SUMAC The Sumac Centre, the independent community, resource and social centre at 245 Gladstone Street, Nottingham, is named after the Sumac tree growing in its gardens.

 

SUMAC (SOO-mak) The brick-to-dark-purple-red berries of a decorative bush that grows wild throughout the Middle East and in parts of Italy. Sumac, which is sold ground or in its dried-berry form, has a pleasantly fruity, astringent taste that complements everything from fish to meat to vegetables. Sumac can be found in Middle Eastern markets. Copyright Barron’s Educational Services, Inc. 1995 based on THE FOOD LOVER’S COMPANION, 2nd edition, by Sharon Tyler Herbst

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You may have heard of Quechua as the language of the Incas. You may not know, until you finish this sentence, that it's the most widely spoken Amerindian language, with over 8 million speakers. In Peru, a quarter of the population speaks Quechua, and about a third of the Quechua speakers speak no Spanish.

Quechua can be heard on Andean music, which is getting easier to find in the States, either in its natural form (such groups as Rumillaqta, Markahuasi, Ayllu Sulca, Ch’uwa Yacu), or in more Westernized forms (e.g. Inti Illimani). The singer Yma Sumac has a Quechua name — ima sumaq meaning "how beautiful!"