Page 14 - AHATA

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LOCAL Wednesday 23 april 2025

The legend of the Kibrahacha tree

(Oranjestad)— As the climate be- Written by Hubert (Lio Booi)
gins to dry up here, the Kibraha-
cha is ready to bloom. Known lo- One day Aterima, who lived west
cally for its bright, yellow flowers, of the hill Sero Warawara, woke up
this special tree only blooms for one day to find her father sleeping
three to four days only. Scientifi- in his hammock, suffering a bout of
cally known as Tabebuia billbergii, terrible fever. Her mother was very
and in English as the Yellow Poui, worried, and as was the custom in
this tree is native to the Caribbean the olden days, asked Aterima to
islands of Aruba, Bonaire and Cu- go fetch Kudawecha, who was a
racao, and is considered among epistemophile, to come see his fa- they saw that it was covered head and encouraged to help her fa-
locals as one of the most spectac- ther. to toe in thorns, with only a few ther, took her back to her hut.
ular trees on the island. But did you closed flowers at the very top. Ku-
also know that the beautiful yellow Aterima wasted to time and went dawecha, experienced veteran in Upon arriving back at the hut,
flowers have a story behind them? to go fetch Kudawecha. Upon all things Aruban flora and fauna, Aretima’s mother quickly made a
telling Kudawecha that her father told Aretima to start plucking the tea out of the flowers and gave it
The Kibrahacha is said to have ex- was sick, he immediately accom- thorns of the tree to climb to the to her sick husband. Miraculously,
tremely hard wood—so hard that panied Aretima back to her hut, top where the flowers are. Aretima, after just one sip of the tea, the
it can break an axe. In fact, that’s where he encountered her father just as determined to save her fa- father’s fever left his body imme-
what its name means in Papia- in a bad state. Not willing to waste ther, didn’t hesitate to start. diately, and he opened eyes and
mento: “kibra” (break) “hacha” any time, he told Aretima that the sprung up feeling new.
(axe). The flowers bloom around only thing that can cure her father is To her surprise, every time she
April and May, but this only last for a home-made potion made out of plucked a thorn of the tree, a The next morning, they all visited
about three to four days, as the the Kibrahacha flower. At the time bright, yellow flower bloomed in the same Kibrahacha tree that
flowers start to fall off and the tree the Kibrahacha was not yet in her its place. The thorns were hard saved the life of Aretima’s father
starts growing its green leaves. The blooming season, but the stubborn to pluck out, but Aretima contin- and they saw another miracle.
Kibrahacha is especially particu- Kudawecha was determined to ued plucking with enthusiasm and The tree was covered again in the
lar, as it’s the only one among its bring back Aretima’s father back wonder at the unfolding sight be- same bright, yellow flowers, with
neighboring trees to start blooming to health, and so off they went to fore her. Not too long after she was not a thorn in sight. And as the leg-
first. the nearest Kibrahacha tree. able to fill her entire satchel with end goes, from that day on, the
the yellow flowers. Kudawecha, Kibrahacha tree no longer pro-
The legend of the Kibrahacha When they arrived at the tree, satisfied to see Aretima so happy duced any more thorns. q

Planning on snorkeling? Get to know our Candelchi!

(Oranjestad)—If you’re ever fish that swims all year long candelchi, we mean several tinguished by the following the dorsal spine or marks on
planning on snorkeling during in the waters of Aruba. different species but without characteristics. They are the body.
your vacation on Aruba, you distinguishing them by spe- heart-shaped with pink or red
may spot fish that you can’t Let's talk about the names of cies. In this picture, we are hues and often show heart- In Aruba:
recognize. One of these may fish. Do you know your fish? showing the most common shaped streaks between Candelchi are found on
be the “Candelchi” (Squir- The Department of Depart- one in our waters, which is the scales along the body. reefs or areas with structure
relfish), a common, yet shy ment of Agriculture, Live- called squirrelfish in English or They have hard fins and are in the water where they can
stock, and Fisheries, known scientifically known as Holo- always armed. Over at our hide. Although they prefer to

as Santa Rosa, offers this centrus adscensionis. sister island Curaçao, they hunt for food at night, they
informative article that il- are called "bari di clabo" are also active during the
lustrate some fish and their Under candelchi, we in (nail barrel) for that reason. day. They are edible and
names in Papiamento. Aruba generally refer to all delicious when prepared
the different species of squir- In our waters, there are 7 to 8 dry and crispy with lime. It
Candelchi, Squirrelfish, Ho- relfish. They all look alike and types or species present and is particularly challenging to
locentrus adscensionis: it's really difficult to distinguish they are sometimes caught scale the fish, which is why
Candelchi actually refers to between them. and seen occasionally. They it is not one of the favorites
the entire squirrelfish family can be distinguished by dif- among fishermen. They often
or, as some say, when we say The squirrelfish family is dis- ferent marks such as color on live in groups.q