Page 20 - AHATA

Saturday 10 May 2025 locAl
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The Aruban way of life

Creating community with Cas di Torto

(Oranjestad)—The Aruban Venezuela. Refugees who throughout the ABC islands
people understand that a sought sanctuary on Aruba (Aruba, Curacao, Bonaire),
happy life is spent in great introduced this building but the use of cornstalks in
ambience with your loved method to the island. Aruba eventually got re-
ones. Passed down from placed with use of mud and
one generation to the oth- The uprights of the walls were white plaster for the roofs.
er, building community has made with sturdy and straight The white plaster all around
been a key aspect in forging wayaca or kwihi wood, or made the houses looks like
our traditions and customs. from thin mangrove struts. cake, hence the name “Tor-
The Cas di Torto (mud house) Then, the wattle walls were to” (Spanish for “cake”).
played a big role in cultivat- weaved in using branches
ing community, bridging and twigs from the warero Building community
families together and form- and sisal plant, daubed with Building Torto houses was
ing close bonds with your a mixture of grass and mud. often a community effort.
neighbors—something we Finally, the walls got a coat Young couples who were
highly value today. of white plaster to seal ev- about to get married had to
erything in. have their house built before
Cas di Torto: History and they could tie the knot and
construction For roofing, corn stalks, palm start their own family. This is
The origin of the Cas di fonds and straws were used, where the help of the com-
Torto is said to date back allowing air to flow freely munity comes into play.
to the early 19th century in through the house. This meth-
the Paraguana Peninsula in od of roofing was known Neighbors, extended family
and friends would all help in
the construction of a Torto
House. And everyone had a
role: The men oversaw the
building of the house, and
the women were tasked with
collecting wood and straws,
cooking and taking care of
the little ones.

The couple’s family were pri-
marily responsible for feeding tomorrow.
everyone who helped build The average duration of con-
the house. Before construc- structing a Cas di Torto was Nowadays, traditional Cas
tion, someone usually had 4 months. di Torto are rare, especially
the task to prepare the those that are still inhabited.
meal; going fishing or slaugh- At the end of a long day of Houses that do exist prob-
ter farm animals like goats, work, everyone would gath- ably date back more than
chicken or sheep. Even the er around and enjoy a feast a century.q
older kids had their tasks; the of hearty food. This type of
older children of the family help from friends and family Picture credits: Aruba Na-
usually helped with collect- became a tradition and was tional Library (BNA) and the
ing water and mixing the called “paga lomba”: You Monumentbureau archive on
Coleccion.aw
mud. help me today; I’ll help you

Aruba’s neighborhoods; the meaning behind their names

Just like any other coun- Arawak-Indian origin. A (or stands for Yocahu, which is that is held in high regards In the surrounding areas, Do-
try, Aruba has unique and Ha) is an Indo-Antillean gen- another word for ‘creator’ by both tourists and locals mingoAntonia Silvestre built
beautifully named neighbor- eralizing word. If you were to in Arawak/Taino and in the alike. his by his own means the very
hoods that all form a part of change a part of the word Papiamento spoken today, first chapel or church of Aru-
its culture and development. “Ayo”, namely ‘Yo’, to ‘Yu’ ‘Ayo’ means ‘bye’. If you’d like to know more ba. The walls of this church
Many of these names have and make ‘Ayu’, it would about the rock formations at were made with rocks but
a historical background and mean “white.” At Ayo, you can find some Ayo, stay tuned for our article the roof was made of dry
meaning that teaches us of the most well known rock where we tell you all about corn stalks. The church was
about the island and its rich However, as we now know, formations. These formations its location and history. inaugurated by father Pablo
culture every day. the name of the neighbor- became a well loved and Algemesi
hood is ‘Ayo’. The word ‘Yo’ visited attraction at Aruba This neighborhood’s abbre-
With this series, we want to viation is; A. If you’d like to know more
take you on a journey of dis- about the Alto Vista Church’s
covery, where you’ll learn Alto Vista beautiful history, stay tuned
not only the beautiful names This word combination can for our article where we tell
but the history behind it that be roughly translated to a you all you need to know
gives it life and meaning. ‘high point of view’ and the about it for when you visit it.
neighborhood received this
Ayo name from the Hill. This neighborhood’s abbre-
Ajo, or Ayo, is a word with viation is; AV.