Batata and ahe (aje) are Taíno

Did You Know: The word batata is a Taíno word describing what is commonly called a sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas). The white sweet potato can also be called by another Taíno word, boniato. The word batata has since been incorporated into Portuguese to identify potatoes (Solanum tuberosum). According to some sources, the English word potato is itself derived from the Taíno word batata, which was borrowed from an early Spanish corruption patata. Traditionally, starchy root tubers are a staple of Taíno diet. Beyond the batata, other tubers such as iuka (yuca/cassava/manioc),  iautía (yautia), guaíga (guayiga), and ahe (aje) were also cultivated traditionally. However, of all these tubers iuka remains the most prominent Taíno dietary staple.  In the Caribbean, early Spanish chronicles recorded Taino names for several different varieties of ahe (aje), which are identified today as common or wild yams and are said to be part of the Dioscorea family of tubers. Caribbean or West Indian “yams” are generally identified through their Latin botanical identification of Dioscorea sativa. The word “yam” is an English form derived from nyami, a term found in some West African languages said to mean “to eat”.  Today, some of the early variant ahe tubers are not cultivated commercially or even locally and are no longer easily distinguishable by their diverse, original Taíno names. - UCTP Taino News (c) 2013

Guayiga and Marunguey are Taino

Did You Know: Traditionally, Taino People made special use of a type of cycad plant species in the Zamia family that grows in several varieties throughout the Caribbean, the Bahamas, and even Florida (Zamia pumila, Zamia debilis, Zamia amblyphyllidia, Zamia integriflora, etc). This plant is known as guayiga in Kiskeia (Dominican Republic), it also is known as marunguey in Borikén (Puerto Rico). The indigenous Seminole Peoples of Florida call it Coonti. In Kuba (Cuba) these plants are known as Yuquilla de ratón or Yuquilla de paredón. While guayiga/marunguey is extremely poisonous, the Taino learned to make a bread called Chola or Cholla, out of its roots. The production of this bread is similar to that of Taino kasabe (yuka/cassava/manioc bread). According to local traditional knowledge, once the bread is made, it is left outside, and when insects begin to land on it, the bread is deemed ready to be consumed as the poisons have been sufficiently extracted. Today, on the island of Kiskeia, the communities of Higuey and Haina produce most of the chola bread made on the island. – UCTP Taino News © 2013