Sipaliwini is the largest district of Suriname, located in the south. Sipaliwini is the only district that does not have a regional capital, as it is directly administered by the national government in Paramaribo. Sipaliwini District includes disputed areas, with the southwestern region controlled and administered by Guyana, whereas the southeastern region is controlled by 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.
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.
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.
Wanhatti is a village and resort in Suriname, located in the Marowijne district on the Cottica River. The resort is inhabited by the Ndyuka Maroons, and has a population of 468 people as of 2012. The village is primarily inhabited by Ndyuka of the Ansu clan or lo.
Cottica Lawa, often shortened to Cottica and also called Cotticadorp is a village in the district of Sipaliwini, Suriname. It is located in the east, along the Marowijne River and the border with French Guiana. The village has a school, and a clinic.
Tapanahoni is a resort in Suriname, located in the Sipaliwini District. Its population at the 2012 census was 13,808. Tapanahoni is a part of Sipaliwini which has no capital, but is directly governed from Paramaribo. Tapanahony is an enormous resort which encompasses a quarter of the country of Suriname. The most important town is Diitabiki which is the residence of the granman of the Ndyuka people since 1950, and the location of the oracle.
Papaichton is a commune in the overseas region and department of French Guiana. The village lies on the shores of the Lawa River. Papaichton is served by the Maripasoula Airport.
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.
The Ndyuka people or Aukan people (Okanisi), are one of six Maroon peoples in the Republic of Suriname and one of the Maroon peoples in French Guiana. The Aukan or Ndyuka speak the Ndyuka language. They are subdivided into the Opu, who live upstream of the Tapanahony River in the Tapanahony resort of southeastern Suriname, and the Bilo, who live downstream of that river in Marowijne District.
Kwinti is an English-based creole of Suriname closely related to Ndyuka. The language has less than 300 speakers, and split from Plantation Creole which is nowadays known as Sranan Tongo in the middle 18th century. Code-switching with Sranan Tongo and Dutch was common among the younger generation in 1973, and about 70% of the tribe have moved to the urban areas. UNESCO considers the language endangered.
Wilhelmina (Ineke) van Wetering was a Dutch anthropologist and Surinamist. She was born on 17 October 1934 in the Dutch city of Hilversum. When she was 10 years old, her father (ironmonger) had been executed by firing squad in the Second World War because of participating in an illegal group who provided hiding places for people who were prosecuted by the Nazi-German army. She finished her secondary school in 1955, when she began her study of sociology at the University of Amsterdam. In her later career she continued her work at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.
Diitabiki is a Ndyuka village in the Sipaliwini District of Suriname. Diitabiki is the residence of the gaanman of the Ndyuka people, since 1950, and the location of the oracle.
Langatabiki is a Paramacca village in the Sipaliwini District of Suriname. Langatabiki is the residence of the granman of the Paramaccan people. Langatabiki is located in the Pamacca resort which was created on 11 September 2019 out of Tapanahony.
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”.
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.
Stoelmanseiland is an island, and a village in the Paramacca resort of the Sipaliwini District in Suriname. It is located at the confluence of the Tapanahony River with the Lawa River which forms the Marowijne River, and is also the border with French Guiana.
Paramacca is a resort in Suriname, located in the Sipaliwini District. The population is estimated between 1,500 and 2,000 people. In 1983, the Sipaliwini District was created, and the eastern part became the resort of Tapanahony. The Paramacca resort is the northern part of Tapanahony, and mainly inhabited by the Paramaccan people, the border of the resorts is the island of Bofoo Tabiki in the Marowijne River.
Nason is a village of Paramacca Maroons in the Sipaliwini District of Suriname. The village is located on an island in the Marowijne River.
Diplomatic relations between France and Suriname were established on 25 August 1976. Suriname and the French overseas department of French Guiana share a common border of 520 kilometres (320 mi). Suriname operates an embassy in Paris, a consulate in Cayenne, and an honorary consulate in Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni. France operates an embassy in Paramaribo, a consulate in Georgetown, Guyana, and an honorary consulate in Albina.
