Page 6 - AHATA

Saturday 7 September 2024 locAl
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Lessons from our elders:

Plants and fruits for medicinal use

(Oranjestad)—Though west- to elders, the skin of a pine- duce much milk are advised To make arrowroot shalup,
ern medicine is now widely apple is great to use to re- not to consume too pineap- boil a bit of water and add
used for common illnesses fresh your body. Clean the ple, and people with acid one tablespoon of arrowroot
and to keep our bodies skin thoroughly and make reflux are recommended to powder and stir continuous-
healthy and happy, it is tea or warapa* with it. It is not consume any pineapple ly until you reach porridge
still very common in every said that this tea can also at all. consistency. If you make a make eggplant juice to help
household in Aruba (and be drank after an operation shalup with milk, add a pinch purify your blood. However,
around the world) to have on the ovaries or uterus. This Arrowroot of salt. Raw arrowroot pow- do make sure to drink slowly;
staple home remedies that is gets rid of irritation and in- Arrowroot is native to tropical der can be used to powder let it mix with your spit and
passed on through genera- flammation. America and can be sold as babies. then swallow.q
tions. Here are some tips that a powder or whole. It is said
our elders have passed on to When the fruit is unripe and that you can take arrowroot Eggplant/Aubergine Eggplant kataplan* can also
us over the years. green, this can be used to powder and make a “sha- Eggplants, or aubergines, are be used to treat skin tumors,
stimulate menstruation flow lup” (porridge) for stomach easy to find in supermarkets abscesses and hemorrhoids.
Pineapple in women. This also stimulates pain or when you’re feeling around the world and can Eggplant kataplan can also
be used externally to treat
Pineapple has more uses the passing kidney stones. weak. You can make it with be grown all year round on arthritis.
than topping it on your When ripe, the fruit can be milk too, but it is advised to the island. Related to pota-
Christmas ham. According used for poisoning in the gut best use just water. You can to and tomato, eggplants *warapa: term referring to
and can help treat rheumat- also add prunes for a bit of are good to calm nerves. It a water and sugar solution,
ic diseases, like arthritis. sweetness. Arrowroot shalup can also be used to lower a.k.a simple syrup.
*kataplan: porridge-like
is also good to treat an un- blood pressure, by steep- mixture used externally for
However, breastfeeding healthy gut or for diarrhea. ing its leaves in boiled water wounds or parts of the body
women who cannot pro- and drinking it. You can also that are painful or swollen.

Ayo & Casibari: Aruba’s famous rock formations

(Oranjestad)—The Ayo and of our culture and of our close to the Natural Bridge. to contain prehistoric mark- view when you climb up
Casibari Rock Formations ancestors. The Ayo is a fenced terrain ings of our indigenous an- the top of the round, flat
are known locally as one that consists of several giant cestors. The Ayo Rock for- bolder. For this position, you
of the crucial sites to have Ayo boulders, resting neatly on mation contains stairs that can see the majority of the
in your “off-road” trip itiner- The Ayo Rock Formation top of or side by side each lead you to the top of the island and the ocean in the
ary. These naturally formed is located in the northern other, adding gorgeous highest boulder, offering a south. Right in front of the
rock formations as just one part of the island, right on natural architecture to the breath-taking view of the entrance, there is the Casi-
of the few places on the is- the road that leads you to surrounding “mondi”*. This Aruban backyard. The Ayo bari Café and Grill, a great
land that hold a rich history the Black Stone Beach, and is also one of the few sites is usually quiet, as it is situ- place to get refreshments
ated farther away from the and snack before continu-
busier parts of the island. ing your off-road adven-
However, this is just anoth- ture!
er charm of the site: the
quiet area and the refresh- Both sites are open free to
ing breeze offer a sense of the public, 24 hours a day.
comfort and peace. However, unless you are
taking a trip with a profes-
Casibari sional tour guide, there are
Probably the busier rock no guides at the sites to
formation site, the Casi- help you climb the rock.
bari is situated more in the So, do be careful when
center of the island, much trudging on the boulders,
closer—and more acces- and make sure to befriend
sible—to the general pub- any roaming goats you see
lic. Just like Ayo, Casibari along the way!
is a fenced area contain-
ing several boulders that *Mondi: what we call
lay on top or lean on each our Aruban wilderness.
other. The best aspect of We don’t have forests, or
the Casibari Rock Forma- deserts, but we do have
tion is the accompanying mondi!q