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Let’s try yuca in Aruba! Episode CLXXXIX 189
Destination values, native heritage, and cultural iden-
tity are what we advocate for in our own particular way
of safeguarding all reasons to love Aruba. Etnia Nati-
va, through this cultural blog, “Island-Insight,” shares
native cultural awareness, educates, and safeguards
native heritage. It is how we encourage you to experi-
ment with an island-keeper state of mind during your
stay.
Have you ever tried cassava in Aruba? We believe
cassava, or yuca, as it is known locally, should be des-
ignated as a world heritage food. This plant is native
to Brazil and Paraguay, especially around the Ama-
zon and Orinoco river basins. The root of this plant is
used as a staple to make all kinds of foods. The roots
are ground into flour and used to make a flatbread
similar to a Mesoamerican tortilla. Manihot esculenta, commonly refer to as “vianda.” It is
commonly called cassava, manioc, yuca, macaxeira, known that one of the most recurrent In Aruba, native farmers used to plant
mandioca, kappa kizhangu, and aipim, is a woody indigenous foods in the Caribbean was and eat this root in many ways. As with
shrub that has been cultivated long before Europeans’ the yuca, or cassava, food made from cassava bread, the flour was mixed with
arrival. cassava that grew in these fields and water in a mash and cooked on a hot
predominated among the siboneyes, iron or clay plate. It was also an ingredi-
Amerindians spread cassava throughout tropical ar- Caquetios, and Taínos, who were en- ent in stew that was fried. Ground yuca
eas of the South, Central America, and Caribbean gaged in agriculture and harvested a root was also cooked and used as a
islands. Through modern trade, cassava has become range of crops, respectively. This was the clothing starch.
a world food just as corn, beans, potatoes, and toma- first typical meal among most colonial
toes have been cultivated among many Amerindian Caribbean possessions—a substitute for Words of the renowned DR multimedia
societies spreading throughout the continent, becom- the basic wheat bread diet. There was artist, Geo Ripley: “The cassava is an
ing staples on which great civilizations have thrived. a saying widely used in popular Cuban Amerindian cultural patrimony that has
The cassava (Manihot esculenta), also known as yuca, slang and taken from the colonizers: “In persisted in time and space till our days
is sometimes confused with an agave species of North the absence of bread, casabe.” and is a symbol for us of this Caribbean
America. However, the plant yucca, written with two Sea, which has always unified us and
letters c (yucca), is known as the North American plant, In the United States, cassava root is also never separated us.”
and yuca, written with only one “c,” (yuca) is the sub- known as bitter cassava, tapioca, Brazil-
ject of our story. ian arrowroot, and yuca. Cassava and Intrigued by Aruba`s origins and its cul-
tapioca flour are not the same. Tapioca tural heritage? Then we encourage you
Cassava, or yuca, is a root vegetable. The root can be is a starch extracted from the cassava to do something outside of the tourist
eaten, and in some cultures it is also used as medicine. root through a washing and pulping grid. Become one of the exclusive visi-
Cassava is used for tiredness, dehydration in people process. The moist pulp is then squeezed tors of Etnia Nativa, a private residential
with diarrhea, sepsis, and to induce labor, yet there is to extract a starchy liquid. Once all the encounter set up, where you will be able
no scientific evidence to support these claims. water has evaporated from the starchy to touch and be touched by authentic
liquid, only the tapioca flour remains. Aruba heritage, a spectacle of native
Cassava is a basic food for many rural families with Alternatively, cassava flour is the whole art, archaic as well as archaeological
low resources. It has been considered a valuable food root, peeled, dried, and ground. This artifacts, lithic tools, colonial furniture,
since the times of the aboriginal people, forming part means that it has more dietary fiber and other items of islands bygone era.
of the selection of roots and tubers that the Cubans than tapioca flour. Get inside a recycled environment full
of peace, relaxation knowledge, and
information.
Etnia Nativa is, since 1994, the home of
Anthony, our acclaimed columnist, art-
ist craftsman and island Piache, who
guides and lectures you through his re-
splendent collection. Etnia Nativa is the
only place that recreates and introduc-
es you to an authentic glimpse into Aru-
ba’s native cultural heritage. Something
completely different for a change—a
contemporary Native Aruba experi-
ence!
Appointment is required + 297 592 2702
or etnianativa03@gmail.comq
