Aneityum

v. cover

Speaker: Kirk Keitadi

v.n. go though, as the land

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 154

v.n. to cross over or above, as over a fence, or tree in a path, or on stones through a river

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 58

v.n. to steer straight

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

v. lay down

Speaker: Kirk Keitadi

adj. adjacent

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 121

v. to grow

Speaker: Kirk Keitadi

v. to seek food, as taro; to gather, to reap

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 74

[elajnej] n. after sundown, when the insects start to chirp

Speaker: David Nasauman

[et alk͡puas an] phr. he is big

Speaker: Kirk Keitadi

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

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 79

v. to sprout largely; also "ujipsotan"

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 81

n. firewood

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

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. tree to 8 m, dbh 5 cm (collection: Michael J. Balick #4896)

Example: The young stems of this tree are used to make spears, either by sharpening the end or attaching several wires to the tip.

Scientific name: Alangium vitiense, Speaker: Natu Kenneth

n. vegetables; herbs, as taro, bananas; every vegetable planted for food

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 85

n. Sabre squirrelfish

Example: Photo by Andy A. Lewis / Lizard Island Research Station, License: CC BY-SA 3.0 via Fishes of Australia

Scientific name: Sargocentron spiniferum via FishBase, Speaker: Jack Keitadi

n. tree, 6-8 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3618)

Example: The wood is good for house posts, as it is straight and strong.

Scientific name: Dysoxylum bijugum, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

n. plant used to make ceremonial head wreath and neck garland

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

[indraʊmu] n. fish prepared in a wrapping of pandanus leaf

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

Speaker: Osiani Nerian

n. kind of banana

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 118

[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. breadfruit crop in October

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 87

n. kind of breadfruit

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 118

n. tree, 6 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3692)

Scientific name: Acacia spirorbis, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. large leaf

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

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. tree. Growing near village. (collection: Ashley A McGuigan #13)

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 inpoutnatmas, 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. This plant is special and people grew it – use it after burial of a chief – wash hands with these leaves and water to cleanse the people who buried the chief. 3. Name means belongs to the spirit

Scientific name: Codiaeum variegatum, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. kind of banana

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 118

n. treelet, 2 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #4085)

Example: 1. The green leaves of this plant are used to cover fish, when cooking them in a fire.

Scientific name: Cordyline fruticosa, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. a plantation of taro

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 89

n. kind of flower or flowers (see def. for "elwa")

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 77

n. kind of sugarcane

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 120

n. kind of shellfish

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. Hound needlefish, crocodile long-tom

Example: Photo by Philippe Bourjon / Fishbase, License: CC BY-SA 3.0 via Fishes of Australia

Scientific name: Tylosurus crocodilus crocodilus via FishBase, Speaker: Jack Keitadi

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

[inʧataheɪjn] n. hen

Speaker: Osiani Nerian

n. Elattostachys falcata (RPV #112)

Scientific name: Elattostachys falcata, Speaker: Romario Yaufati

[iŋec] n. Mystery Island

Speaker: Kirk Keitadi

n. a giant

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. kind of taro

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 119

n. kind of bird

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

[kurimataʊ] n. cow (lit. dog’s older brother)

Speaker: Osiani Nerian

n. coconut crab

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

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. low tide

Speaker: Kirk Keitadi

adj. ripe; also "metto"

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 93

[naɣiŋaɣas] n. Mystery Island (eastern part) (lit. chiefly basket for fish or fish will always want to get your bait)

Speaker: Ruben Nerian

n. prickly shrub

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 184

n. dawn of day

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 141

[naŋɛsɛŋa ratha] n. sun god

Speaker: Ruben Nerian

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. low-growing, creeping vine growing in grassy area just inland from coastal strand. Flowers purple. (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3224)

Example: Long time ago used seeds to make necklaces, don’t last long.

Scientific name: Canavalia rosea, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. dawn of day

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 141

n. kind of banana (short fruits)

Speaker: David Nasauman

n. shrub, 1. 5 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3217)

Example: 1a. When traveling past a community you can place these leaves in a basket or walk with it in your hand. In this way people in the community know that you are traveling in peace and will cause no harm to people in that village. 1b. Message plant – if you go to visit someone and they are not there, you leave a branch of this on the door or somewhere they can see it and they know that some relatives have come and tried to visit them.

Scientific name: Dendrolobium umbellatum, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

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. isle, island

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 160

n. shrub, 1. 5-2 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3606)

Example: A type of roselle that is a weed growing in swampy areas.

Scientific name: Hibiscus sabdariffa, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

n. kind of tree

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 117

n. kind of bush

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

[nawʊn nɛθoʊn] n. leg

Speaker: Ruben Nerian

n. tree, 12 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #4128)

Example: 1. The wood of this tree can be used to make posts for traditional houses.

Scientific name: Alphitonia zizyphoides, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. skin, peel (of fruit)

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. the break of day

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 97

n. kind of banana

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 118

n. kind of fish

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. kind of crab

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

[neθwonomo] n. fish bones

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

Speaker: Osiani Nerian

n. grass; weeds; thistle

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 98

n. a bunch of grapes; also "nigaivaine"

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 98

n. kind of bird

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. land newly planted with taro

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 99

n. kind of bush

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. kind of shellfish

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

[nenes] n. fiber for kava

Speaker: Ruben Nerian

n. kind of bush

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. kind of shellfish

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

[ɲɛsŋa nɛmtan nʊmʊ] n. fish eye

Speaker: Ruben Nerian

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. 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

n. tree, 7-8 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3587)

Example: 1. If the preferred banana leaves are not available to wrap food for cooking, then use young leaves of this species and tie taro and fish for cooking. 2. Use leaves to wrap fresh water prawns and fresh water fish and cook them on charcoal. Use as a cup by making funnel out of leaf and drink from it. 3. Used for unspecified ritual activities.

Scientific name: Dillenia biflora, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

n. tree, 8-9 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3655)

Example: If the preferred banana leaves are not available to wrap food for cooking, then use young leaves of this species and tie taro and fish for cooking. Take 4-5 leaves and wrap the food with the leaves. Tie a rope around the food and tie them all together using any strong vine. They can then be cooked over an open fire.

Scientific name: Dillenia neoebudica, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

n. shrub to 2 m, flowers blue-purple. Red clay soil (collection: Michael J. Balick #4878)

Example: A stem of this shrub is sharpened and used to dig a hole for planting kava. When a person plants kava in a hole made from this stick, there is the belief that it will make kava root stems strong and large. The fruits are edible when ripe and said to be sweet.

Scientific name: Vaccinium macgillivrayi, Speaker: Natu Kenneth

n. large tree, 18 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #4076)

Example: 1. The name means "I come". This plant is used to convey messages. When a branch of this plant is left at the house of a person it indicates someone had visited them and they were not there. 2. Children eat the nut of the ripe (yellow) fruits.

Scientific name: Finschia chloroxantha, Speaker: Wina Nasauman

n. kind of bush

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. kind of shellfish

Speaker: Romario Yaufati

n. wind-related term; no definition provided

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 113

[ninahɛn] n. scales

Speaker: Osiani Nerian

n. kind of taro

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 119

n. a species of seaweed

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 103

n. tree, 3-4 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3540)

Example: The straight trunk of this tree is used to make canoes. The black seed in the fruit is used to make necklaces. The inner bark is peeled and crushed in sea water and rubbed in the hair to make it curly. People do this treatment every day to make long hair curl like a rasta.

Scientific name: Hernandia nymphaeifolia, Speaker: Titiya Lalep

n. vine to 2 m, aerial tubers and lobed leaves. (collection: Michael J. Balick #4946)

Example: This is a root crop. It is harvested in April-June. The leaves turn yellow and indicate that the crop is ready to harvest. If planted in the old days the root would get much larger. It is a good cyclone disaster food. Grows wild now. Boil the tuber in fresh water, when it is cooked add a bit of sea water to give it a salty taste. Chew the starchy root and spit out the fiber. Another variety is like sweet potato and a person can eat the entire root without spitting out the fiber. Can mix with coconut milk as well to eat.

Scientific name: Dioscorea pentaphylla, Speaker: Natu Kenneth

[nopsiʧman] n. hand

Speaker: Ruben Nerian

n. Striated surgeonfish

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

Scientific name: Ctenochaetus striatus, Speaker: Chris Nevehev

n. a bunch of taro

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 104

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

Speaker: Ruben Nerian

n. Yellowtail barracuda

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

Scientific name: Sphyraena obtusata via FishBase, Speaker: Jack Keitadi

[toŋ] n. tongue

Speaker: Ruben Nerian

v.n. to fall, as unripe fruit

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 111

n. kind of taro

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 119

adj. beginning to be ripe, as fruit

Speaker: Inglis 1882, p. 112