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Thursday 22 augusT 2024 locAl
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Lessons from our elders:

Plants and fruits for medicinal use

(Oranjestad)—Though western medicine is now When ripe, the fruit can be used for poisoning in add a pinch of salt. Raw arrowroot powder can
widely used for common illnesses and to keep the gut and can help treat rheumatic diseases, be used to powder babies.
our bodies healthy and happy, it is still very like arthritis.
common in every household in Aruba (and Eggplant/Aubergine
around the world) to have staple home rem- However, breastfeeding women who cannot Eggplants, or aubergines, are easy to find in
edies that is passed on through generations. produce much milk are advised not to con- supermarkets around the world and can be
Here are some tips that our elders have passed sume too pineapple, and people with acid grown all year round on the island. Related to
on to us over the years. reflux are recommended to not consume any potato and tomato, eggplants are good to
pineapple at all. calm nerves. It can also be used to lower blood
pressure, by steeping its leaves in boiled water
and drinking it. You can also make eggplant
juice to help purify your blood. However, do
make sure to drink slowly; let it mix with your spit
and then swallow.

Eggplant kataplan* can also be used to treat
skin tumors, abscesses and hemorrhoids. Egg-
plant kataplan can also be used externally to
treat arthritis.q

*warapa: term referring to a water and sugar
solution, a.k.a simple syrup.
*kataplan: porridge-like mixture used externally
for wounds or parts of the body that are painful
Arrowroot or swollen.
Arrowroot is native to tropical America and can
Pineapple be sold as a powder or whole. It is said that you
Pineapple has more uses than topping it on can take arrowroot powder and make a “shal-
your Christmas ham. According to elders, the up” (porridge) for stomach pain or when you’re
skin of a pineapple is great to use to refresh your feeling weak. You can make it with milk too, but
body. Clean the skin thoroughly and make tea it is advised to best use just water. You can also
or warapa* with it. It is said that this tea can also add prunes for a bit of sweetness. Arrowroot
be drank after an operation on the ovaries or shalup is also good to treat an unhealthy gut or
uterus. This gets rid of irritation and inflamma- for diarrhea.
tion.
To make arrowroot shalup, boil a bit of water
When the fruit is unripe and green, this can be and add one tablespoon of arrowroot powder
used to stimulate menstruation flow in women. and stir continuously until you reach porridge
This also stimulates the passing kidney stones. consistency. If you make a shalup with milk,

Aruba’s neighborhoods; the meaning behind their names

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