Mama Juana - Origin of The Name

Origin of The Name

Mama Juana (or mamajuana) comes from the English word Demijohn, which refers to a large squat bottle with a short narrow neck, usually covered in wicker. The word is thought to be derived from the French Dame Jeanne (Lady Jane), a term still used to describe this type of bottle. In the Spanish speaking countries, Dame Jeanne was transformed into "damajuana", or Dama Juana and later, in the Dominican Republic, into Mama Juana (mother Jane). For this reason it is easy to see why there are many different variations of recipes to make Mamajuana, since the name refers to the container/bottle originally used to prepare and store the maceration, rather than to the finished product itself.