Page 11 - AHATA

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local Saturday 23 auguSt 2025
The Aruban way of life; Creating community with Cas di Torto

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

Aruba’s neighborhoods; the meaning behind their names; Ayo & Alto Vista

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