Pigeon Top

By at least 2800 BCE in peninsular India, where its presumptive closest wild relatives Cajanus cajanifolia occurs in tropical deciduous woodlands, its cultivation has been documented. Archaeological finds of pigeon pea cultivation dating to about 14th century BCE have also been found at the Neolithic site of Sanganakallu in Bellary and its border area Tuljapur (where the cultivation of African domesticated plants like pearl millet, finger millet, and Lablab have also been uncovered), as well as in Gopalpur and other South Indian states. From India it may have made its way to North-East Africa via Trans-Oceanic Bronze Age trade that allowed cross-cultural exchange of resources and…

In Latin America, they are known as or in Spanish, and or in Portuguese all of which derive from Kikongo or from Kimbundu ; both names referring to the same plant. In the Anglophone regions of the Caribbean, like Jamaica, they are known as Gungo peas, coming from the more archaic English name for the plant congo pea, given to the plant because of its popularity and relation to Sub-Saharan Africa. In Francophone regions of the Caribbean they are known as , in Antillean creole and in Haitian creole. In Suriname they are known as or , the former of which is derived from the same source as its Spanish and Portuguese counterparts, the latter of which literally translates to 'yellow pea' from…