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a8 local
Saturday 8 June 2024
Aruba’s neighborhoods; the meaning behind their names
Just like any other coun- development proyect that
try, Aruba has unique and took place. It is hoped that
beautifully named neigh- the original and ‘old’ name
borhoods that all form a of Anabui is never lost and
part of its culture and de- now it will be remembered
velopment. Many of these by both locals and tourists.
names have a historical
background and meaning Angochi
that teaches us about the This name can be seen
island and its rich culture on the Werbata map with
every day. little and cursive letters. It is
the unofficial name for the
With this series, we want area given by a tenant to
to take you on a journey the land that was rented to
of discovery, where you’ll him.
learn not only the beautiful
names but the history be- The biggest probability that
hind it that gives it life and historians believe is that
meaning. it comes from native de-
scent, during the time in
Anabui/Tierra Del Sol the 19th century where
This neighborhood can be Mestizos still lived on Aruba.
seen on Van Raders map The name can’t really be
and Werbata as Anna explain and according to
Boei. Anna Boei is a name books on its history seems
of which there isn’t much to be more of a sign of cor-
information about its origin. ruption.
The best historians were However, it seems to come
able to deduce is that this from combining A(n), which
name came to be be- is a generalizing prefix and
cause of a miscommunica- Goeiza, which means ‘the
tion between Van Spengler spirit of a living man’. An-
and the natives who were best and Iboa; the juice of tual word heard was Ana- ous villas and a golf course, gochi remains more of a
living on the island. In the a cassava, which together boio instead, consisting of which lead to it getting the guess.
Arawak/Taino language would mean “the best juice Ana meaning the best and name Tierra Del Sol, Span-
one can find the word of a cassava”. Boio (bohio); house, the it- ish for Land of the Sun. This neighborhood’s abbre-
Anaiboa, which consists of eration of Anabui would The name is not an official viation is; An.q
Ana meaning flower or the If one assumes that the ac- mean “the best house.” This name, but the name of the
is the origin that has been
more or less speculated
and assumed for the word
Anabui and it’s meaning.
During the second world
war and later, this area was
used as a terrain for training
of shooting by militia and
latero n Korps Mariniers (the
marines of Aruba). By the
end of the previous century
a large part of Anabui was
developed to have luxuri-
