yam

English: ‘yam’.

The yam, Dioscorea sp., is frequently given a high cultural significance in Papua New Guinea, especially D. alata, which is grown for length in some places, e.g Maprik and Wantoat , by digging deep holes and refilling them with a fine tilth (May 1984: 48-49). Parts of the yam are used for medicine and magic (Powell 1976: 140, 143, 148; Flach and Rumawas 1996: 89, 92, 94).

B. Allen notes that in the Madang area the names are reversed, for reasons unknown, such that mami = D. alata and yam = D. esculenta.

® mami, patate.

Yam garden, Lihir Island, 2001.

Noun forms

  1. Food crops: one of the two main yams in Papua New Guinea, normally the ‘greater yam’, D. alata.

  1. Food crops: any of the less common species of yams, e.g. ‘sand yam’, D. pentaphylla, D. nummularia etc.

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