In Suriname the Afro-Surinamese make up around 37% percent in Suriname. Even though this term is used in Suriname, the words Creoles and Maroons are much more used and preferred by certain people within the Surinamese society. Who are the Maroons and Creoles?

In this post I will explain about the culture of the Creoles of Suriname, be sure to check out my other post about the Maroons.

Creoles make up 15.7% of Surinamese society. Who are they? According Wikipedia, and my own knowledge: “Mixed descendants of enslaved Africans and European/Jewish colonists (mostly Dutch).” They did not escape to the forests of Suriname, but rather stayed working for the European colonists a.k.a. slavery. They came out of slavery after it was abolished.

Just like my last post about the Maroons, which you can check out here in the footnote

As mentioned before the Creoles are descendants of enslaved Africans, mixed with European and/or Jewish blood, that came out of slavery after it was abolished. There are three types of Creoles: The city creoles, the Para creoles (living in the district of Para) and the Coronie creoles (living in the district of Coronie). They are just the same people (culture), but due to differences in certain areas of lifestyle Surinamese tended to separate them, especially during Dutch rule before 1975.

Clothing:

Creoles wear western clothing in their daily lives. Cultural clothing pieces as they are referred to, are worn on special occasions such as weddings, parties, funerals etc.

• Koto and Angisa:
• The koto is a traditional garment of the Creole women in Suriname and was created in the slave times. There are Kotos for different occasions, including the birthday koto, work koto, mourning koto and wedding koto. The accompanying headscarf, the Angisa (sometimes Anisa), has a special meaning. The folding method of the headscarf expresses a message. Folding these headscarves is a special art. The manner of carrying the koto itself can also express a message.

• Clothing for men:
• Creole men do not have a specific type of traditional clothing. Creole men usually just wear western clothing. Sometimes however men are seen in traditional African clothing.

Music and dance:

• Kawina (different from the Kawina of the Maroons):
• It originated around the 1860s, after the abolition of slavery. The vocals are typically call-and-response, and it is accompanied by all kinds of typical Surinamese percussion, such as the skratji. Like many South American music genres, the rhythm of the kawina originates in Africa. African slaves took their religions, such as Winti, and music with them to Suriname. To dissipate the time, the slaves sung during the work on the plantations, often in a typical pattern of one voice that asks for, and is answered in unison ("call-and-response"). The music was performed so rhythmically that it became a dance. In the beginning, the lyrics were religious. After abolition of slavery, it became entertainment music, with lyrics that are more socially critical in tone. From then on, kawina is performed by orchestras containing about ten band members, on various Surinamese percussion instruments. Typical instruments are the double-skinned drums, the zigzag or shaker and the kwa-kwa bangi (idiophone). The vocals have always remained in the call-and-response pattern.

• Kaseko:
• Kaseko is Surinamese music, not only enjoyed by Creoles but by all groups of Suriname; Indians, Javanese, Chinese, you name it! You can find this style at almost every party. Kaseko is a fusion of numerous popular and folk styles derived from Africa, Europe and the Americas. It is rhythmically complex, with percussion instruments including skratji (a very large bass drum) and snare drums, as well as saxophone, trumpet and occasionally trombone. Singing can be both solo and choir. Songs are typically call-and-response. Lieve Hugo was named King of Kaseko.

This was on a tv channel in the Netherlands a few months ago.

• Kaboela:
• Kaboela is a music and dance style that has an erotic vibe to it. This style is derived from the Kaseko. Kaboela has a wild image.

• Dansi:
• In Suriname, this word has two meanings. It can convey the meaning of someone "dancing" or "going to dance". However, when used in such a setting, the word has an emotional weight. If someone says "Mi'e go Dansi", it should convey the feeling of "I'm going to enjoy dancing exuberantly". Dansi can also mean that someone goes to a party where people dance to Bigi Poku. Bigi Poku literally means "great music". Bigi Poku is often played at Surinamese parties, if they are Hindustani (Indian), Javanese or Surinamese-Chinese parties. However, it mainly occurs at Creole parties or parties with a Creole touch. The event in the video below can be thought of as a Dansi.
• Bigi Poku is a style of music used at Surinamese parties, to which people can dance to. It can be Kaseko, Kawina or a blend of those two.

In this video the former Queen of The Netherlands HH Princes Beatrix is dancing to the beat of Bigi Poku with her husband, on the day of Suriname’s Independence in 1975.

• Modern Dansi’s attended by younger people do not only have Bigi Poku, but other genre’s of music. The music can have an Indian, Javanese, Jazz or Soul twist to it. Merengue is also very popular at Dansi’s. One famous dance style is Poco Poco (read as Pocho Pocho). This is a Javanese style of line dance. The link below demonstrates what Poco Poco looks like.

The video in this link demonstrates poco poco, with Afro beats and Merengue.

• Koto dansi:
• A Kotomisi is a woman who is wearing a Koto. ‘Misi’ is the Sranantongo word for miss or madam. The Koto dance is a dance where a woman in a Koto dances to the beat of the music. However this usually happens after an Odo (explaination below). Nowadays this only happens on special occations like Koto shows etc.

• Odo's are proverbs, sayings, wisdoms, aphorisms or witty epigrams that originated from the time of slavery. The odos include wise lessons, more in the form of ultra-short fables, often of an educative nature on the basis of experience gained. Some of these odos were 'dipi-dipi' (read as deepee; comes from the English word deep) and were usually not understood by the slave master and therefore for the enslaved a restrained means of warfare and safe method of expression. In the link below you can see the whole process: from odo to the dance.

This third link is a Koto show in both Suriname and The Netherlands.

Food & Drinks:

• Savory:
• Moksi Alesi (Moks’ Alesi): Moksi-alesi (lit. mixed rice) is a Creole dish that is very popular in Suriname. Originally (in slave times), it was a combination of leftovers, but nowadays it is usually prepared as a rice dish with fish, salted meat, pork, beef and/or chicken. The dish is usually enriched with the addition of tomatoes, peas, and sometimes even coconut milk. It can be served with a variety of condiments such as sliced tomatoes, crispy white cabbage, red onions, sliced cucumber, fried plantains, and some hot sauce. In English it’s more commonly known as Cook-up rice. This dish is found in many Caribbean countries like: Guyana, Trinidad, Jamaica etc. There are 6 known types in Suriname. These are:
• Yellow split pea Moks’ Alesi
• Black eyed pea Moks’ Alesi
• Lima beans Moks’ Alesi
• Bitawiri Moks’ Alesi
• Masoesa (Renealmia alpinia) Moks’ Alesi
• Cow pea Moks’ Alesi

The Moks’ Alesi in the picture below is known as Cow pea Moks’ Alesi.

• Heri Heri (Her’ Heri): Heri heri is a dish that dates back to the time of slavery. It is a dish consisting of root vegetables, potatoes, plantain, Bakkeljauw (salted fish), vegetables and an egg. The root vegetables used for the dish are cassava and sweet potato, The vegetables can rage from Tayerblad (arrowleaf elephant ear/Xanthosoma sagittifolium) to Long beans to Gomawiri (Solanum nigrum/black nightshade).

• Pom: Pom is a Creole dish that has its origin within the Jewish kitchen. A lot of Creole dishes actually have their roots there. Pom was originally made with potatoes, but now it is made with a Surinamese taro called Pom tayer. It is an oven dish. Chicken, tomato, picalilly or musterd pickle, bitter orange, ground allspice, salt and sugar are very important ingredients. This dish is present at almost every creole party, though in some cases you will also find it at parties of the other Surinamese etnicities.

• Pastei (Pie): This dish originated in the Netherlands. It is actually a typical Dutch dish. However, due to slavery and many Creoles who went to live in the Netherlands, the Surinamese version underwent some changes compared to its Dutch counterpart. This dish is actually a dish prepared by every Surinamese not only Creoles. However they were the ones who originally prepared it the most and made it into what it is today. The filling of the pie is made from shredded chicken, peas and carrots, capers, tomato, eggs and onions. The spices needed for this dish are nutmeg, black peper, celery, bouillon cubes and salt. You can add extra spices or herbs to give the filling a much fuller taste.

• Kwie kwie met zoutvlees: Kwie kwie (Hoplosternum littorale) with zoutvlees (brine beef) is a very popular dish in Suriname too.
• Pindasoep (Peanut soup): Pindasoep is a soup made from (naturel) peanut butter. Every brand of peanut butter is suitable for this dish. However, for the specific Surinamese taste there is only one brand suited for this dish namely Wippy pindakaas or their Dutch counterpart Fosten. It is eaten together with “tom tom”. Tom Tom is made from steamed plantains that are stamped together into the shape of a ball. Chicken, beef, pork, Surinamese salted meat, and/or celery/spring onions are added to the soup while it is being prepared.

• Cassave soep (Cassava soup): As the name indicates, this soup is made from Cassava. Coconut milk is also one of the main ingredients. Furthermore, chicken, pork, beef, rookworst (Dutch smoked sausage) and/or Surinamese salted meat are also very important to complete this dish.

• Chinese Tayersoep (Chinese Taro soup): Why is this a Creole dish? What do the Chinese have to do with this dish? Well, to be honest I do not really know. However, I can assure you this has nothing to do with Chinese. This soup is made from some sort of taro, that we call Chinese Tayer or Chinese Taro. Other ingredients include: tomatoes, celery, black peper, bay leaf and the same types of meat mentioned in the previous soups.

• Gritbana soep (Grated plantain soup): This soup is made from tom tom and/or different kinds of meat. These kinds can include all of the earlier mentioned meat. Coconut milk, and cassava are also very important ingredients.

• Okersoep or Okro Supu (Okra soup): As the name suggests, this soup is made from Okra. However other important ingredients include Tayerblad (Arrowleaf or elephant ear plant) and Antroewa (African eggplant). For those who are meat lovers you can also add the same types of meat mentioned in the other dishes. Surinamese dried fish is also recommended to add while preparing (this can also be added to the other soups except pindasoep)

• Desserts and sweets:
• Fiadoe: This is the Queen of all cakes within the Creole culture. Just like Pom it has its roots within the Jewish cuisine. It is made with raisins, currants, rum, cinnamon, almond flakes and vanilla extract or essence. It has similarities with Cinnamon rolls. The cake is basically tiny cake roles that fused together while baking. It is always present at every Surinamese party.

• Ingris bowru (English egg cake): Historians think this cake came from the Scots and/or the English slave owners who settled in the area of Suriname that is now known as Coronie and Nickerie, hence the name Ingris (Sranantongo for English) bowru (Sranantongo for cake). This cake was created by the enslaved, for their slave masters. It is a light cake made with lots of eggs.

• Keksi (Surinamese Rumcake): This cake is prepared the same way as Ingris bowru. However this one gets a lot of vanilla extract, cinnamon and rum; hence the brown color. Raisins and almond flakes are also very important to complete the dish.

• Pruimentaart (Prunes cake): This cake is sort of the Surinamese version of the Caribbean Black Cake. This is made from prunes that are soaked in rum.

• Bojo (Yuca cake or cassava cake): This cake is found all over the Caribbean. However, the Surinamese version is a little different. There are two types: fine Bojo cake and normal Bojo cake. Normal Bojo is made from grated cassava, raisins, grated coconut, eggs, vanilla and almond extract or essence. Fine Bojo is prepared the same way. However the fine one has more eggs and the cassava and coconut are so finely grated that you can no longer see them. The fine one has a lot of similarities with the Venezuelan Flan. The latter one is usually very expensive to make.

• Broodtaart (Breadcake): Breadcake is made from slices of bread, milk, vanilla and almond extract or essence, eggs, raisins, cinnamon and sugar. Rum, pineapple and almonds are optional. There are two types the brown ones and white ones.

• Pindakoek and Pindabanket (Peanut cookies and Peanut Banquet): There is a difference between Surinamese peanut cookies and Surinamese peanut banquet. The first are biscuits with flour, peanut, butter and sugar, and pastries are made from just peanut, egg and sugar. There is also a peanut cookie version made from roasted peanuts, held together by a lot of congealed, white sugar.

• Cheese cookies or biscuits: Cheese biscuits are made from grated Dutch cheese and flour.

• Maizenakoeken (Corn flour cookies): Maizenakoeken are one of the most famous biscuits from Suriname. Available in various injected shapes and decorated with colorful.

• Macaroni or Kokosmakronen (Coconut macaroons): Coconut macaroons are made from grated coconut, condensed milk, egg and vanilla extract or essence.

• Schuimpjes: Schuimpjes or Surinamese meringues are very light biscuits made of whipped egg white with sugar.

• Kokoskoek or Kokosbiesjes: Kokosbiesjes are made from grated coconut, white sugar, butter, vanilla extract or essence and eggs.

• Boterbiesjes or Boterkoekjes (Surinamese butter cookies): To make the Surinamese butter cookies you need: flour, cornstarch, powdered sugar, butter, baking powder, lemon zest and a good handful of raisins and / or currants.

• Drinks:
• Orgeade (Orgeat): Orgeade is a Surinamese drink made from sugar and bitter and sweet almonds, possibly with the addition of rose water. This drink also has a Jewish origin.

• Gemberbier (Ginger beer): Ginger beer is made from organic ginger, sugar, citric acid, almond essence and cloves. Pineapple and lemon are also optional.

• Zuurwater: Zuurwater is a simple and refreshing lime and sugar drink. You can use all kinds of citrus fruits for this drink, but in Suriname lime is still a favorite.

With this Quora article I’ve tried to cover the main topics of the clothing, music, dance, food and drinks of the Creole Surinamese people. If you have a question or extra information just drop a comment below.

Footnotes