Surinamese dance

The tradition & historical record

Dance in Suriname (Dutch: Dans in Suriname) is practiced from the amateur to the professional level for cultural, social and spiritual reasons, among others. Suriname has a variety of traditional and contemporary dance styles which have developed from the cultures of its ethnic groups. In addition, several foreign popular styles have been adopted from the West, the greater Caribbean, Java and Bollywood. ¹

The indigenous populations had their own traditions, particularly ritual dances. During the colonial period, new immigrant populations brought their dances from Europe, Africa and Asia. This was followed by an influx of musical styles and their corresponding dances from other regions: lambada, merengue, and salsa from Latin America; wining, cadence rampa, and reggae from the Caribbean; and ballet and dances from various pop music styles of the Western world. ¹

At the end of the 20th century, there were around 20,000 indigenous Surinamese living in the country. From the initial colonization and subsequent evangelization, they have lost much of their intangible cultural heritage. Their musical ensembles, typically of the trios, were no longer allowed to use traditional instruments such as the flute. The rise of radio brought many young indigenous people into contact with pop music. Young Caribs in eastern Suriname came under the influence of the French-Antillean cadence rampa, while the Arawaks switched almost entirely to kawina music. During the 20th century, initiatives emerged to reverse the disappearance of indigenous culture, and also to revive old dances. The maraca is a dance of the Caribs. With undulating forward movements, the dancers dance in a circle and bow to "Mother Earth". In karawasi and pyjai music, the Carib dancers also stand in a circle, with music intended to put the dancers into a trance. The maraca and krawasi are also found among the Wayanas. Due to evangelization, their cultural music had completely disappeared by the 20th century. The lost traditions were revived with help from Wayana populations in French Guiana. Compared to the Caribs, the Wayana people traditionally observe longer periods of mourning: their practice consists of three days and nights of playing music and drinking, a week of sleep, and then a resumption of music for three consecutive days. ¹

Almost all Afro-Surinamese music and dance is rooted in the Winti religion. Winti originated from West African religions (such as Vodun) and rituals; it also has Islamic elements. Upon arrival in Suriname, major differences among the non-homogeneous African cultures dissipated. Small distinctions still remained; for instance, certain Winti songs were unique to individual plantations. Those who fled the plantations - the Maroons - founded tribes of their own in the rainforest. Some of the Maroon tribes became sufficiently powerful that the colonial rulers concluded peace treaties with them. Due to a shortage of women, the Maroons remained in contact with the Creoles on the plantations, so the two cultures did not grow far apart. There were also City Creoles in Paramaribo, some of whom were freed, with others still in bondage. Since the abolition of slavery, a trend of migration to the capital from the plantations and the interior of the country began and continued until the beginning of the 21st century. In Suriname, Winti continued to develop with Christian and indigenous influences. An example of an indigenous element is the style of dancing while bending knees for indji-winti (also ingi-winti), the entertaining winti gods who make pranks, obscene jokes and charades. Several original Winti dances also developed, such as the sekete among the Saramaka, and the awasa and songé among the Aukan, in which the dancers also make music by shaking instruments attached to their ankles. In the second half of the 19th century, various dance styles merged into the tuka style. Central to Winti is the belief in the supreme being, with each winti performing its own style of music and dance with a different character and color. ¹

During funeral rites, the dragemans (pallbearers) perform mock marches, which are similar to dance steps. The steps are intended to free the soul from the body. Since 2003, an annual Drageman Dey (Drageman Day) has been organized around 20 September for pallbearers; in 2015 and 2017, the event included a contest for the best pallbearers. ¹

Chinese were the first group of contract laborers to enter Suriname to solve the shortage of workers resulting from the abolition of slavery. The Chinese New Year is the annual event in which the Chinese culture is most visible to the other Surinamese population groups. The dragon dance ushers in the festivities, joined by family gatherings with meals, lanterns, lots of fireworks, and other dances performed by groups on stage. The dragon dance is performed by a team of two or more dancers that imitate a dragon in a costume with bright colours. The ceremony is traditionally meant to scare away evil spirits and is performed by Chinese worldwide during nearly all special festivals. This tradition started during the Han dynasty in the two centuries before CE. ¹

The text above is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Dance in Suriname”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. ¹

Surinamese dance is aspect of a country, according to the structured record cited below. This entry was generated automatically from that record and has not yet been reviewed by a person familiar with the tradition. ²