Ethnobotany ofPru, A Traditional Cuban Refreshment

Migration and Ethnobotanical Practices: The Case of Tifey Among Haitian Immigrants in Cuba

“…While the latter recipe is likely to represent a basic formula, with O. basilicum substituting for A. absinthium, many of the plant ingredients used in the first recipe are the same as to those reported in this article, which provides further insights into the cultural composition of tifey. Not only does the recipe use hot and flavoring species typical of Afro-Haitian traditions, it also includes the same group of roots found in our data and in eastern Cuba galones (Hernández and Volpato 2004), as well as the main ingredients of pru (Gouania polygama, Smilax domingensis, and P. dioica), a traditional fermented drink of probable Haitian and/or Dominican origin (Volpato and Godínez 2004). It is likely that groups of culturally relevant plants are not only used in specific products, but are also used in an array of medicinal foods with different forms of preparation (decoction in galones vs. decoction and fermentation in pru vs. alcoholic maceration in tifey), with both medicinal and religious purposes.…”

“…These multiherbal drinks often represent a means to store active compounds of culturally relevant medicinal plants. At the same time, their herbal composition, use, cultural relevance, transmission, and diffusion over time may well represent the socioeconomic and cultural dynamics that producers and users experienced (Volpato and Godínez 2004).…”

In search of the perfect aphrodisiac: Parallel use of bitter tonics in West Africa and the Caribbean

“…It is a bitter drink-abominable to a conscious patient'. The origin of the Cuban mixture pru, drunk as digestive, blood purifier and cure for venereal diseases, was dated back to the 18th century, when African slaves from Haiti, Jamaica and the Dominican Republic came to work at the Cuban sugarcane and coffee plantations (Volpato and Godínez, 2004). Their favorite drink was known as 'root champagne', because of its color, flavor, ingredients and slightly fermented, foaming character.…”

“…Their favorite drink was known as 'root champagne', because of its color, flavor, ingredients and slightly fermented, foaming character. The African heritage of pru is reflected in its name, which is possibly derived from the word okpurú ('Dioscorea root') in several Nigerian languages (Burkill, 2000;Volpato and Godínez, 2004), a frequent tonic component in Nigeria, Colombia and Guyana. Other Caribbean drinks with African names are the spicy Cuban beverages aloja, derived from the Bantu terms loha (palm wine) and sambumbia, from the Bantu mbi for 'bad tasting' (Volpato and Godínez, 2004).…”

“…In the 1680s, physician and botanist Hans Sloane cured both white and black Jamaican women from venereal diseases by giving them an infusion of Madera wine and the roots of several imported European herbs (Churchill, 2005). Apart from having a Nigerian origin, the Cuban term pru might also come from the Haitian French pousse, an alcoholic digestive taken after a meal (Volpato and Godínez, 2004). The Trinidadian bitter tonic mauby originates from the French ma bi ere (my beer), and also refers to its principal ingredient Colubrina elliptica (Volpato and Godínez, 2004).…”