African

origin of
Papiamentu
plant names

Project by:
Mireia Alcántara Rodríguez
Master’s programme
Environmental Biology
Utrecht University
August 2016

Supervisors:
Dr. Margot van den Berg
Linguistics-Utrecht Univesity
Prof. Dr. Tinde van Andel
Ethnobotany- Wageningen University
Context
This report presents the results of my minor research project, part of the master’s programme
Environmental Biology at Utrecht University. African origin of Papiamentu plant names is an
interdisciplinary research that combines botany and linguistics, an innovative collaboration
between scientific and humanistic areas in the present day within the academia. I was under the
direct supervision of Dr. Margot van den Berg, from the department of Linguistics at Utrecht
University and Prof. Dr. Tinde van Andel, from Naturalis Biodiversity Center and special
professor of Ethnobotany at Wageningen. Plant voucher specimens collected during fieldwork
in Curaçao were identified and disposed at the Herbarium of Naturalis Biodiversity Center in
Leiden. Informants and collaborators who participated in this research are cited in the
acknowledgements section of this report and named in the Dataset S1 in the reference column.

Funding
This research project was funded by Alberta Mennega Foundation and Van Eeden
fonds.

Cover image
From top to botton: Banana plant (Musa sp.), fruits of Akee (Blighia sapida),
handicrafts made with Kalbas (Crescentia cujete) fruit by Ms. S. Isenia , Creole food
with funchi (African corn flour dish), Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus) and other
vegetables and fruits at the Round Market in Punda. The pictures were taken during
fieldwork in Curaçao in February of 2016 by M. Alcántara Rodríguez.
 Para mi padre y mis hermanos
Que me dieron el apoyo y coraje necesarios para
embarcarme en la aventura de la investigación (y seguir
en ella)

Y especialmente para mi madre

Quien despertó mi curiosidad por la naturaleza y cuyo
amor eterno e incondicional es la fuerza que motiva cada
uno de mis pasos
Table of contents
ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................... 5
1. Introduction .................................................................................................................. 6
1.1 Curaçao in colonial times ................................................................................................... 6
1.2 Papiamentu: the Creole language of Curaçao.................................................................... 7
1.3 African legacy in vernacular plant names .......................................................................... 8
1.4. In the search for freedom ................................................................................................... 9
2. Aim of this research ...................................................................................................... 9
2.1 Research questions .............................................................................................................. 9
2.2 Hypothesis ......................................................................................................................... 10
3. Methodology.............................................................................................................. 10
3.1 Literature research and construction of the corpus .......................................................... 10
3.2 Fieldwork in Curaçao and expansion of the corpus ......................................................... 11
3.3 Data documentation and corpus completion..................................................................... 12
3.4 Data analysis ..................................................................................................................... 12
4. Results ........................................................................................................................ 13
4.1 Origin of Papiamentu plant names ................................................................................... 13
4.2 Categories of African-derived plant names....................................................................... 15
4.3 Geographical origin of African-derived plant names ....................................................... 17
4.4 African languages of African-derived plant names from Curaçao ................................... 17
5. Discussion................................................................................................................... 18
5.1 African legacy in plant names in Curaçao ........................................................................ 18
5.3 African origin plant names from Curaçao vs. Suriname ................................................... 22
5.4 Linguistic origin of Papiamentu plant names ................................................................... 23
5.5 Country of origin of African-derived plant names ............................................................ 24
5.6 Intra-Caribbean migration of plant knowledge ................................................................ 25
5.7 Transference of ethnobotanical knowledge and future research ...................................... 26
6. Conclusions ................................................................................................................ 27
Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................ 28
References ...................................................................................................................... 30
Appendices ..................................................................................................................... 33
ABSTRACT

Millions of enslaved Africans were deported to the Caribbean and South America from
the 16th to the 19th century. The traditional botanical knowledge of enslaved Africans
helped them to adapt and survive in the alien environment as the recognition of flora
enabled them to find and use wild foods, herbal medicines and ritual plants. Based in
previous ethnobotanical studies in Suriname we traced the African origin of Papiamento
plant names in Curaçao. We compared 834 vernacular names from literature and recent
ethnobotanical fieldwork in Curaçao with plant databases for West and Central Africa.
Curaçaoan vernacular names that presented morphosyntactic, phonological and
semantic similarities with African names for related botanical taxa were considered a
proof of their shared origin. Although 56% of the Afro-Curaçaoan plant names
contained Iberian elements, Amerindian (20%) and Dutch (25%) languages were also
important influences, and 12% of the plant names were traced to their African origin. Of
the African-derived plant names we found that 26% correlated at species level, showing
a strong evidence of the recognition of flora in the new continent by the enslaved
Africans. Beyond this criterion we found that 16% of the names referred to Africa.
These words were sometimes formed by combinations of several languages, reflecting
the process of creolization and the acquisition of new plant names, although preserving
a linkage with the Old World in terms of meaning or use. Greatest correspondence was
found among the regions where most Dutch traders brought their slaves (Central Africa)
and where most slaves were purchased to remain in the island (Upper Guinea). This
study shows the recognition of Neotropical flora in Curaçao by African slaves, the
preservation of their plant names and uses over time and the ongoing process of transfer
of African plant knowledge via intra-Caribbean migrations.

Key words: Ethnobotany, plant names, African Diaspora, Creole languages, Curaçao,
Papiamentu.

5
1. Introduction
1.1 Curaçao in colonial times
Curaçao is an island located in the southern Caribbean Sea, north of the Venezuelan
coast and part of the Lesser Antilles, with a history of different colonial powers and
particular socio-economical conditions. This island was once inhabited by Caquetío
Amerindian people, who migrated from Venezuela around 1500 years ago (Van Buurt
2015). The first European colonizers to arrive to Curaçao were the Spanish, lead by
Alonso de Ojeda in 1499 who soon started to eradicate the native population. In 1634,
the Dutch West Indian Company (WIC) acquired the island, deporting most of the
remaining Caquetío people to Venezuela (Van Buurt 2015). The WIC reached its
highest activity from 1654 after the loss of their colonies in North-East Brazil. From
that period, Dutch slaveholders and Sephardic Jews who were living in the occupied
Brazilian territory after their prosecution in Spain and Portugal (among other European
countries since medieval times), moved to Curaçao together with Dutch colonizers and
European traders (Báez 2010). Unlike other colonies in the Americas, Curaçao was not
suitable for sugar plantations due to its arid climatic conditions. It became instead a
trade port for commerce between other Caribbean islands but also with neighbor
countries, as Venezuela. African slaves started to be part of these trade routes: slaves
came mainly from Dutch territories in West and Central Africa, stayed a period
(sometimes in quarantine) in Curaçao and then they were sent to other European
colonies in the Americas (Jacobs 2012; Welie 2008; Benton & J. Ross 2013). Of the
over 12 millions of slaves brought to the Americas in the Middle Passage,
approximately an estimated of 150.075 slaves disembarked in the Dutch Caribbean
from 1657 to 1794 (Eltis & Richardson 2010;
http://www.slavevoyages.org/assessment/estimates 2013). The majority of slaves came
from Central Africa (61.848), considering the actual territories from Cameroon to
Angola, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, followed by people from the
Bight of Benin (46.071) and Ghana or the Gold Coast (26.761). Fewer slaves came from
Upper Guinea (3064), particularly from the regions of Senegal and Gambia (Jacobs et
al. 2012; Johannes M. Postma 1990).

Although most of the slaves were sold to other colonies, some stayed in the island as
domestic servants, farmers or workers in salt plantations –the only large scale
plantations that the arid climate allowed (Jacobs 2012). Since the Dutch colonization,

6
up to 1677, most of the slaves that remained in the island were imported from Upper
Guinea (Fig. 1) (Jacobs 2009). From this period an insignificant number of slaves were
brought from Upper Guinea to Curaçao as most slaves came from other regions after
1677 (Postma 1990). However slaves from Upper Guinea were the founders of the
Creole society in Curaçao, acting as primary agents in the process of Creole language
formation (Mufwene 1996) that lead to the emergence of Papiamentu.

Fig.1. Map of the Upper Guinea region in

Africa (Northwest coast)

1.2 Papiamentu: the Creole language of Curaçao

Papiamentu is the vernacular language of the Caribbean ABC islands Aruba, Bonaire
and Curaçao. It is a Creole language that emerged out of contact of several languages,
such as Iberian, Dutch, African and Amerindian. Comparative studies of semantic
primes of Creole languages (Bartens & Sandström 2006) have shown that Papiamentu
derived to a greater extent (91%) from Iberian languages. The dominant languages
(lexifiers) that constitute the basis for the majority of the Papiamentu vocabulary are
Spanish and Portuguese. The origin of Papiamentu involves two main hypothesis: the
first one states that Papiamentu is a Spanish-based Creole that originated in Curaçao
(Lipski 2004; Munteanu & Joubert 1996), while the second hypothesis indicates that it
is an Afro-Portuguese Creole originated in Africa and relexified towards Spanish
(Jacobs 2009; Freitas et al. 2014; Jacobs 2012; Martinus 1996; Jacobs et al. 2012). This
process of relexification indicates the replacement of part of the original vocabulary of
the Afro-Portuguese-based Creole by the dominant language that was spoken in the
island, the Spanish (Jacobs 2012; Jacobs et al. 2012). One strong support for this second

7
statement affirms that Papiamentu descends from Upper Guinea Portuguese Creole that
emerged from the second half of the 17th century in Curaçao, when the slave traders
operated selling slaves from Upper Guinea, via the Cape Verde islands, to slave masters
living on Curaçao (Jacobs 2009; Jacobs et al. 2012) . Many of the slaves brought from
the Upper Guinea Coast worked as domestic servants for the Dutch and Sephardic
Jewish colonists (who spoke both Spanish and Portuguese). A part of the vocabulary of
Papiamentu also includes Amerindian elements, which is especially reflected in the
names of some plants (Jacobs et al. 2012; Van Buurt 2015; Van Buurt & M. Joubert
1997).

1.3 African legacy in vernacular plant names

The traditional botanical knowledge of enslaved Africans helped them to survive in the
Americas under the brutal conditions of slavery. Recognizing plants in their new
environment enabled them to find wild foods, herbal medicines and other useful plants.
Recent research in Suriname (van Andel et al. 2014) showed that local Surinamese
plant names reveal that enslaved Africans recognized substantial part of the Neotropical
flora. In some ethnic groups of African origin, 40% of the plant names had an African
origin. For the Dutch Caribbean, there are few studies about the African source of local
plant names (Van Buurt et al. 2001), although the flora is well described (Van Proosdij
2012). However there are climatic, ethnographic and sociologic differences between
Curaçao and Suriname (e.g., drier climate in Curaçao than in Suriname which results in
a higher presence of succulent plants). Furthermore the morphology of these African
words was originated in a different context in the Caribbean island: a colonial society
based more in the trade of slaves than in their acquisition to work on plantations, where
a different type of Creole language was spoken, unlike the English-Dutch based Creole
of Suriname (van den Berg 2015). The vocabulary used by African slaves to name the
plants encountered in the Caribbean hostile territory might therefore have been
influenced by this particular socio-physical environment and differ from the vocabulary
emerged in Suriname in colonial times.

8
1.4. In the search for freedom
In response to the hard living conditions and motivated by the revolts of 1791 and the
emancipation of Saint-Domingue (currently Haiti) in 1804, several enslaved Africans
escaped from Curacao to the nearest destinations they could reach by boat (Klooster &
Oostindie 2011). Most of them settled down in Coro, a nearby city in the north of
Venezuela, where they established Afro-Curaçaoan communities. Coro is located in the
eastern base of Paraguaná Peninsula, easily accessible by sailing from Curaçao and a
target port for commerce between Spanish and Dutch traders (Benton & J. Ross 2013).
These circumstances facilitated the arrival of slaves, travelling in boats, canoes or in the
same ship used for commerce by their masters. However, some slaves did not become
free but kept working as slaves in Venezuela and others were returned by the authorities
to their masters in Curaçao (Benton & Ross 2013). Slavery was abolished in Curaçao in
1863.

2. Aim of this research

Although the Amerindian legacy of Papiamentu plant names is known (Van Buurt
2015; Van Buurt & M. Joubert 1997), the African ‘footprint’ in Curaçao plant names
has never been studied. The aim of this study is to trace the retention of African plant
names in Curaçao by comparing Portuguese-based Creole (Papiamentu) plant names
with West and Central African plant names for botanically related species.

Results obtained within this project will extend the existing ethnobotanical and
linguistic knowledge of Curaçao (Carney 2003; Jacobs 2012; Veeris 2010a; Rutten
2003; Veeris 2010b). Our results will also help to preserve a valuable African cultural
heritage and provide more insights in the discovery of useful plants by the African
Diaspora in the Americas.

2.1 Research questions

The following research questions were formulated:

- Which Curaçao plant names are of African origin?

- Are these African-based names used for botanically related species in Africa?
- From which African region are most matching plant names found?

9
2.2 Hypothesis
Based on previous ethnobotanical studies on African Diaspora in Suriname (van Andel
et al. 2014) we expected that most African elements in Papiamentu plant names can be
found in names for pantropical weeds and domesticated species (as these are more
likely to occur both in Curacao and in Africa), but also in names for plants typical to
arid regions (savannahs and Sahel zone), because of the islands dry climatic conditions.
We expect to find more European lexical items in plant names than African ones due to
the predominance of European features in Papiamentu language. We also hypothesized
that, although as in Suriname (van Andel et al. 2014) the majority of slaves whom
arrived to the Caribbean came from Central Africa and Benin (Eltis & Richardson 2010;
http://www.slavevoyages.org/assessment/estimates 2013), a greater number of plant
names matches will correspond to those regions where most Curaçaoan slaves came to
remain in the island (comprising mainly the Upper Guinea region).

3. Methodology
3.1 Literature research and construction of the corpus
Curaçaoan plant names were collected in various on- and offline resources on Caribbean
flora and fauna, including Van Proosdij (2012; Arnoldo, 1967) and Brenneker (1962);
as well as two databases, that were De online Flora van Curaçao
(http://www.severens.net/) and The Dutch Caribbean Biodiversity Explorer
(http://www.dcbiodata.net/explorer/). Both databases consist of registers of flora from
Curaçao, including scientific Latin names and vernacular plant names in Papiamentu.

Curaçaoan plant names extracted from these sources were stored in an excel database,
specifying whether they were also used elsewhere in the Dutch Caribbean (ABC islands
or Windward Islands). For each Papiamentu plant name, we provided a scientific name,
family and its occurrence in Africa, because Curaçaoan plants also present in the Old
World could facilitate the recognition of these plants by enslaved Africans. Species that
do not occur in Africa but the carry Papiamentu plant names with African origin could
give us evidence of the association with African plants that are either botanically related
or have similar morphological features or usages. The language origin was added in the
next column in order to detect and further calculate the number and percentages of

10
Papiamentu plant names with African, Iberian, Dutch, or Amerindian origin or
elements. For each Papiamento plant name, we added the translation or meaning of the
name, often providing valuable ethnobotanical information about the plant, the reason
why people used that name and references (Dataset S1). The Plant List
(http://www.theplantlist.org/) was used to validate scientific plant and author names.

3.2 Fieldwork in Curaçao and expansion of the corpus

Before departure we selected our first informants by purposive sampling (Tongco
2007). Contacts were made from The Netherlands with Curaçaoans specialized in
botany, linguistics or working in areas related to African cultural heritage. Fieldwork
took place from 1st to 29th February 2016, with a base in the Research Center Carmabi at
Piscadera Bay, Willemstad. Once in the field, Dr. John de Freitas, the botanist of
Carmabi who specialized in Curaçaoan flora, was contacted. He assisted in the search
for informants using snowball sampling (Tongco
2007). In total 43 people were interviewed,
individually or in groups in informal settings.
Interviews were semi-structured around four key
questions: Do you know the name of plant X? What
is the use of plant X? What is the meaning (literal
translation) of the name of X? and Why people call
this plant X? Informants often spelled the plant
names in order to avoid orthographic Fig. 2. Homemade dryer stove.
inconsistencies. The dictionary of Papiamentu (Van Photo: Alcántara Rodríguez, M.

Putte-de Windt & Van Putte 2005), was also used to review the etymology of the
names, especially those that slightly differed according to the bibliographic sources.

Our first field sites included the Round Market at Punda in Willemstad and the
Historical and Botanical garden Den Paradera at Seru Grandi in Banda Ariba where
surveys and botanical garden inventories were performed. Markets and botanical
gardens are considered greatest sources for gathering ethnobotanical data such as plant
names and botanical vouchers (Martin 2004) . Voucher specimens were also collected
from the Christoffel National Park, the Jeremy area (hill vegetation), beach habitats,

11
open vegetations, supermarkets and gardens. Plants were dried in a homemade dryer
stove (Figure 2) based on Martin (2004).

An excel table formatted according to the BRAMHS botanical database

(http://herbaria.plants.ox.ac.uk/bol/) was constantly updated with newly collected plants
and associated information provided on the Papiamentu names, meaning, uses and
related stories. Collected plants were added to the corpus with the acronym MAR.nº
(being nº the number of the collection). Although voucher specimens were not always
possible to collect for every plant name on our preliminary list, valuable information on
names and uses of non-collected species was still gathered during fieldwork. This was
indicated as MAR-NC (NC: not collected). The information on plant names that came
from the informants (as opposed to literature) was indicated by using quotation marks
and referenced in the next column.

3.3 Data documentation and corpus completion

A total of 121 vouchers were collected, and 395 entries in the excel database related to
both collected and not collected plants. The voucher specimens were exported to The
Netherlands with the approval of the Ministry of Health, Environment and Nature of
Curaçao and a plant export permit handed by the director of Carmabi, Mr. Paul
Stokkermans. In The Netherlands the plant specimens were identified at the Herbarium
of Naturalis Biodiversity Center in Leiden, with help from botanical specialists.
Voucher’s specimen data were added to the BRAHMS database. Several bottles with
medicinal syrups made from plants cultivated and collected in Curaçao were donated to
the Economic Botany collection at Naturalis.

3.4 Data analysis

The plant names data obtained in the field and the data previously gathered from
literature were merged in one excel table. We added columns to our corpus with those
African vernacular plant names that presented morphosyntactic, phonological and
semantic similarities with the Curaçaoan plant names for related taxa (at genus, species
and family level). We also indicated the country of origin in Africa, the language, the
meaning –to detect semantic similarities-, and the references. Based on the methodology
of Van Andel et al. (2014) we compared Papiamento plant names with African
vernacular names listed in the Useful plants of West Tropical Africa (Burkill 2004), the

12
Flora of Benin (Akoègninou et al. 2006), the Afro-Surinamese plant names in Suriname
(van Andel et al. 2014) and the flora of Central Africa (Fundiko 2015). The entire
database is published online (http://osodresie.wikispaces.com/Student+Theses) as
Dataset S1.

We considered correlations the names that matched in word form or word structure
(similarities in morphosyntactic, phonological and semantic levels) as well as those
names that relate to Africa in terms of word form or meaning. We further checked for
correlated species and common names. We had into account that Papiamentu plant
names could represent retentions of the African words that originated them or they
could be innovations. We considered word innovations those that refer to African
regions, ethnic groups or those that are correlated with botanically related species from
the Old World in meaning but they do not necessarily display any African language
origin. Percentages were calculated for plant names that were originated in Curaçao by
retention (correlated at species, genus or family level) and plant names originated in
Curaçao by innovation.

To verify which African regions had the largest influence on Curaçaoan plant names,
we used historical sources on origin of African slaves in the Dutch Caribbean
(http://www.slavevoyages.org/assessment/estimates 2013; Eltis & Richardson 2010)
and compared these with the region of origin of the African plant names and lexical
items that were present in Papiamento plant names.

4. Results
4.1 Origin of Papiamentu plant names
Preliminary literature research yielded 749 Papiamento plant names. This corpus was
extended by 85 new names collected during fieldwork, to a total of 834 plant names. Of
these 85 new plant names some 52 (61 %) contained Iberian elements, 23 (27 %) plant
names were of Dutch origin, some 11 (13%) contained African elements, 7 (8%) have
Amerindian elements and 10 (12%) contained lexical elements of other languages
(English, French, Asiatic or Latin). Only 4 (5%) plant names had uncertain origins that
could possibly be African (e.g.; Mahoganie: http://www.greenworldlumber.com/). All

13
plant names, their associated meanings and scientific names are listed in the Appendix
on-line (http://osodresie.wikispaces.com/Student+Theses) as Dataset S1.

Of the total of 834 plant names 96 (12%) contained African elements, while 464 (56%)
contained Iberian elements, 209 (25%) were of Dutch origin and 163 (20%) plant names
contained Amerindian lexical elements mostly Arawak (e.g., Caquetio, Guajiro
languages). A total of 32 plant names (4%) came from other languages (English,
French, Asiatic) while. For the remaining 70 plant names (8%), no clear origin could be
established. As several plant names consisted of more than one lexical element
(Amerindian, African, Dutch and/or Iberian elements were sometimes combined in one
plant name) the total percentage was higher than 100% (Fig. 3).

An example of language combination was found in “barba di yònkuman” for the

Leguminosae tree Albizia lebbek. “Barba” is an Iberian word that means beard and
“yònkuman” is a name of Dutch origin that is derived from “jongeman” and means
young man. The reason of the name lies in the soft inflorescences of A. lebbek that
resembles the beard of a teenager.

African elements were often combined with other languages to name plants in Curaçao.
An example of this is illustrated in “Palu di makamba” for Bursera simaruba
(Burseraceae). “Palu” is a word of Iberian origin that means tree while “Makamba” is
an African word that means partner or comrade in Kikongo and Kimbundu languages
from Angola (Johnen, 2012). However, the word Makamba was later associated with
the early European colonizers and it became a derogative term referring to Dutch or
other European white people. The tree “Palu di Makamba” was named after the red
colour of the bark, related to the red skin of a white person acquired from over exposure
to the sunny conditions of Curaçao.

The numbers and percentages in language origin of Papiamentu plant names (formed by
names of one language origin and combinations) are represented in figure 3.

14
 33 70
96
4% 8%
12% 208 African
25% Dutch
464 Amerindian
56% 163 Iberian
20% Others
Unknown

Fig. 3. Pie chart showing the language origin, in percentages and numbers of
Papiamentu plant names in Curaçao.

4.2 Categories of African-derived plant names

Plant names that suggested African origin were separated into two main categories:
retentions and innovations, corresponding to how the names appeared in Curaçao. These
Papiamentu names could have been the retention of the African word that originated
them, suggesting that the slaves associated the plants of the new territory with the flora
of their homeland and used the same or similar African plant names. However other
Papiamentu plant names were not correlated with African names in word form or
structure but they referred to African regions or ethnic groups or were correlated with
botanically related species from the Old World in meaning (semantic level). These were
categorized as innovations.

Figure 4 shows some examples of African-derived plant names originated by retention

or innovation and correlations at different botanical levels. Equivalents are indicated in
bold and African languages are shown in brackets (next page).

15
 Correlated at Wandu Cajanus
Wandu, Oanda (Kikongo)
cajan Leguminosae
species level Curaçao Angola, Central Africa

Bosua Bo-sue (Kru-guere), Bossu

Plant names of Correlated at Zanthoxylum (Guere), Gbossué (Grebo)
African origin genus level schreberi Rutaceae Z. gilletii
Retention Curaçao Liberia, Ivory Coast

Yerba fini
Findi, fini (Manding-
Sporobolus
Correlated at Mandinka) Digitaria spp
pyramidatus
family level Senegal, Gambia, Sierra
Poaceae
Leone
Curaçao

Plant names
that refers Puta di Luango –Stemodium maritimum, Plantaginaceae
otherwise to Yerba Gueni -Panicum maximum, Poaceae
Africa Amor di neger -Cuscuta spp., Convolvulaceae
Innovation

Fig 4. Diagram showing examples of African plant names retentions (with their equivalents in
the Old World) and innovations.

The pigeon pea Cajanus cajan (Leguminosae) is called “Wandu” in Papiamentu, while
the same species is named “Wandu” or “Oanda” in Central Africa. These names present
strong morphosyntactic and phonologic similarities and therefore were considered a
correlation and proof of their African origin. This comes as no surprise, as the pigeon
pea was purchased as provision for slave ships in Central America and introduced to the
New world (Warner-Lewis 2013; Voeks & Rashford 2012).

“Bosua” is the name for Zanthoxylum schreberi (Rutaceae) in Curaçao a tree that does
not occur in Africa. However, the similar word forms “Bo-sue”, “Bossu” or “Gbossué”
are used in Liberia and Ivory Coast in different African languages for a different species
from the same genus: Zanthoxylum gilletii, which is native to West Africa. Probably
slaves recognized the genus Zanthoxylum from their homeland and gave the same name
to the Caribbean Zanthoxylum species they found in Curaçao.

16
Figure 5 depicts the absolute numbers and percentages of African-derived plant names
originated in Curaçao by retention or innovation. A total of 25 (26%) plant names
displayed African origin but were not associated to any particular plant species from
Africa.

25
Species level
26%

16
Retentions Genus level
17%

15
Family level
16%

15
Innovations
16%

Fig. 5. Diagram showing the percentages and absolute numbers of Curaçaoan plant names
correlated with African plant names at different botanical levels.

4.3 Geographical origin of African-derived plant names

The geographical origin of African-derived plant names matches the regions where
most Curaçao slaves came from. The majority of plant names of African origin
corresponded to Central Africa (Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola, Gabon and
Cameroon), with a total of 59 (63%). Another important area is Upper Guinea Coast
(Senegal, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone and Liberia) with 26 (28 %) plant
names. A smaller number of plant names came from Nigeria (8 (9%)), Ivory Coast and
Benin (each 7 (8%)), and Ghana 5 (5%). Only one (2%) plant name came originally
from Niger and Togo.

4.4 African languages of African-derived plant names from Curaçao

The languages of the African-derived plant names were very diverse as is illustrated in
the table below:

17
Table 1: African languages and regions of Papiamentu plant names of African origin.
Region Country Languages (number of plant names)
Central Africa Democratic Republic of Congo Kongo (7), Kirega (1), Kinioka (4),
Kirundi (4), Kiyumbe (2), Tshiluba
(1), Mashi (1), Lombo (4), Kiluba
(1), Kirega (1), Kisonge (1), Logo
(1), Bangala (1)
Angola-Congo Kimbundu (16), Kikongo (12),
Gabon Loango (5), Mitsogo (2)
Sao Tome Bube (2)
Upper Guinea Senegal Arabic (1), Manding-Mambara (1),
Region Serer (1)
Gambia-Guinea-Bissau Manding-Mandinka (3), Fula-
Pulaar (1)
Sierra Leone Mende (6), Krio (1)
Liberia Grebo (1)
Ivory Coast Kru-guere (1), Guere (1), Anyi (6)
Ghana Twi (1), Akan-Twi (3), Akan-Fante
(1)
Togo Somba (1)
Benin Bariba (2), Fon (5), Ga (2)
Niger, Nigeria Hausa (4), Arabic (1), Arabic Shuwa
(1), Fula-Fulfulde (1), Kaba (2),
Yoruba (1), Edo (1), Fula-Fulfulde
(1)

5. Discussion
5.1 African legacy in plant names in Curaçao
The fact that over 12% (96 names) of the Papiamentu plant names contained African
lexical and semantic elements provides evidence for the traditional botanical knowledge
of African slaves that were brought to the Caribbean. Some 56 (58%) names of these

18
African-derived names are associated with species that also occur in Africa (retentions).
Therefore, we estimate that over half of the Old World plants kept their African name –
or the name of their close relatives- in the new continent, whereas some 40 (42 %)
Curacaoan plant species acquired a new name with African elements (sometimes
combined with another language) or a name that refers otherwise to Africa
(innovations). However, this estimation also counts for plants recognized by the slaves
on species, genus and family level. This means that they could have made some
botanical ‘mistakes’ and associated familiar plants with different species, sometimes
even different genus (e.g.; “yerba fini” for Sporobolus pyramidatus (Poaceae) in
Curaçao whereas in Africa “findi / fini” is used for Digitaria spp., this confusion could
be explained by the similar appearance of most grasses). When we counted for
correlations at species level we found that 22 (23%) Old World plants -mostly crops or
edible weeds- kept their African name (Table S1: on-line
http://osodresie.wikispaces.com/Student+Theses), a strong proof of the knowledge of
enslaved Africans about Old World plants that came via the Middle Passage and were
then grown in the Caribbean.

Recognition of taxonomic similarity on the genus level was found for the name
“Kokólode”, applied to Heliotropium angiospermum (Boraginaceae) a species that does
not occur in Africa. A similar-looking species of the same genus, H. indicum is called
“Kokloden” in Benin (Fon language) and “Kokodene” in Ghana (Gã language). The
correspondence between names in sound and structure and their association with a
taxonomically related species indicates a shared origin. In addition the translation of this
African name is “rooster crest” which is related to the morphology of the inflorescences
of the genus Heliotropium and it shows a semantic correlation as well. In Suriname, H.
indicum was named after its equivalent in Africa (Van Andel et al. 2014), but in
Curaçao the name “Kokólode” was applied for a different species (H. angiospermum)
indicating that slaves related to the plant they knew from their homeland and used the
same name for an unknown species with similar morphological treats. The same
situation applied to Heliotropium curassavicum a native species of Curaçao with the
name “Kokólode shimaron” in Papiamentu, which has rooster comb-like flowers. The
combination of African and Iberian languages implies the effects of cross-linguistics
between slaves and Europeans, the retention of original names (Kokólode) and the
addition of new ones (shimaron).

19
In some cases, the language origin of plant names was not easy to detect due to
interlingual identification in which local people applied their own language background.
For instance, local informants translated the plant name “kaya-kaya”, applied to Cleome
viscosa, as “street-street” using Spanish language as the original source of the name
(kaya-kaya = calle-calle in Spanish). Informants even associated the name with the
habitat of C. viscosa, which grows along streets. However, we detected the African
equivalent “akaya asu” in the Beninese Fon language (De Souza, 2008), which applies
to other species of Cleomacea (Cleome gynandra and C. ciliata) that are used as
vegetables in Benin. We did not find a similar food use in Curaçao, although it could
have been eaten by the enslaved Africans in the past as they remembered the edible
properties of this plant from their homeland. In 1755, the African Cleome gynandra was
grown as a vegetable in gardens in Paramaribo, Suriname, where the same Fon-derived
name (‘akaya’) is used for C. gynandra that now only survives as a weed (Andel et al.
2012; van Andel et al. 2014). The name “kaya-kaya” could have been originated by
reduplication, which is a common linguistic process in the formation of Creole
languages (Kouwenberg, 2003). In both the Creole languages and the African languages
that contributed to their emergence, reduplication of verbs is a common strategy to form
nouns from verbs. In this case “Akaya asu” acts as a verb that means “eaten as
vegetable” (Fon language), alluding to the edible use of both C. gynandra and C.
viscosa. This African verb (v) was probably reduplicated in its conversion to a noun (n)
while Papiamentu was emerging: Akaya asu (v)  kaya-kaya (n).

Some 16% of the plant names of African origin that we encountered were innovations,
referring otherwise to Africa (Table S2: on-line
http://osodresie.wikispaces.com/Student+Theses). Some of these cases were easy to
detect as the names indicated African regions. For example “Yerba Gueni” (Guinea
herb) is the name for the grass Echinochloa colona or “Puta di Luango” (prostitute from
Loango) a name used for the herb Stemodia maritima. “Puta di Luango” is a name that
clearly reflects the colonization past of the Caribbean and African Diaspora. Luango is a
region in Angola, in West Central Africa. Currently Curaçaoan local people interpret the
meaning of the word “Luango” as "strange" in Papiamentu, alluding to someone that
combines his or her clothes in a bizarre way. Hence that person would be called
“Luango”. According to oral histories collected from African descendents, the meaning

20
of this name is related to historical facts. In the 18th century slavery was abolished in
Curaçao, although illegal traffic of slaves still went on for some time on the island.
These new slaves, who probably came from the Kingdom of Luango, were strangers for
the slaves living in Curaçao and they did not speak Papiamentu. Therefore, the newly
arriving Africans who arrived to the island were called Luango. On the other hand, the
term “Puta” (prostitute) from “Puta di Luango” could also be an association between the
cheap, strong perfumes used by prostitutes from Campo Alegre (the first brothel of the
island built in 1949 in order to attend the soldiers from the Second World War) and the
aromatic scent of Stemodia maritima. In this case, the terminology would be very recent
and not related to the African Diaspora. However, according to documented sources this
plant is used in Brua (Afro-Curaçaoan religious practices) to transform a woman in a
street prostitute or to ensure a lover at home (Marugg 1992).

In other cases, the plant names of our list are related to African ethnic groups. The plant
“Banso” in Curaçao corresponds to Dysphania ambrosioides (Amaranthaceae). Banso
people in Cameroon boil the leaves of this plant and drink the decoction for its
medicinal properties, particularly to heal stomach ache (Burkill, 1985). It is likely that
slaves from this region brought to Curaçao found the same plant in the new territory and
applied their knowledge. Therefore this plant acquired its name after the Banso people
that knew how to use it.

Some innovations were more complex to identify, as for instance “Amor di neger”
(Love of the black man). Several species of Cuscuta (Cuscuta americana, C. boldinghii
and C. campestris) are named “Amor di neger” in Curaçao. We found out that the
names used in Ghana and Nigeria for the same species were “Dɔme atrε” (Twi
language), “mprabegu” (Twi) and “Soyayya” (Hausa). There is clearly no
morphosyntactic or phonetic correlation with “Amor di neger”, but a semantic
correlation can be detected in the meaning of these African words. They mean ‘If you
love me, spread; the lover will be dropped (if it does not spread); mutual affection’
(Burkill, 1985). In the past Curaçaoan children threw strings of this parasitic plant on a
tree and if the string stuck to it, they knew that their love was mutual (De Boer 2004). In
Ghana and Nigeria this was also a popular game, especially among children. Studying
the uses of plants in both continents also give clues to understand similar plant names in
Africa and the Caribbean.

21
5.3 African origin plant names from Curaçao vs. Suriname
The percentage of African names (12 %) was lower than in Suriname (33 %) (Van
Andel et al.; 2014), probably because of the socio-environmental differences between
both countries. The semi-arid climate of Curaçao implies different vegetation types than
the much wetter Suriname. While rainforest are the most abundant vegetation type in
Suriname, dry forests and shrub land with high presence of thorns and succulent plants
adapted to these arid conditions dominate the landscape in Curacao. Some of the
regions of Upper Guinea (Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea), the Ivory Coast and
Central Africa (where most slaves came to the Americas) have more similar wet tropical
climate conditions and vegetation to Suriname. Ghana and Benin have drier tropical
climates but fewer slaves came from these regions to settle in Curaçao. This could
partly explain that a greater number of plants were recognized by African people in
Suriname than in Curaçao as the vegetation of Suriname is more similar to the one in
their homeland.

Our results might also differ with Suriname due to the stratification of society in
Curaçao, in which European slaveholders and enslaved Africans had more contact than
in Suriname. The slaves did not have to work in large plantations situated deep in the
interior forest like in Suriname, but on small farms or as domestic servants, which
intensified the communications between Europeans and slaves, decreasing at the same
time the probabilities of forming large Afro-Caribbean communities where slaves could
maintain their shared African languages and knowledge. Therefore they probably
acquired more European lexicon and preserved less of their own African elements. This
is reflected in the Creole language (Papiamentu) that emerged out of contact between
European colonizers and African slaves in Curaçao as it contains more European
features than African ones. The predominance of European lexical elements is also
reflected in the results regarding plant names in both Suriname and Curaçao. However
in Suriname most of the plant names (65%) contained elements of Dutch and English
languages while in Curaçao the majority of the plant names (56%) derived from Iberian
(Spanish and Portuguese) languages.

Another historical fact that could explain this contrast in our results between both areas
is that in Suriname the Maroons, or run-away slaves, escaped from the plantations into
the rain forests and lived independently for centuries. Because of these isolated

22
conditions the number of Maroon names with African roots was ca 43% (van Andel et
al. 2014) whereas in coastal Creole (Sranantongo) was ca 20%, a percentage more
similar to Curaçao (ca 12%). Isolated living conditions stimulated the usage and hence
preservation of the African ethnobotanical knowledge of Maroons, while African slaves
were influenced to a greater extent by European and Amerindian people in Curaçao,
transferring this new knowledge to their Afro-Curaçaoan descendents.

5.4 Linguistic origin of Papiamentu plant names

The great majority of Papiamentu plant names have an Iberian origin (56%). As the
Papiamentu language itself contains approximately 91% of Iberian lexicon (Bartens &
Sandström 2006), this high proportion of Spanish and Portuguese elements in our data
set was expected. However, the fact that plant names have a lower proportion of Iberian
lexicon than daily speech means that African and Amerindian knowledge has
contributed more to acquiring new botanical knowledge than to everyday speech. As
Europeans probably were not that familiar with the Caribbean vegetation, slaves learned
plants from each other and from Amerindians, resulted in fewer plants (35% less) than
you would expect with Iberian names.

Other important lexical influences are Dutch (25%) and Amerindian (20%). Dutch was
the language spoken by the colonizers and it has been constituted as official language,
together with Papiamentu, in Curaçao. There are several cultivated plants like
“Warmoes” (Beta vulgaris), “Celder” or “Seldu” (Apium graveolens) and “Granatapel”
(Punica granatum) that were imported from Europe and reflect in their names a Dutch
lexicon origin. “Warmoes” mean chard or spinach beet and it kept their original Dutch
name when it was exported to Curaçao. In the case of “Celder” or “Seldu”, the spelling
was nativised in the island as the original Dutch word would be Selder or Selderij.
However this is also called “Selder di Curaçao” (Curaçao’s celery) which implies a
multiple distribution area of the species and the specification of its cultivation or
presence in the island. “Granatapel” was also adapted to the Papiamentu spelling as the
corresponding original Dutch word is Granaatappel.

The relatively high percentage (20 %) of Amerindian elements in plant names compared
with the proportion of African lexicon (12 %) must be a result of the exchange in
ethnobotanical knowledge between the two groups. Despite the colonization of

23
Curaçao, some of the original Caquetio population remained in the island. Amerindian
and African slaves interacted and shared traditions and knowledge. It is proved that in
language acquisition a significant number of plant and animal names are retained in the
new originated language, as they represent relevant cultural groups (van den Berg
2015). In previous studies in Surinam (van den Berg 2015; van Andel et al. 2014) these
plant names were traced to African languages (Akan, Gbe) and were incorporated into
the Surinamese Creole. In this particular case, the native Caquetio people could have
exchanged ethnobotanical knowledge about plants (especially those of significant
importance as food, medicine, construction or rituals) to the enslaved Africans or the
freed African population, who passed this acquired knowledge to their descendents.
This cross-linguistic effect between Caquetio and the rest of the Curaçaoan population
(including African people) could explain the great proportion of Amerindian plant
names (20%). In Suriname this percentage was slightly lower (17%) although Maroon
had less vernacular names with Amerindian lexicon (13%) probably due to the isolation
of this group. In contrast Sranantongo communities showed more similar results (21%
Amerindian elements) with Curaçao because of the higher interaction between local
Indians and the coastal plantations slaves.

5.5 Country of origin of African-derived plant names

The majority of plant names of African origin came from Central Africa (63%),
followed by Upper Guinea (28%). The majority of Curaçao slaves came from Central
Africa (Eltis & Richardson 2010; http://www.slavevoyages.org/assessment/estimates
2013). However, the second important place for the purchase of slaves was in the region
that we nowadays know as Benin, but this was not reflected in the geographical origin
of the plant names of our corpus. Probably the slaves that came from Benin were
quickly sold to other colonies in the Americas while slaves from Upper Guinea that
remained in the island had a great influence in the retention of African names in
Curaçao as we previously predicted. Therefore 26 (out of 96) plant names acquired
diverse African names that came from this regions, comprising the territories of
Senegal, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone and Liberia. As some plant names are
used throughout western Africa, percentages are higher than 100%. The most dominant
languages were Kimbundu and Kikongo (see table 1) because most of the plant names
with Central African origin came from Angola, the region where the majority of slaves
were purchased to the Americas (Johannes Menne Postma 1990).

24
Table 2: Comparison between origin of African slaves in the Dutch Caribbean and
geographical origin of African-derived plant names in Curaçao.
Region /Country Origin of slaves Origin of plant names
Central Africa 61.848 (41%) 59 (63%)
Benin 46.071 (31%) 7 (8%)
Ghana 26.761 (18%) 5 (5%)
Upper Guinea 3064 (2%) ** 26 (28%)
Others 12.256 (8%) 11 (10%)
Total 150.000 96

* Data for African slaves who disembarked in the Dutch Caribbean from 1657 to 1794 (Eltis &
Richardson 2010; http://www.slavevoyages.org/assessment/estimates 2013).
** Estimates for slaves that came from the regions of Senegal and Gambia from 1675 to 1699
(Jacobs et al. 2012; Johannes Menne Postma 1990).

5.6 Intra-Caribbean migration of plant knowledge

Not all the African botanical knowledge came directly via the Middle Passage. Some
African elements came more recently from the Caribbean or other parts of the Americas
together with the migration of people. Blighia sapida (Sapindaceae) was not registered
in the flora of Curaçao, but this tree was collected during our fieldwork in the island. It
illustrates a case of intra-Caribbean movement of plants and transmission of plant
knowledge that originated in Africa. The fruits of B.
sapida (Fig. 6), known as “Akee”, come from
Jamaica where the arils around the seeds are eaten
with salt fish and considered as an aphrodisiac
(Rashford 2001). The same use was reported during
field work in Curaçao: “the white meat that
surrounds the seeds is eaten, either cooked in sauce
or raw, to increase the libido of women and men”.
“Akee” is a tree imported from Jamaica that is now
Fig. 6. Ackee (Blighia sapida)
fruit showing the fleshy arils cultivated in Curaçao. A correlation at species level
around the seeds. Photo: was found in Ghana where it is called “Akye” or
Alcántara Rodríguez, M.
“Aché” (Twi language). The name derives from

25
“kyem” which means “to become hard”, showing a possible association with the use of
this plant as aphrodisiac. Slave ships have introduced this tree in Jamaica, where
enslaved Africans have grown and cherished it since colonial times, preserving their
traditional plant knowledge. Recently, when Jamaicans migrated to Curaçao in search of
labour, they transferred both the plants and its associated name and uses to another
island.

This example shows that the introduction of new plants, plant names and their uses is an
ongoing process. This is very visible in Curaçao as proven after a survey in the Round
Market at Punda (Willemstad). The well-known plant in the island “Puta di Luango”
(Stemodia maritima) was sold for medicinal and ritual purposes. However it was also
called “abre camino” in Spanish (open the path) because “it opens the path to the money
and the luck” according to our informants. A plant with the Spanish name “Luisa”
(Vitex agnus-castus, Lamiaceae) and the herb called in Amerindian “Anamú” (Petiveria
alliaceae, Phytolaccaceae) were sold together with S. maritima to be used in “bitter
baths” (baño amargo in Spanish). The function of these baths is to protect against the
misfortune. These plants are growing wild or cultivated in Curaçao but their names and
uses came from Dominican Republic and other Caribbean islands. As Jamaicans,
Dominican people are one of the major intra-Caribbean migrants looking for better
economic and social conditions (Ferguson 2003). In the past, the Round Market was
occupied for local Curaçaoan people, but in the present day vendors from other islands
of the Caribbean, especially Dominicans, sell the plant products they have introduced or
apply their own knowledge about names (renaming) and uses (adding) to native plants.
These migrant communities illustrates the dynamics in transference of ethnobotanical
knowledge proposed by Voltato et al. (2009) where migrants develop strategies to
obtain the plants from their homeland (e.g., by cultivation, gathering or importing) and
use them in the new environment (Volpato, Godínez, Beyra, et al. 2009) .

5.7 Transference of ethnobotanical knowledge and future research

Ethnobotanical knowledge and culture are dynamics as they can be transferred and
change through time and space. One of the agents of transfer of ethnobotanical
knowledge are migrant communities (Volpato, Godínez & Beyra 2009; Medeiros et al.
2012). This has been exemplified in this research in large-scale processes (African
Diaspora via the Middle Passage) or short-scale movements (Intra-Caribbean

26
migrations). In both cases and as it is proven in several studies (Volpato, Godínez,
Beyra, et al. 2009; Volpato, Godínez & Beyra 2009; Medeiros et al. 2012; van Andel et
al. 2014) migrants preserve their traditional practices regarding plant uses -as medicine,
food or rituals- when they find the same plant resources in the country of destination,
when they can export them or when they can replace their familiar flora with the flora of
the new territory.

Based in these dynamics of ethnobotanical knowledge transference in migrant

communities we propose further linguistic and ethnobotanical study in vernacular
names and plant uses in Coro (northern coast of Venezuela) where the runaway slaves
escaped, funding Afro-Curaçaoan communities. Special interest has been given before
to communities where the African slaves fled and established, as in Suriname (van
Andel et al. 2014) or San Basilio de Palenque in Colombia (Harold-Estrada et al. 2011),
a community founded by African slaves with great ethnobotanical relevance because of
its rich African heritage. However, in Coro, no research has been done that traces the
African origin of vernacular plant names in that region and few ethnobotanical studies
exist (Morton 1975). To what extent Afro-Curaçaoan descendents in Coro retained their
plant knowledge or acquired new information from local Venezuelan or other
neighbouring territories is relevant in order to contribute to African Diaspora studies
and biocultural heritage.

6. Conclusions
As it was expected, most African elements in Papiamentu plant names were found in
pantropical weeds and domesticated species that are common both in Africa and the
Caribbean. In addition we found Curaçaoan vernaculars that without presenting African
morphosyntactic elements, present a linkage with the Old World, as they are named
after African regions, ethnic groups, African uses and cultural beliefs.

Climate similarities between the Caribbean island and African regions did not seem to
play an important role in the origin of African plant names in Curaçao as we did not
encounter any plant name from the Sahel zone and only few names from the drier
tropical areas (Benin and Ghana). Most of the names of African origin came from the
regions where most slaves were brought through the Transatlantic Slave Trade: Central

27
Africa. However Benin, the second region where most slaves arrived to the Caribbean
did not have a great influence in the plant names of our corpus probably because they
were rapidly distributed to other colonies in the Americas. Instead, the Upper Guinea
Region showed to be important in the retention of plant names. Although a minor
number of slaves came from there, those were the people that stayed on the island and
left their botanical African heritage in Curaçao. Further linguistic and ethnobotanical
research in other regions where the enslaved Africans and their descendents left a
footprint in their societies will reveal more insights of the ethnobotanical transference of
knowledge that the African Diaspora entailed. The outcomes would also contribute to a
deeper understanding of the processes of retention and innovation in the creole
languages and cultures in the Americas.

Acknowledgements
I would warmly thank all the informants and collaborators who participated in this
research. Frensel Mercelina, to bring me for a field excursion, showing me some
characteristic Curaçaoan plants, telling me fascinating stories about their names and
uses, with a special sensibility that only the ones who love and respect nature
understand. Sellers at Punda Round Market (Willemstad) as Jimmy Martha, Miguelina
plaza, Milagros Vidal, Milagros Martin and Santa Fonís. Many thanks for being one of
the first sources in my fieldwork and therefore a very decisive step to start with the right
motivation. Majorí Alfonso from the organization Amigu di Tera in Hofi Pastor. Masha
danki for attending me in this beautiful garden. Briand Victorina, my personal local
guide in Christoffel Park, for showing me this National Park and tell me about the flora
and history. The hiking group Mondi Addiction (https://www.facebook.com/Mondi-
Addiction): Nelly Rigot, Karin Weber, Juni (Domingo) Weber, Randolph, Hubert and
Arvela Noor with whom I spent a great time on nature, learning and enjoying the
landscapes all together. Reinald Leito, from the educative organization about medicinal
plants Bo Salú ta den bon cura (https://www.facebook.com/BOSALUTADENBOKURA),
for making time for me and patiently check on my long list of plants. Vendors in Barber
Market (Banda About) as Cyril Lane and especially to Shanela Isenia who kindly
opened the doors of her house and made possible the elder’s group interview with her
attentive support. All the elders from Sentro di aktividat 60+; Zr. Astrid Gregorio. I am
really thankful for the valuable information that they kindly shared with me. Thank you
all very much Cherlesca Bentura (manager of the center), Techi Koeiman, Stela Djaoen,

28
Ingrid Muzo, Anna Janga, Enecilia Alberto, Rosa Doran, Mayra de Aquino, Bila Hooi,
Carmen Passial, Hilda Isenia, Tudy Djaoen, Hilda Polinet and Serila Meulens. Dinnah
Veris from the Botanical and Historical Garden, for allowing me to expand my
collection with plant from her garden. Other informants as Otsen Wout and special
attention to Meliton Sambo, who shared his great plant knowledge with me and brought
me peculiar fruits and plants for my collection. Many thanks to all the personal of
Carmabi Research Station, especially to Carlos, Magda, Zaida and Ninuska who helped
me with logistic matters (I do not know how I had dried my plants otherwise) and
provided me of valuable information and contacts. Dr. John de Freitas, who helped me
since the beginning and was always supportive and also attentive to any doubt I had
about the plants I collected. Gracias por su paciencia y ayuda! Jeanne Henriquez, from
the Museum Kas di pal’i maishi (http://www.kasdipalimaishicuracao.com/) who kindly
illustrated me with the historical context and the African heritage of Curaçao. Dr.
Gerard van den Berg who attended me and provided me of relevant insights of African
influences in Papiamentu plant names. Anna Rojer, who made time to reveal some of
the meaning of the plants from our list. Francisca Langstraat, who was one of the most
important supportive person during the intense fieldwork. Thank you very much for
sharing experiences, for listening and for being a friend. Masha danki to all of you!

I am also very grateful to Alberta Mennega Stichting and the Van Eeden Fonds for
being the financial sources of this research and hence to facilitate that it happened. I
give thanks to all the personal and botanists of the Herbarium of Naturalis Biodiversity
Center for being very helpful and kind. Thank you Roxali Bijmoer for the good
treatment and Dr. Paul Maas for helping me with plant identifications. Many thanks to
my dear Sue Lea for her encouragement and her wholehearted support and Sophia Da
Fonseca for her help in detecting Portuguese words in our long plant list.

I am very thankful to my supervisors Prof. Dr. Tinde van Andel and Dr. Margot van den
Berg for giving me the opportunity and the trust to work in this project, for their
professional guidance and their kindness. Thank you very much to make this
interdisciplinary research possible and encourage me during the whole process.

29
Finally, I thank from the deepest of my heart to all the people that have accompanied
me closely (or from the distance) and put up with me during all this research process
especially to Maria Lumbierres, Yolanda Laburu, Thomas Borst and Ioana Filipas.

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 Appendices (on-line)
Link: http://osodresie.wikispaces.com/Student+Theses

Appendix 1: Table S1. Plant names of African origin that refer otherwise to Africa
(Innovations).
Appendix 2: Table S2. Old World plants that kept their African name in Curaçao.
Appendix 3: Dataset S1. Curaçaoan plant names, languages, meaning, scientific names,
African plant names correlations and references.

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