Page 14 - AHATA

Saturday 8 November 2025 locAl
A10

The Aruban way of life; Creating community with Cas di Torto

(Oranjestad)—The Aruban
people understand that a
happy life is spent in great
ambience with your loved
ones. Passed down from one
generation to the other, build-
ing community has been a
key aspect in forging our tra-
ditions and customs. The Cas
di Torto (mud house) played a
big role in cultivating commu-
nity, bridging families together
and forming close bonds with
your neighbors—something
we highly value today.
(Aruba, Curacao, Bonaire), Young couples who were building of the house, and animals like goats, chicken
Cas di Torto: History and but the use of cornstalks in about to get married had to the women were tasked with or sheep. Even the older kids
construction Aruba eventually got re- have their house built before collecting wood and straws, had their tasks; the older
The origin of the Cas di Torto is placed with use of mud and they could tie the knot and cooking and taking care of children of the family usu-
said to date back to the early white plaster for the roofs. The start their own family. This is the little ones. ally helped with collecting
19th century in the Paragua- white plaster all around made where the help of the com- water and mixing the mud.
na Peninsula in Venezuela. the houses looks like cake, munity comes into play. The couple’s family were pri-
Refugees who sought sanc- hence the name “Torto” marily responsible for feeding The average duration of con-
tuary on Aruba introduced (Spanish for “cake”). Neighbors, extended family everyone who helped build structing a Cas di Torto was
this building method to the and friends would all help in the house. Before construc- 4 months.
island. Building community the construction of a Torto tion, someone usually had the
Building Torto houses was House. And everyone had a task to prepare the meal; go- At the end of a long day of
The uprights of the walls were often a community effort. role: The men oversaw the ing fishing or slaughter farm work, everyone would gather
made with sturdy and straight around and enjoy a feast of
wayaca or kwihi wood, or hearty food. This type of help
from thin mangrove struts. from friends and family be-
Then, the wattle walls were came a tradition and was
weaved in using branches called “paga lomba”: You
and twigs from the warero help me today; I’ll help you
and sisal plant, daubed with tomorrow.
a mixture of grass and mud.
Finally, the walls got a coat Nowadays, traditional Cas
of white plaster to seal ev- di Torto are rare, especially
erything in. those that are still inhabited.
Houses that do exist prob-
For roofing, corn stalks, palm ably date back more than
fonds and straws were used, a century.q
allowing air to flow freely
through the house. This Picture credits: Aruba Na-
tional Library (BNA) and the
method of roofing was known Monumentbureau archive on
throughout the ABC islands Coleccion.aw

How Aruban beaches came to be!

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