tcha-tcha

English

Noun

tcha-tcha (plural tcha-tchas)

1. In Haiti, the small flowering tree Albizia lebbeck.
   • 1985, Wade Davis, The Serpent and the Rainbow, Simon & Schuster, page 95:

     The plants were easier to identify. One was a species of Albizzia known in Haiti as tcha-tcha, and planted as a shade tree throughout the country.

   • 1994 October 3, Time, page 29:

     Haitians cheered and waved tcha-tcha branches, symbols of joy, as their first freely elected leader, above, gives a victory wave from the balcony of the National Palace.

2. A type of rattle or maraca used in Haitian music.