The Aneityum Talking Dictionary currently has 2431 entries, with 1543 audio files and 860 images.
This domain search has returned 28 entries.
n. shrub, 2. 5 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3471)
Scientific name: Geniostoma rupestre
Example: 1. The fruit of this species are poisonous. In ancient times the ancestors used the "fork" (branch growing out of main stem) of this wood to catch lobsters between the two parts of the stem. 2. Fertilizer for taro, in case you are not cleansed, it is ok as this plant as fertilizer will cleanse you.
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n. shrub, 1. 5-2 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3580)
Scientific name: Geniostoma rupestre
Example: This plant is gathered for firewood. It is said that the fragrance of the flowers is not nice.
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n. tree to 4 m, dbh 10 cm (collection: Michael J. Balick #4928)
Scientific name: Geniostoma rupestre
Example: The leaves are used for compost in the taro patch. Dig a hole, line it with the leaves of this species, cove with earth and plant taro. The leaves of this species are used to cover earth ovens.
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n. tree, 5 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #4072)
Scientific name: Geniostoma rupestre
Example: 1. The flower and bark are known to reek a foul smell.
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n. tree, 6-8 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3618)
Scientific name: Dysoxylum bijugum
Example: The wood is good for house posts, as it is straight and strong.
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n. tree, 3 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3547)
Scientific name: Sophora tomentosa
Example: This plant is for medicine to treat a spiritual condition related to the coral snake that is the seawater spirit. When a woman is pregnant, some times she gets sick, so use this leaf with 2-3 other unspecified leaves and mash them together, squeeze the juice into a small cup (bamboo), wave around the woman’s body, and then put a few drops onto her head and body, then she drinks the rest. This will help heal her sickness. This treatment can be used for men who have a toothache from eating too much fish--the seawater spirit of the coral snake makes the tooth hurt. It is used in the same way as for a pregnant woman. If the pain from the toothache is really from the seawater spirit, then this will cure it; if not, it will not help.
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n. tree. Growing in village garden. (collection: Ashley A McGuigan #19)
Scientific name: Sophora tomentosa
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.
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n. shrub, 2 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3548)
Scientific name: Vitex trifolia
Example: The forked stick of this plant is used as a pole to hold the outrigger on a canoe. Children blow the small fruits of this plant through the hollow petioles of the papaya leaf or a hollowed bamboo stem as a game. As an aphrodisiac, two handfuls of the leaves of this species are boiled in fresh water and men drink these for 7 days. The next week they will be "strong." People cannot have sex while they are drinking this remedy, but then the next week when they have finished the treatment, they will be "very strong."
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n. tree, 6-8 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3218)
Scientific name: Vitex trifolia
Example: 1. Take a handful of leaves, squeeze with the hands into 1/2 liter of water, drink when tired; said to open the "blood nerves" and to purify the blood and make the muscles of the male sexual organ strong. 2a. When a person is planting watermelons in the garden, as the vines grow, split them and perforate the vines with a sharpened stick. This practice is said to ensure that the watermelons will be as prolific as the seeds in Vitex. 2b. If you plant vines in your garden like cucumber, beans, melons, pierce the stem with a small sliver of this branch and it will make the vine have more fruit.
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n. herb to 1. 5 m, flowers white with pink tips. Growing on sandy path along coastal walk to ute. (collection: Michael J. Balick #4989)
Scientific name: Alpinia zerumbet
Example: The leaves of this plant are used to finish the ridge of the house roof. Lay the leaves horzontally on top of the roof, and the sides of the roof are thatched with palms or grass. Layer 10 leaves on top of each other to enable this part of the roof (known as nitjintiniom) to last for a long time--perhaps up to 6 years. If this is used on the top of a roof where there is a fire burning, such as a kitchen, and this leaf gets a lot of smoke, it can last much longer a the top of the roof--perhaps 10 years or more.
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n. herb, 2 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3676)
Scientific name: Hedychium coronarium
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n. herb, growing in disturbed secondary forest/garden area. Sterile; leaves fragrant. (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3695)
Scientific name: Hornstedtia scottiana
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n. herb to 1 m, flowers white (collection: Michael J. Balick #4868)
Scientific name: Rivina humilis
Example: Red fruit is used to feed chickens.
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n. liana climbing on Fagraea tree (8 m tall), growing in secondary forest (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3663)
Scientific name: Piper macropiper
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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)
Scientific name: Cocos nucifera
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."
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n. herb to 1 m, flower bracts yellow. (collection: Michael J. Balick #4921)
Scientific name: Alpinia purpurata
Example: Introduced species, used for decoration. Planted near houses and roads. Use the flower for decorating hair.
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n. tree, 4 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3647)
Scientific name: Maoutia diversifolia
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.
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n. small tree, 2 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3528)
Scientific name: Santalum austrocaledonicum
Example: 1. This plant is used as firewood, but also the heartwood is sold. 2. In 2016, the first grade wood was 2500 VT per kilo, the second grade wood was 2000 VT per kilo. 3. The ancestors used to take the oil or wood chips from this tree and bathe with it to keep away evil spirits of the forest. It is currently planted on Aneityum for commerce. Scrape bark of sandalwood into coconut oil in same wat as GMP 3513 (gardenia) boil and take out the bark. 4. The leaves can be fed to pigs to make them strong and heavy.
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n. herb, growing in partially drained marsh. Flowers purple. (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3596)
Scientific name: Ipomoea aquatica
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n. shrub, 1. 5 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3560)
Scientific name: Abutilon indicum
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.
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n. shrub to 1 m, flowers yellow (collection: Michael J. Balick #4960)
Scientific name: Abutilon indicum
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n. moderately branched treelet, 2 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3203)
Scientific name: Hibiscus tiliaceus
Example: 1a. This type of hibiscus has young leaves that are reddish in color and it is an edible type. The stems are eaten during April-July. Harvest the stems, beat them and cut off the outer bark. Collect inner bark, slicing it off the stem and wrapping it in a banana type leaf with coconut milk added. Bake all night at least 8 hours, then it is eaten. Said to taste like a root vegetable. Used during the dry season when there are not many crops available. 1b. Take young shoot of the tree then pound the base to separate the base of the bark from the stem but leave it on the stem, say pound 4-5 inches around the base, then come back 3-4 months and the rest of the bark would be thicker. Then cut where it was pounded, cut stem in 1.5-foot pieces, bake on an earth oven, leaves on bottom layer (on top of charcoal) then sticks, then leaves on top, then hot stones, and then more leaves. Bake for 1.5 hours, then remove a stick at a time and use shell to scrape away outer bark, cut into 6 inch pieces, put on log, pound to make softer, put in lap lap leaves leaf wrapping, add coconut milk, put in stone oven, cook for one hour then open lap lap leaves and eat. 2. This variety is for this purpose just like Pohnpei. 3. This variety is not used for grass skirt.
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n. low tree. Found along the coast. (collection: Ashley A McGuigan #11)
Scientific name: Hibiscus tiliaceus
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.
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n. liana climbing up a Syzygium tree into the canopy, growing at edge of dense forest near garden area. (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3637)
Scientific name: Entada phaseoloides
Example: Rope is made from the inner bark of this plant. Use the rope immediately after it is stripped from the bark, there is no need to treat it with heat as is the case with other plants. Alternatively, the coil of bark rope can be kept in fresh water where it will stay soft until needed. Medicine for women when sick with a headache from the spirit sea snake, or sea god, or sea spirit that makes people sick. Men use it to help with toochaches. Women use it to help with backpain, stomache pain, or any other pain. Must pound two leaves taken from the top of the plant and combine with incespiv. Rosalina Nijae said it was mostly used by men so did not know how to use it well. Walking in bush and become thirsty, cut vine on 1 side and drink. Seeds made into foot bracelets for men for Kastom dances and make all sorts of different sounds. In some places taboo to cut large one as the large ones embody the snake spirit.
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n. shrub, 1 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3441)
Scientific name: Abutilon indicum
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.
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n. tree, 4 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3713)
Scientific name: Symplocos
Example: The wood of this tree is light and strong and used to carve canoe paddles. Carve the paddle from green wood as it is easier to carve then when the wood hardens.
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n. tree to 5 m, dbh 8 cm (collection: Michael J. Balick #4933)
Scientific name: Symplocos aneityensis
Example: The wood is light and used to make paddles for canoes.
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All content copyright © Aneityum community. (2015)
Talking Dictionary produced by K. David Harrison, Gregory D. S. Anderson and Jeremy Fahringer. Botanical consultants: Michael J. Balick, Gregory M. Plunkett and Sean Thackurdeen. (2015-2018)
Aneityum language contributors include Kirk Keitadi, Tony Keith, Titiya Lalep, David Nasauman, Osiani Nerian, Ruben Nerian, Chris Nevehev, Romario Yaufati and others as credited within the dictionary entries. Based in part on materials from Inglis, John (1882) A Dictionary of the Aneityumese Language: In Two Parts. I. Aneityumese and English. II. English.
The Aneityum-English Talking Dictionary was made possible by award no. 1555675 from National Science Foundation for “Collaborative Research: Plant, Fungal and Linguistic Diversity of Tafea Province, Vanuatu.” This support is gratefully acknowledged.
Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
All rights reserved. Do not distribute or reproduce without permission.
how to cite:
K. David Harrison. 2015.
Aneityum Talking Dictionary.
Swarthmore College.
http://www.talkingdictionary.org/aneityum