Page 17 - HOH

Wednesday 4 May 2022 locAl
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Arashi site Episode CLII - 152

Etnia Nativa`s facilitate cultural awareness, educa-
tion and safeguards our heritage by guiding inspiering
our visitor readers towards an island guardian state of
mind.

Through this weekly column, by sharing the most inter-
esting and revealing stories, closer to the Aruba we
would want you to experience. Aruba is a tiny desti-
nation, a fragile ecosystem with thousands of years of
history. Discover that what will enlighten and spice up
your stay over. Aid your curios, feel an Aruban native.

When we talk about getting to know our home as a
tourist destination, we know the impact this has on you
as a visitors, its great natural beauty and its stunning
white sand beaches.

During this proses of discovering the islands landscapes
and topography you will probably reach Arashi, today
a public beach area that offers a perfect and relaxing
coast line with a spectacular sunset, located in the ex-
treme North-West part of island in the district of Noord,
near Malmok, the California lighthouse and Qudarebe
point. Arashi was long ago part of an archaic sea far-
ers hunters and gatherers settlement.
madic tribes reached our island thou-
These Paleolithic nomadic people navigated the sands of years before the coming of the The island still have many places that
oceans by observing the stars for orientation in order agro ceramist groups from out the Ama- has an ancient Native American Top-
to reach or return to specific areas. They were excel- zon and Orinoco region. onym
lent seafarers knowing exactly how to come back In relation to the Toponym “Arashi” we This traditional exploitation of Arashi
wherever and whenever it was necessary to collect hypothesize that it is likely that this name continues till a few years ago by Aruban
supplies and gather resources during their seasonal refers to the word ara or huara which is of native descend, just like their forefa-
marine ventures. directly related to: fish or fishing, as the thers.
word Warashi, stands for a Bonefish,
Going back to the times of the Paleolithic period we Waranawa “salted fish” Warawaxique Arashi today has been transformed in
must imagine that the island was covered over 75% with and Waraxique referring to fisherman’s one of the favorite beaches for local
various types of vegetation. There was abundance in woman. There is a great possibility that families, who in addition to sunbath-
seafood including different species of sea turtles, crus- the words mentioned above were ex- ing and relaxing, can enjoy swimming
taceans and shellfish. Game scattered throughout the tracted from the language of the late in gentle currents, resulting in a perfect
island, were numbers of rabbits, iguanas and wild pi- Caquetio of the Arawakan language place to practice snorkeling, just as our
geons maybe even a subspecies of island deer. family, tribe who recognized the value little entrepreneur in marine archaeol-
of this site since them continuing to ex- ogy in the picture who shows us his ce-
Historical evidence reveals that these Paleolithic no- ploit Arashi on the same way. ramic discovery. Arashi still has traces of
shell maidens and ceramic shreds that
once were part of a cooking pots, wa-
ter jars, urn or a buren, which is a ce-
ramic hot plate to make corn tortillas
we call “pan batí”. q

If you love Aruba its origins and its cul-
tural heritage, be part of the exclusive
visitors of Etnia Nativa: a cozy museum/
home an private residential houses col-
lections of native art, archaeological
artifacts and historic furniture, while the
facilities themselves are the result of
the transformation of recycled materi-
als. Meet Anthony Croes, our columnist
at his home! Book your visit Whatsapp
+ 297 592 2702- or mail: etnianativa03@
gmail.com