi

adj. at a distance; on the other side of the road.

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 79

v. to swell, as reeds when near blossoming

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 80

n. kind of bird

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. tree, 7 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3723)

Example: The fruits of this species are cracked open and the seeds eaten. The leaves are mixed with other leaves to make an unspecified traditional medicine. The plant is also used for firewood.

Scientific name: Barringtonia edulis, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

n. yesterday

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 81

n. a place down, or westward

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 82

n. screwpine (RPV #85)

Scientific name: Pandanus tectorius, Speaker: Romario Yaufati

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 white wood of a tree

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 85

n. tree, 7 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3464)

Example: This is a sacred plant. The wood is used for rafters in house building. To plant taro, take an 8 cm diameter stick, sharpen it and use to make holes for planting. The stick is as long as needed for a person to stand while making the hole.

Scientific name: Syzygium nomoa, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

n. kind of bird

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. first fruits

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 86

n. daylight

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 141

n. kind of bird

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. a foreign convolvulus

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 120

n. fog or mist

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 114

n. kind of tree

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 117

n. shrub, 0. 7 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3616)

Example: 1. Many plants resemble this species, and are called by this name. 2. Babies who always cry – rub leaves, put them in bath where baby will bathe and this will help stop crying. 3. Ornament for around the house.

Scientific name: Pseuderanthemum longifolium, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. the following day

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 61

n. grass to 3 m, flowers brown. Growing in degraded secondary forest along trail. (collection: Michael J. Balick #4969)

Example: The stem of this plant is used to make walls of houses. Collect the stem and remove the leaves, and then take one of the bush vines (any of them) and tie the stems into bundles for making house walls or fences for chicken pens. Children make a whistle from a hollow piece of stem from this plant.

Scientific name: Miscanthus sinensis, Speaker: Tony Keith

n. epiphytic orchid, growing in dense rainforest. Fruit green. (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #4110)

Scientific name: Coelogyne lamellata, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

n. a creeper, a vine

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 89

n. large tree, 15 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #4051)

Example: 1. When in flower (yellow), taro is said to be ready in the garden.

Scientific name: Metrosideros collina, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. kind of tree

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 117

n. herb growing to 2 m tall, flower white (collection: Michael J. Balick #4974)

Example: Put the leaf in seawater for two months, this will rett t he fibers. Then collect the fibrous strings and dry them in the sun, and use them for weaving. In the past this plant fiber was used to make rope but not at present.

Scientific name: Agave sisalana, Speaker: Tony Keith

n. kind of flowering plant (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #4767)

Scientific name: Leucaena leucocephala, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

adj. yes, good

Speaker: Kirk Keitadi

[naɣawʊnjit] n. fish (sp. with thick lips)

Speaker: Ruben Nerian

n. Roundjaw bonefish

Example: Photo by J.E Randall, Fishbase: CC BY-A-NC 3.0

Scientific name: Albula glossodonta via FishBase, Speaker: Jack Keitadi

n. kind of fish

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. half tide when rising

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 93

n. terrestrial fern, growing in dense rainforest. (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #4086)

Example: 1. The name describes a sea bird, whose long legs are similar in shape to the stipe of this fern.

Scientific name: Diplazium oblongifolium, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

n. kind of plant, grass, or fern

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 120

[naŋɛsɛŋa ratha] n. sun god

Speaker: Ruben Nerian

n. herb to 1 m, flowers white (collection: Michael J. Balick #5003)

Example: The leaves are used to wrap fish for cooking in an open fire. If you eat a bad fish and begin to feel the effects of it a few hours later, such as with Ciguatera illness, cut the base of the stem of this plant and let the sap drip into a half coconut shell with coconut water in it, drink the shell and it will make the person vomit out the bad food. It does not taste good but is very effective in making a person vomit as it contains a toxic compound.

Scientific name: Crinum asiaticum, Speaker: Tony Keith

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. kind of turtle

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. shrub, 2 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3488)

Example: The wood of this species is very straight and people make fishing spears out of it. The wood, being straight, is used as well for roof rafters.

Scientific name: Pavetta opulina, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

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.

Scientific name: Dendrolobium umbellatum, Speaker: Natu Kenneth

n. kind of plantain

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 119

n. kind of plantain

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 119

n. small treelet, 1 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3682)

Example: Can be used to stop pain from toothache. Break of the top growth of a branch and remove all leaves. Chew on the green stem at the site where there is a toothache. Keep the juice from chewing in your mouth for 2-5 minutes then spit the juice out. Leave the stem fibers in your mouth at the site of pain for about 20 minutes then remove. Then repeat 2 more times. This makes the tooth thinner so it breaks more easily.

Scientific name: Cyrtandra aneiteensis, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. epiphytic fern on fallen log, growing in dense rainforest. (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #4097)

Example: 1. The name means "wood cover", alluding to the habit of this plant. It grows only on the bark of trees.

Scientific name: Davallia pusilla, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

[napanaunuŋ eθa] phr. where are you going?

Speaker: Kirk Keitadi

n. the poison of the inhac

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 96

n. stone wall for building a garden

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

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. the east wind

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 113

n. a kind of bamboo (collection: Ashley A McGuigan #25)

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. To make house walls cut to length desired break stems into straps and weave ??. 3. Use stem to cook foods. 4. Container for carrying water. 5. Take tips and tie together and make a torch to go fishing on the reef, walk with the torch – this is a current practice in the East side. 6. Can cut a piece about 1’ long and sharpen edge and use to skin a green banana. 7. Traditional medicine – can use a small segment as a sort of container to carry the traditional medicine to the patient – for example when prepare a sea snake for remedy, or any medicine – to carry it. 8. Used as a container to preserve seeds such as corn, cucumber, beans and is covered with coconut fiber and put near (above?) the fire where it is dry, and the smoke from the fire will keep insects from attacking the seeds.

Scientific name: Bambusa vulgaris, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. reed

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 177

v. to fish (with a net)

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. kind of tree

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 117

n. a species of thorn

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 97

n. cliff

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 135

n. kind of shellfish

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

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.

Scientific name: Pipturus argenteus, Speaker: Natu Kenneth

n. herb to 1 m, flowers yellow. (collection: Michael J. Balick #4892)

Example: If a person is coming to a "new" village, e.g. not their own, and they have a branch in their hand, it means that they are coming in peace and not trying to harm anyone else in the new village. Or if they are asking for something that might be found in the new village, they hold the branch of this species and pass it to a person from that village so they will accept you.

Scientific name: Sida cordifolia, Speaker: Natu Kenneth

n. kind of tree

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 117

n. kind of shellfish

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. kind of banana

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 118

n. epiphyte on main trunk of Hernandia moerenhoutiana, pendant (1. 7 m long) (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3648)

Example: Name means fish skeleton. Ornamental but needs a lot of watering.

Scientific name: Dendrobium involutum, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

n. kind of sugarcane

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 120

n. sap

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 182

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 6 cm (collection: Michael J. Balick #4992)

Example: The stems of this plant are good for making temporary houses in the bush. When used as firewood, the stems are said to "hold the fire," meaning they burn a long time, even all night so in the morning the fire can be restarted by adding kindling. This wood is said to be good when a person has no matches, as the fire can be restarted easily. Young leaves of this species can be wrapped around ground coconut and eaten raw. The young leaves can also be boiled in water for 15 minutes, coconut milk added, and eaten with tubers such as cassava. The young leaves can be wrapped around beef or pork, tied with a string from Pandanus and cooked in the earth oven.

Scientific name: Ficus storckii (or wassa), Speaker: Natu Kenneth

[niʧinɛθoʊn] n. knee

Speaker: Ruben Nerian

n. herb, 25-30 cm tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3696)

Scientific name: Zingiber zerumbet, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. seaweed

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 102

n. epiphyte. Growing on tree in village area. (collection: Ashley A McGuigan #1)

Example: Makes period normal again. Take three young leaves from the very tops of the plant and pound and squeeze out the juice from the leaves. Mix with small amount of water to help juice come out. Drink this 3 times a day for 3 days. Pig food – feed the leaves to the pigs. Leaves used to wrap around Cyrtosperma merkusii to cook for several days—this taro needs a lot of cooking. So this leaf is particularly used for that purpose because it is very watery. Will keep the taro from becoming too burned or dry – it will cook soft after a few days – keep tasting it until the calcium oxalate sensation is gone. Check it 3 times – cook, open, taste and it should be good. Wrap fish and put directly on charcoal fire. – also cover top rocks in earth oven.

Scientific name: Epipremnum pinnatum, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

[nilin] n. shoulder

Speaker: Ruben Nerian

n. the holes in a coconut

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 102

[ninahɛn] n. scales

Speaker: Osiani Nerian

n. the orange tree (117); an orange, a lime, a lemon (102)

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 102, 117

n. Honeycomb grouper

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

Scientific name: Epinephelus merra via FishBase, Speaker: Chris Nevehev

n. kind of tree

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 117

[nohos isaina] n. kind of banana (sp. from China)

Speaker: David Nasauman

n. kind of flowering plant (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #4749)

Scientific name: Dysoxylum bijugum, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. a bunch of taro

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 104

[numu] n. fish (general)

Speaker: Osiani Nerian

[oŋmraŋ] n. old (man)

Speaker: Kirk Keitadi

[owaŋ] num. six

Speaker: David Nasauman

n. blossom (open)

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 129

n. sprouts

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 188

adj. made of branches

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 111

n. kind of breadfruit

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 118

adj. beginning to be ripe, as fruit

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 112