← The JournalTraditions

Pòtoprens, first among names

Why the capital is always listed first — and why that is not a small thing.

Living Algorithm · June 1, 2026 · 4 min read

On this platform, Pòtoprens comes first in any list of places. It is a small rule with a long root.

To name a place first is to say the knowledge began somewhere real, with people who are still here. The order is a refusal — of the habit of treating Haitian tradition as raw material to be sorted alphabetically into someone else's system.

The plants travelled; the names travelled with them. Keeping the order keeps the direction of the debt clear.

Part of our guide to Haitian plant medicine The Apothecary

Last verified June 1, 2026