Label with the cashew nuts in the covered basket
"Basket made by a Savage. The mahogany nuts come from Martinique Island. When fresh they are eaten with the shell, but in this state they are roasted. It will be observed that the skin is… of a corrosive oil which is not dangerous but makes one unwell for a few days. This warning is for children." The author of this warning put inside the basket is unknown, but this label was probably written before the object was given to the Academic Museum.
Here the mahogany tree (acajou in French) is confused with the cashew tree which produces these nuts. According to the Herbier de Guyane (www.herbier-guyane.ird.fr), this tree, from north-east Brazil and the Caribbean, was discovered by the Portuguese in the 16th century. To avoid confusion with the precious mahogany species, the latter called it "caju", a transformation of its vernacular name, "aca-iu" in Tupi-Guarani (indigenous languages of Brazil).
