Sara Creek | |
---|---|
Native name | Sarakreek (Dutch) |
Location | |
Country | Suriname |
District | Para District |
Physical characteristics | |
Source | |
• location | Lely Mountains |
• coordinates | 4°13′32″N54°57′57″W / 4.2256°N 54.9659°W |
Mouth | Brokopondo Reservoir |
• coordinates | 4°28′14″N54°55′42″W / 4.4705°N 54.9284°W |
Basin features | |
Progression | Suriname River→Atlantic Ocean |
Sara Creek ( Dutch : Sarakreek) is a former tributary of the Suriname River located in the Para District of Suriname. After the completion of the Afobaka Dam in 1964, the Sara Creek flows into the Brokopondo Reservoir. [1] In 1876, gold was discovered along the Sara Creek, and a railway line from Paramaribo to the river was completed in 1911.
The Sara Creek was the most important tributary of the Suriname River. [2] It was described as a wide river with many shoals, river islands and rapids. [3] From 1793 onwards, it was settled by the Ndyuka people who constructed ten villages along its shores. [4] The most important settlement was the Federation of Koffiekamp which consisted of three Ndyuka villages and a mission of the Moravian Church. Koffiekamp was located at the confluence of the Sara Creek and the Suriname River. [5]
The villages were a source of contention with the Saramaka Maroons whose territory was the Suriname River south of the military outpost Victoria. [3] The Saramaka considered the Sara Creek part of their territory, because it was a tributary of the Suriname River. The Ndyuka argued that they had moved north from the Tapanahony River. [6] In 1809, a treaty was signed between the Government of Suriname and the Granman of the Ndukya, that the Ndyuka should leave the Sara Creek and move to the Marowijne River instead, however the treaty was ignored. [4]
In 1876, gold was discovered along the Sara Creek. By 1882, 587,000 hectares (1,450,000 acres) of concessions were awarded for the exploration of the area, [7] and Governor van Sypesteyn was forced to resign, because he had personally profited from the concessions. [8]
In the late 19th century, a boat trip from Paramaribo to the gold fields at the Lawa River took 14 days under normal circumstances. [9] In 1903, railway construction started on the Lawa Railway to improve the access to the gold fields along the Sara Creek and Lawa River. [10] The railway was completed in 1911, and ended at Dam near the last rapids in the Sara Creek. [11] The last 50 kilometres to the Lawa River were never constructed, because the railway construction cost was higher than expected, and the proceeds from the gold fields were below expectation. [12]
The section between the Suriname River and Dam closed in 1930, but reopened during World War II. Even though there was no regular service, the line remained in use by rail push trolleys. On 10 April 1964, the railway line closed for good, and the track along the Sara Creek was flooded by the Brokopondo Reservoir. [13]
In 1958, it was decided to build the Afobaka Dam in the Suriname River in order to provide electricity for the aluminium factories. The inhabitants of the villages along the Sara Creek were going to be resettled. [1] In the same year, an agreement was reached between the Surinamese government and the Ndyuka and Saramaka tribes. The Ndyuka could choose their own captains (village chiefs), however they were under the authority of the Saramaka granman (paramount chief). [6] In 1964, the dam was closed and the Brokopondo Reservoir flooded most of the villages. [1] The main village which remains along the river is Lebidoti, a resettlement village on an island near the new mouth of the Sara Creek. [14]
In 1974, gold exploration restarted by the Canadian Canarc Resource Corp. [1] During the Surinamese Interior War, the concession was transferred to Ruben Lie Pauw Sam who founded the Sarakreek Resource Corp NV. [15] In 2016, eight skalians (gold dredges) were given a permit to look for gold in the river by the village of Lediboti for a monthly payment of SRD 80,000 to the village. [16]
Brokopondo is a district of Suriname. Its capital city is Brokopondo; other towns include Brownsweg and Kwakoegron.
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.
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.
Brownsweg is a town and resort in Suriname in the Brokopondo District. Its population at the 2012 census was 4,793.
Sarakreek is a resort in the gold mining region of Brokopondo District in Suriname. Its population at the 2012 census was 3,076. It is served by the Sarakreek Airstrip. The resort is named after the eponymous creek.
Abontjeman is an abandoned settlement in Brokopondo District, Suriname. It was located along the Sara Creek, and used to be inhabited by maroons. The village was flooded in 1964 after the construction of the Afobaka Dam.
André R.M. Pakosie is a Surinamese historian, poet, Ndyuka activist and Edebukuman of the Afaka script.
The Lawa Railway was a 173-kilometre-long single-track metre gauge railway in Suriname. It was built during the gold rush in the early 20th century, from the harbour town Paramaribo to Dam at the Sara Creek, but it was not extended to the gold fields at the Lawa River, as originally intended.
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.
MariaLobach Hartmann was a German-born Moravian missionary in Suriname.
Jaw Jaw, also Yaw Yaw, is a village of Saamaka Maroons in the Boven Suriname resort of the Sipaliwini District of Suriname. The village is located on the Suriname River.
Manlobi is a village of Ndyuka Maroons in the Sipaliwini District of Suriname. The village is located on an island in the Tapanahony 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.
Berlijn is a village and former wood plantation in the resort of Zuid in the Para District in Suriname. It is located on the Para Creek, and about 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) from the Johan Adolf Pengel International Airport.
Dirk Cornelis Geijskes was a Dutch biologist, ethnologist and curator. He was the first director of the Surinaams Museum. As a biologist, he specialised in dragonflies. He would lead many expeditions into the interior of Suriname. In 1967, he became curator at the Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie where he started the dragonfly collection. Geijskes is the author of 123 publications, and 25 species have been named after him.
Nieuw-Lombe is a village in the resort of Klaaskreek in the Brokopondo District of Suriname. The village is located on the Suriname River, and is inhabitated by Saramaka maroons. Nieuw-Lombe is a transmigration village built for the inhabitants of Lombé which was flooded by the Brokopondo Reservoir after the construction of the Afobaka Dam.
Poeloegoedoe is a village in the Tapanahony River at the confluence with the Lawa River. It is named after the Poeloegoedoe Falls and is inhabitated by maroons of the Ndyuka people. The village is located in the Tapanahony resort of Sipaliwini District, Suriname.
Nieuw-Koffiekamp is a village in the resort of Brownsweg in the Brokopondo District of Suriname. It is a transmigration village built for the inhabitants of Koffiekamp which was flooded by the Brokopondo Reservoir after the construction of the Afobaka Dam.