Múkaro is Taino

Múcaro comun, Puerto Rican Screech owl (Megascops nudipes)

Did You Know: In the ancient language of the indigenous Taino People, the term múkaro (múcaro) identified several species of owl including the Puerto Rican Screech owl (Megascops nudipes) and the Short-eared owl (Múcaro Real - Asio flammeus). A subspecies, M. n . newtoni, is endemic to the Virgin Islands, is more recently referred to locally as the "cuckoo bird." The múkaro (pronounced mOO-kah-roh) is a small-sized owl possessing a brown upperside, a light-brown to white underside, white brown lines and white eyebrows. The main diet of the species consists of large insects and is complemented with small birds, geckos and small rodents. The species calls throughout the year while hidden in thick foliage, typically at dawn. The múkaro makes a loud coo-coo call, which is the reason for its common name in the Virgin Islands. Contrary to modern folklore giving owls a negative reputation, most owls were traditionally revered by the Taino and they are one of the most popular bird motifs depicted via petroglyphs (rock carvings). Taino names for other owls include “Siguapa” (Stygian Owl - Asio stygius) and “Sihú (Sijú)”, which is used to identify the Cuban Bare-legged owl (Sijú Contunto - Margarobyas lawrencii lawrencii) and the Cuban pygmy-owl (the Sijú platanero; Sijucito; Sijú - Glaucidium vittatum).

– © 2014 UCTP Taino News 

References

Diccionario de Voces Indígenas de Puerto Rico by Luis Hernández Aquino (published in 1977)

Las Aves de Puerto Rico by Virgilio Biaggi (published in 1983) 

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