Don Wiss wrote:
>
> On Thu, 28 Oct 2004 17:40:01 -0600, Arri London > wrote:
>
> >LOL! I had no idea they were from India. First time I encountered any,
> >it was in a Caribbean shop in London and the sweets were from Jamaica.
>
> They aren't from India, but were introduced there long ago. Tamarind are
> originally from Eastern Africa, but now grow all over the tropics.
>
> Don <donwiss at panix.com>.

We were talking about the sweets, not tamarind as such. You are correct
in that it is believed to originate in East Africa. The word 'tamarind'
means 'date of India' and it is associated with the wedding of Krishna
in Hinduism.