Cassava is a tuber with many uses that was of great importance in the Taíno diet. The process of making foods from cassava dates back to the pre-Hispanic era in Hispaniola, Cuba, Venezuela, Panama, Honduras, and other territories of the Greater Caribbean. These native peoples made casabe and other foods by grating and pressing cassava, obtaining a dough that was cooked to form casabe.

Throughout the island, a vegetable-fiber tool shaped like a funnel was used to drain the liquid from cassava, a technique inherited from the Taínos, who used a utensil called a cibucán. This instrument made it easier to drain the cassava liquid to remove the tuber’s natural toxins, a fundamental step for proper preparation.

In contemporary Dominican cuisine, cassava continues to be a versatile ingredient that has been adapted to create a wide range of dishes, such as cassava empanadas (catibía), cassava dumplings (bollitos de yuca), cassava casserole (pastelón de yuca), panecico, and boiled cassava. More recently, other dishes have been developed from cassava flour, such as cintas, a type of pasta.

Among these preparations, catibía, also known as cativía, stands out as a fried empanada made with cassava dough, filled with various ingredients such as pork, beef, chicken, fish, seafood, cheese, or vegetables. In the Dominican Republic, it is especially noted for its widespread presence during Christmas celebrations, both on Christmas Eve and at New Year’s.

According to Wikipedia, catibía, also known as cativía, is a flour obtained from grating, pressing, and drying cassava (yuca) or manioc. In the Dominican Republic, the term "catibía" refers specifically to a fried empanada made with this flour.
Catibía is a delicacy of Dominican cuisine, found both in street food and in gourmet restaurants. Its name, derived from the Taínos’ Arawak language, reflects its deep connection to Indigenous culinary traditions that have endured through the centuries, despite the complexity of its preparation.