Afro-Surinamese

Last updated
Afro-Surinamese
Tropenmuseum Royal Tropical Institute Objectnumber H-2492 Diorama van een Afro-Surinaams dansfees.jpg
Regions with significant populations
Suriname (Paramaribo  · Coronie  · Brokopondo  · Marowijne  · Para)
Netherlands
Languages
Dutch, Sranan Tongo, Maroon languages
Religion
Christianity, Winti

Afro-Surinamese are the inhabitants of Suriname of mostly West African and Central African ancestry. They are descended from enslaved Africans brought to work on sugar plantations. Many of them escaped the plantations and formed independent settlements together, becoming known as Maroons and Bushinengue. They maintained vestiges of African culture and language. They are usually split into two ethnic subgroups (Creoles and Maroons).

Contents

Origins

Most of the enslaved people imported to Suriname came from West Central Africa (circa 61,500 slaves, 27% of the total number), Gold Coast (Ghana) (circa 46,000, 21% of the total), Windward Coast (circa 45,000, 20%), and Bight of Benin (more than 32,000, 14% of the total). Thousands of enslaved people also arrived from Bight of Biafra (circa 11,000, 5.0% of the total) and Sierra Leone (circa 3,600, 1.6% of the total). [1] The total number of enslaved people was estimated at 220,000. [2]

The Akans from the central Ghana were, officially, the predominant ethnic group of slaves in Suriname. However, in practice, enslaved people from Loango, [3] purchased in Cabinda, Angola, [4] were the largest group of slaves in Suriname since 1670; they surpassed the number on the Gold Coast in almost all periods. Enslaved people including the Ewe (who live in southern Ghana, Togo and Benin), Igbo (from Nigeria), Yoruba (from Benin [5] ) and Kongo (who live in the Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Angola), all left their cultural footprints in Suriname.

History

The Dutch were involved in the slave trade during the early colonial years. They sought office space for their plantations. The space they received was when the British in the Treaty of Breda (1667) gave land on the northern coast of South America, ceded to them in exchange for New York. Suriname became a slave colony. Slaves were rapidly shipped from Africa to Suriname to work on coffee, cocoa, and sugar plantations for the Dutch and other Europeans. [6]

Because they remained strictly separated from the white population, the slaves developed their own culture with a strong West African influence. They had their own religion, Winti, and their own language, Sranan Tongo. They also used this as a subtle form of resistance. For example, many slave songs had a critical undertone. However, the planters did not realize this because they often had a poor understanding of Sranan Tongo. [7]

Slavery was officially abolished in Suriname on July 1, 1863 by the Emancipation Act. 32,911 slaves were released. [8] Slave owners received compensation of 300 guilders per freed slave. The slaves themselves received no compensation. [9] Although slavery was abolished, those freed did not immediately receive full freedom. They were obliged to continue working as contract workers in their district for another ten years on the basis of annual contracts. [10] This is called the period of "state supervision", during which the released people came under the supervision of a district commissioner of the government. Various restrictions were imposed during this period, which meant that slavery was partly continued. [11]

Maroons

Maroon group in 1930 Tropenmuseum Royal Tropical Institute Objectnumber 60006217 Portret van een groep Marrons op het.jpg
Maroon group in 1930

Escaped enslaved people in Suriname and French Guiana, known as Maroons or Bushinengues, fled to the interior and joined with indigenous peoples to create several independent tribes, among them the Saramaka, the Paramaka, the Ndyuka (Aukan), the Kwinti, the Aluku (Boni), the Matawai, [12] and the Brooskampers. [13] By 1740, the maroons had formed clans and felt strong enough to challenge the Dutch colonists, forcing them to sign peace treaties. Because of their long isolation in interior rainforests, they maintained more African culture than did ethnic Africans in the cities.

From 1972 to 1978, two American professors, S. Allen Counter and David L. Evans, made seven voyages upriver into the maroon areas. Both African Americans, they wanted to contact these communities and learn about the peoples, to see what African cultures they followed. [14]

By the 1980s, the maroons in Suriname had begun to fight for their land rights to protect territory which they had long occupied. [15] They won an important case in 2007 at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, which ruled they had rights to their traditional lands. [15]

Notable Afro-Surinamese people

Related Research Articles

The early history of Suriname dates from 3000 BCE when Native Americans first inhabited the area. The Dutch acquired Suriname from the English, and European settlement in any numbers dates from the 17th century, when it was a plantation colony utilizing slavery for sugar cultivation. With abolition in the late 19th century, planters sought labor from China, Madeira, India, and Indonesia, which was also colonized by the Dutch. Dutch is Suriname's official language. Owing to its diverse population, it has also developed a creole language, Sranan Tongo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paramaribo</span> Capital and largest city of Suriname

Paramaribo is the capital and largest city of Suriname, located on the banks of the Suriname River in the Paramaribo District. Paramaribo has a population of roughly 241,000 people, almost half of Suriname's population. The historic inner city of Paramaribo has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2002.

Sranan Tongo is an English-based creole language that is spoken as a lingua franca by approximately 519,600 people in Suriname.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maroons</span> African and black native refugees who escaped from slavery in the Americas, and their descendants

Maroons are descendants of Africans in the Americas and Islands of the Indian Ocean who escaped from slavery, through flight or manumission, and formed their own settlements. They often mixed with indigenous peoples, eventually evolving into separate creole cultures such as the Garifuna and the Mascogos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saramaka</span> Maroon ethnic group of Suriname and French Guiana

The Saramaka, Saamaka or Saramacca are one of six Maroon peoples in the Republic of Suriname and one of the Maroon peoples in French Guiana. In 2007, the Saramaka won a ruling by the Inter-American Court for Human Rights supporting their land rights in Suriname for lands they have historically occupied, over national government claims. It was a landmark decision for indigenous peoples in the world. They have received compensation for damages and control this fund for their own development goals.

Saramaccan is a creole language spoken by about 58,000 people of West African descent near the Saramacca and the upper Suriname River, as well as in Paramaribo, capital of Suriname. The language also has 25,000 speakers in French Guiana and 8,000 in the Netherlands. It has three main dialects. The speakers are mostly descendants of fugitive slaves who were native to West and Central Africa; they form a group called Saamacca, also spelled Saramaka.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aluku</span> Maroon nation in French Guiana and Suriname

The Aluku are a Bushinengue ethnic group living mainly on the riverbank in Maripasoula in southwest French Guiana. The group are sometimes called Boni, referring to the 18th-century leader, Bokilifu Boni.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paramaccan people</span> Maroon ethnic group of northeast Suriname

The Paramaccan or Paramaka are a Maroon tribe living in the forested interior of Suriname, mainly in the Paramacca resort, and the western border area of French Guiana. The Paramaccan signed a peace treaty in 1872 granting the tribe autonomy.

The Kwinti are a Maroon people, descendants of runaway African slaves, living in the forested interior of Suriname on the bank of the Coppename River, and the eponymous term for their language, which has fewer than 300 speakers. Their language is an English-based creole with Dutch, Portuguese and other influences. It is similar to the languages spoken by the Aluku and Paramaccan Maroons, and split from Sranan Tongo in the middle 18th century. The Kwinti had a population of about 300 in 2014 and adhere to the Moravian Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Berbice Rebellion</span> 1763 slave rebellion in Guyana

The Berbice Rebellion was a slave rebellion in Guyana that began on 23 February 1763 and lasted to December, with leaders including Coffij. The first major slave revolt in South America, it is seen as a major event in Guyana's anti-colonial struggles, and when Guyana became a republic in 1970 the state declared 23 February as a day to commemorate the start of the Berbice slave revolt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Winti</span> Afro-Surinamese religion

Winti is an Afro-Surinamese traditional religion that originated in Suriname. It is a syncretization of the different African religious beliefs and practices brought in mainly by enslaved Akan, Fon and Kongo people during the Dutch slave trade. The religion has no written sources, nor a central authority. The term is also used for all supernatural beings or spirits (Wintis) created by Anana, the creator of the universe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ketikoti</span> Public holiday in Suriname commemorating the abolition of slavery (1 July 1863)

Ketikoti sometimes spelled as Keti Koti, or officially Dag der Vrijheden is an annual celebration on 1 July that marks Emancipation Day in Suriname. The day is also known as Manspasi Dei or Prisiri Manspasi, meaning "Emancipation" or "Emancipation Festival". or Kettingsnijden.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Surinamese people</span> Ethnic group

Surinamese people are people who identify with the country of Suriname. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Surinamese, several of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being Surinamese.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Surinamese Maroons</span> Ethnic group of enslaved African origin

Surinamese Maroons are the descendants of enslaved Africans that escaped from the plantations and settled in the inland of Suriname. The Surinamese Maroon culture is one of the best-preserved pieces of cultural heritage outside of Africa. Colonial warfare, land grabs, natural disasters and migration have marked Maroon history. In Suriname six Maroon groups — or tribes — can be distinguished from each other.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Granman</span> Paramount chiefs of Maroon nations in Suriname

Granman is the title of the paramount chief of a Maroon nation in Suriname and French Guiana. The Ndyuka, Saramaka, Matawai, Aluku, Paramaka and Kwinti nations all have a granman. The paramount chiefs of Amerindian peoples in Suriname are nowadays also often called “granman”.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matawai people</span> Ethnic group

The Matawai are a tribe of Surinamese Maroons. The Matawai were originally part of the Saramaka, and signed a peace agreement with the Dutch colonists in 1762. The tribe split from the Saramaka, and in 1769, they were recognized as a separate tribe.

Bokilifu Boni was a freedom fighter and guerrilla leader in Suriname, when it was under Dutch colonial rule. Born in Cottica to an enslaved African mother who escaped from her Dutch master, he grew up with her among the Maroons in the forest. He was such a powerful leader that his followers were known as Boni's people after him. They built a fort in the lowlands and conducted raids against Dutch plantations along the coast. Under pressure from Dutch regular army and hundreds of freedmen, they went east across the river into French Guiana. Boni continued to conduct raids from there, but was ultimately killed in warfare.

The Brooskampers were a Maroon people, descendants of runaway African slaves, living in the forested interior of Suriname. The tribe is related to the Saramaka, and originated from Loango-Angola. The Brooskampers gained autonomy in 1863, but sold their land in 1917.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Dutch slavery</span>

The history of Dutch slavery involves slavery in the Netherlands itself, as well as the establishment of slavery outside the Netherlands in which it played a role. The Netherlands banned the slave trade in 1814 after being compelled by Britain.

Saramaka is a neighbourhood of Kourou, French Guiana. The neighbourhood is mainly populated by Saramaka maroons from Suriname who settled in the area during the construction of the Guiana Space Centre.

References

  1. ↑ Borges 2014, p. 41, : Based on embarkation with 10% undetermined, therefore all figures are at least ±10%
  2. ↑ Borges 2014, p. 41.
  3. ↑ Identidades en juego, identidades en guerra (in Spanish: Identities at stake, identities at war) - Page 49
  4. ↑ "Batey. Revista Cubana de Antropología Sociocultural (ISSN 2225-529X)". www.revista-batey.com. Retrieved 2019-04-29.
  5. ↑ Publico.es: Los genes narran la rebelión de los esclavos Archived December 14, 2010, at the Wayback Machine (in Spanish: Genes tell the Revolt of the slaves). Posted by Núñez Domínguez.
  6. ↑ "Bittersweet: Sugar, Slavery, and Science in Dutch Suriname".
  7. ↑ Marianne Wilschut, "Het leven van de slaven in de Nederlandse koloniën" (Historisch Nieuwsblad). Archived on 15 June 2018.
  8. ↑ Patricia D. Gomes, Afschaffing van de slavernij? In Suriname ging het nog tien jaar voort (De Correspondent - 30 oktober 2017)
  9. ↑ de Kom (1934), p. 101-103
  10. ↑ Nationaal Archief, Einde aan een treurige geschiedenis van slavernij (1863). Archived on 3 January 2023.
  11. ↑ slavernijenjij.nl, Het zure staatstoezicht
  12. ↑ Scholtens 1994, pp. 155–156.
  13. ↑ Scholtens 1994, p. 33.
  14. ↑ Vincent Harding, "A remarkable search for roots;" I Sought My Brother: An Afro-American Reunion, by S. Allen Counter and David L. Evans, Christian Science Monitor, 12 March 1982, accessed 2 October 2013
  15. 1 2 Case of the Saramaka People v. Suriname, Judgment of November 28, 2007, Inter-American Court of Human Rights (La Corte Interamericana de Derechos Humanos), accessed 21 May 2009

Bibliography

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