Page 9 - AHATA

A7
LOCAL Saturday 21 december 2024
Lessons from our elders:

Plants and fruits for medicinal use (part 2)

plant sweet potatoes them-
selves, mostly because of
how easy it was to do so.
Cut the end of a sweet po-
tato let it sit in shallow wa-
ter until it starts to sprout.
Then you may plant it in the
ground. Sweet potatoes
need plenty of water to
grow, especially in the first
week in the ground. It was
said that once you start to which the answer is based said to have a few benefits
notice the ground crack on harvest time. Tiny trees for our health. According
underneath the flowers, it is produce tinier pomegran- to customs, pomegranate
time to harvest. This should ates that can be harvest- skin tea can help those that
(Oranjestad)—In last blood pressure were ad- happen around month 3. ed early on. Contrarily, suffer from diarrhea. Dried
week’s edition, we shared vised to eat sweet potato 2 big trees produce bigger pomegranate skin tea is
with our readers some me- to 3 times a week. Howev- Pomegranate pomegranates, but they also good for people who
dicinal use for plants and er, if you have high blood Pomegranates are also need enough time to fully have worms. Pomegranate
fruits, passed down from pressure, it is best not to eat one of the easier fruits to ripen before harvesting, flowers can be boiled to
our elders through genera- too much sweet potato, as plant and harvest. Origi- otherwise you might end make a drink and this can
tions. This week, we present this raises blood pressure. nated from Persia, this up with bitter seeds. Pome- be used for irritated gums;
two more uses of fruits and Sweet potatoes are also plant can grow almost ev- granate trees are also very just take a swig and let the
plants for medicinal use. great for people who work erywhere. In Aruba, there easy to plant. In essence, tea sit in your mouth for a
hard labor jobs, and it’s are many homes that have if you just throw the seeds couple minutes.q
Sweet potato been said to be aid blood a tiny or big pomegranate on the ground, they could
According to our elders, circulation in the body, tree. You may be wonder- grow into a tree. Source: Remedi i Kustumber
sweet potato is mostly use- as well as help those with ing what the difference is di nos Bieunan (Medicine and
Customs of our Elderly) by Di-
ful for low blood pressure. hemorrhoids or diarrhea. between a small and big In terms of medicinal use, nah Veeris
People who suffer from low Many of our elders opted to pomegranate tree, for pomegranate skins are

In celebrating 200 years of Oranjestad...

Learn about the history of the famous town hall!

(Oranjestad)—If you’ve ever taken ties—now serves as a public town entirely by her sisters-in-law.
a stroll through main street Oran- hall for civil marriages and is a cul-
jestad, you may have stumbled tural monument on the island. The mansion also contained the
upon a big green house with beau- doctor’s office, as well as a phar-
tiful colonial design. This legendary The house was designed by archi- macy. After the death of Jacobo,
house, now used as a town hall for tect Chibi Wever, and constructed the house was inherited by his son,
civil marriages, was once owned under the leadership of famous an Aruban dentist, who converted
by a wealthy doctor and formed master carpenter, Dada Picus, Jacobo’s office into his own den-
part of the elite neighborhood in who was famous at the time for his tal practice. Over the years, the
Oranjestad. construction of beautiful buildings. house was rented and used by
third parties, but eventually fell into
Jacobo Eloy Arends was an Aru- The construction of the house start- disrepair, as the maintenance cost However, the Aruban government
ban physician, and in lived in Oran- ed once Jacobo and Maria got became too high to cover. recently announced its official res-
jestad during the 1920s. In 1922, he engaged. It is said that during the toration, with plans to convert this
married Maria Monica Lacle, the time of construction, Maria was not The land was sold to Land Aruba in monument into a governmental
daughter of well-known business allowed to see the building nor be 1986, but it did not see a renova- office and public space for visitors
man at the time, Adriaan Lacle. anywhere near the construction tion until 1997. Nowadays, it serves of Oranjestad.q
The two lived a posh life in the city site. It wasn’t until after her honey- to host weddings, and is attached
Source and pictures credited to: “De
center, and their mansion—once moon that she saw the completed to a modern building situated be- Kolibrie op de Rots (en meer over the
the center for neighborhood par- mansion for the first time, furnished hind—the Aruban census office. geschiedenis van Aruba)” by Evert
Bongers.
Jacobo and Maria’s mansion was
situated in front of another famous
mansion, owned by Jacobo’s
brother Frederico Maximiliaan (Ma-
chi) Arends. Frederico was married
to Veneranda (whom the mansion
was named after). Their house was
also constructed by Dada Picus,
utilizing Veneranda’s design vision
that was inspired by a house she
saw in Cartagena, Colombia.

Nowadays, this mansion lies in ruins.