Page 7 - AHATA

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local Saturday 24 auguSt 2024
Aruba’s neighborhoods; the meaning behind their names

Just like any other coun-
try, Aruba has unique and
beautifully named neighbor-
hoods that all form a part of
its culture and development.
Many of these names have
a historical background and
meaning that teaches us
about the island and its rich
culture every day.

With this series, we want to
take you on a journey of dis- opment proyect that took
covery, where you’ll learn If one assumes that the ac- place. It is hoped that the
not only the beautiful names tual word heard was Ana- original and ‘old’ name of
but the history behind it that boio instead, consisting of Anabui is never lost and
gives it life and meaning. Ana meaning the best and now it will be remembered
Boio (bohio); house, the itera- by both locals and tourists.
Anabui/Tierra Del Sol tion of Anabui would mean
This neighborhood can be “the best house.” This is the Angochi
seen on Van Raders map origin that has been more This name can be seen on
and Werbata as Anna Boei. or less speculated and as- the Werbata map with little
Anna Boei is a name of which sumed for the word Anabui and cursive letters. It is the
there isn’t much information and it’s meaning. unofficial name for the area
about its origin. given by a tenant to the land
During the second world that was rented to him.
The best historians were able war and later, this area was
to deduce is that this name used as a terrain for training The biggest probability that
came to be because of a of shooting by militia and historians believe is that it
miscommunication between latero n Korps Mariniers (the comes from native descent,
Van Spengler and the na- marines of Aruba). By the during the time in the 19th
tives who were living on the end of the previous century century where Mestizos still
island. In the Arawak/Taino a large part of Anabui was lived on Aruba. The name
language one can find the developed to have luxuri- can’t really be explain and
word Anaiboa, which con- ous villas and a golf course, according to books on its his-
sists of Ana meaning flower or which lead to it getting the tory seems to be more of a
the best and Iboa; the juice name Tierra Del Sol, Span- sign of corruption.
of a cassava, which together ish for Land of the Sun. The However, it seems to come Goeiza, which means ‘the
would mean “the best juice name is not an official name, from combining A(n), which spirit of a living man’. Ango- This neighborhood’s abbre-
of a cassava”. but the name of the devel- is a generalizing prefix and chi remains more of a guess. viation is; An.q

How Aruban beaches came to be!

(Oranjestad)—We’ve talk- of years, as waves contin- stronger and the ocean
ed about the best beaches ue to crash and fish con- floor is much deeper, there
to visit on the island before, tinue to eat off the corals, is no sand present—they
but have you ever won- sand starts to accumulate were swept away with the
dered how Aruba got its around the area. Howev- current!
white, sandy beaches, and er, whether the sand stays
why there’s a clear differ- there is another question Why north deep, but south
ence between the northern to be answered, and this is shallow?
and southern shores? Here where we highlight the big- Ah! Good question…and
are some fun facts about gest difference between interesting phrasing.
the development of Aru- the northern and southern
ban beaches. coast of the island. Aruba is a continental
island. The island actu-
How did Aruba get its The sand that accumulates ally forms part of South
white, sandy beaches? around a torn coral reef America, and the space
Aruba’s beaches have de- is swept away along with between Aruba and the
veloped over the span of the debris by the ocean South American continent
thousands of years. Waves stream. However, in areas is simply referred to as land
crashing on the rocky for- where it’s shallow and the that runs under the ocean.
mations along our coast stream is weaker, the sand This is why it gets gradu-
line (which consists mainly tends to sick to the bot- ally deeper in the south,
of coral reefs) have start- tom faster. This is why the whereas the ocean floor in
ed to wear and tear the beaches in the south—the the north runs steeply to the
reefs over time, resulting areas with weaker stream bottom. q
in its gradual breakdown. and shallower ocean
Fish that feed off corals floors—has sand that Source: archival document
also contribute to this, one stretches for miles. In con- provided by the National Ar-
small bite at a time. Over trast, the northern area, chive of Aruba (ANA).
the course of thousands where the stream is much