Page 7 - AHATA

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local Saturday 9 November 2024
Aruba’s neighborhoods; the meaning behind their names

Just like any other coun- by both locals and tourists.
try, Aruba has unique and If one assumes that the ac-
beautifully named neigh- tual word heard was Ana- Angochi
borhoods that all form a boio instead, consisting of This name can be seen
part of its culture and de- Ana meaning the best and on the Werbata map with
velopment. Many of these Boio (bohio); house, the it- little and cursive letters. It is
names have a historical eration of Anabui would the unofficial name for the
background and meaning mean “the best house.” This area given by a tenant to
that teaches us about the is the origin that has been the land that was rented to
island and its rich culture more or less speculated him.
every day. and assumed for the word
Anabui and it’s meaning. The biggest probability that
With this series, we want historians believe is that
to take you on a journey During the second world it comes from native de-
of discovery, where you’ll war and later, this area was scent, during the time in
learn not only the beautiful used as a terrain for training the 19th century where
names but the history be- of shooting by militia and Mestizos still lived on Aruba.
hind it that gives it life and latero n Korps Mariniers (the The name can’t really be
meaning. marines of Aruba). By the explain and according to
end of the previous century books on its history seems
Anabui/Tierra Del Sol a large part of Anabui was to be more of a sign of cor-
This neighborhood can be developed to have luxuri- ruption.
seen on Van Raders map ous villas and a golf course,
and Werbata as Anna which lead to it getting the However, it seems to come
Boei. Anna Boei is a name name Tierra Del Sol, Span- from combining A(n), which
of which there isn’t much ish for Land of the Sun. is a generalizing prefix and
information about its origin. The name is not an official Goeiza, which means ‘the
name, but the name of the spirit of a living man’. An-
The best historians were and the natives who were Ana meaning flower or the development proyect that gochi remains more of a
able to deduce is that this living on the island. In the best and Iboa; the juice of took place. It is hoped that guess.q
name came to be be- Arawak/Taino language a cassava, which together the original and ‘old’ name
cause of a miscommunica- one can find the word would mean “the best juice of Anabui is never lost and This neighborhood’s abbre-
tion between Van Spengler Anaiboa, which consists of of a cassava”. now it will be remembered viation is; An.

Lessons from our elders:
Plants and fruits for medicinal use (part 2)

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