Introduction

NOTES Introduction 1. In Suriname, ethnic groups are commonly known as bevolkingsgroepen (population groups). Population groups do not necessarily overlap with ethnic or racial groups as both Creoles and Maroons are of (predominantly) African descent. In this case ancestry determines the category, as Maroons are defined as descendants of people who fled enslavement at the plantations. The Maroon populations consists of Ndyuka (or Okanisi), Sa(r)amaka, Matawai, Aluku (or Boni), Kw(i)inti, and Pa(ra)maka. Maroons are also known as boslandcreolen (Bushland Creoles) a term introduced in the 1960s and still in use as an official (and popular) term. Prior to the 1960s Maroons were called bosnegers (Bush Negroes), a term still used in Maroon languages (businengre). The Amerindians are divided into Arawaks (or Lokono), Caribs (Kari’na), Trio, Wayana, Akuriyo, Sikïïyana, Tunayana (Katwena), and Mawayana. In Suriname, the British Indian population is often referred to as “Hindustanis,” after Hindustan. The term “East Indian” is not used as it may lead to confusion with the term “Javanese” who originally are from the Netherlands East Indies. I will interchangeably use the terms British Indians and Hindustanis until 1927, when Hindustanis born in Suriname became Dutch subjects. 2. Interview by Anouk de Koning, Saramacca, April 5, 2007. 3. Jeroen Trommelen, “De onmacht van een ambassadeur,” www.volkskrant.nl (accessed March 23, 2010). Original July 18, 1998, adapted January 16, 2009. One of Van Mierlo’s predecessors, Chris van der Klaauw (1977–1981), compared the Dutch influence in Suriname in 1980 with that of a “super power” (Kagie 2012: 144). 4. See De Koning 2011a: 267–279 on the importance of locality. 5. Anthropologists and sociologists, including Reddock (1994) and Yelvington (1995) on Trinidad; Williams (1991), Trotz (2003), and Garner (2008a and b) on Guyana; and Wekker (2004) on Suriname, have earlier stressed that gender, class, and ethnicity work in concert. 6. Pluralism is linked to the Dutch concept of “verzuiling” or pillarization. Originally this term describes the politico-denominational segregation of Dutch society; several “pillars” (zuilen), according to different Christian denominations or political ideologies, vertically divided society. These pillars all had their own institutions, including political parties and trade unions, newspapers and broadcasting organizations, banks, educational institutions, hospi- tals, and (sports) clubs. 7. A reprint was published in 1974. For recent scholarly assessments of M. G. Smith’s work see the collection of essays edited by Meeks (2011). 8. A number of political scientists including Lijphart (1977), Hoppe (1976), and Dew (1978) base their work on Van Lier’s theories. Lijphart’s theory of consociational democracy is based on a plural society with several elites, each of which is too small to rule alone (see chapter 4). 9. According to Robotham (2011: 66), “plural society was an example of a ‘conflict’ theory par excellence.” 220 Notes 10. For more on De Kom and Wij slaven van Suriname, see chapter 3. 11. See, for example, Verschuuren (1994); Dalhuisen, Hassankhan, & Steegh (2007); Buddingh’ (2000; 2012). Most of the extant literature on twentieth-century Suriname is thematic in nature or covering a specific population group. 12. Yelvington 1995: 24. With “involuntary” he means that in emic terms ethnicity is consid- ered fixed and unchangeable, even though the use of one’s ethnic identity is flexible according to the circumstances. Mintz (1996: 41) explains the difference between race relations and ethnic relations. “Race relations have to do with perceptions of others which are based on physical differences; these differences are thought of as diagnostic features of membership in groups, called ‘races’.” Race is a cultural construct believed to have a biological basis. In Suriname, Trinidad, and Guyana the term is used to identify people of common biological descent. 13. See Brereton (2007) for Trinidad & Tobago; Meel (1998b) and De Koning (2011a: 260) for Suriname. 14. Hoefte 1998: 4; 49. The same type of stereotyping occurred in Trinidad and British Guiana, see, for example, Brereton 1974; 1979; and Williams 1991 respectively. 15. On the role of Javanese migrant women in the construction of ethnicity in Suriname and the Netherlands see Kopijn 1998. 16. See Carlin (2001) for an inventory and typology of these languages. The 19 languages: Dutch, Sranan Tongo, Sarnami, Surinamese-Javanese, Surinamese-Chinese or Hakka / Kejia, Paramakan, Aluku or Boni, Ndyuka or Aucan, Kwinti, Saramakan, Matawai, Kari’na or Carib, Wayana, Trio, Akuriyo, Sikïïyana, Tunayana, Arawak or Lokono, and Mawayana. It should be noted that four of the Amerindian languages are spoken by ten persons or less. The twentieth century saw the death of two Amerindian languages (Warau and Wayariloele or Triometesen) as well as the Ndyuka / Trio pidgin (Carlin 2001: 230). 17. In Suriname a local variety of Dutch has developed, Surinamese-Dutch, which differs from the standard language in morphology and syntax. This variety, however, is not officially recognized (Wekker & Wekker 1990; Carlin 2001: 222). Damsteegt (1988: 98–104) emphasizes that the immigrant koiné Sarnami is a grammatical mixture of several Indian languages and is not identical to any Indian language. Its further development in Suriname led to the creation of new grammatical forms, which cannot be found in any Indian language. In addition, the lingua franca of the Hindustanis adopted loan words from Sranan Tongo. In Suriname, Hindi became the prestige language for Hindus and Urdu for Muslims. The development and use of Sarnami is unique in the Caribbean: In British Guiana and Trinidad, Indian migrants soon dropped their Indic languages. For possible explanations see chapter 2. Surinamese-Javanese resembles Javanese in phonology, morphology, and syntax, but has adopted many loanwords from Sranan Tongo and (Surinamese) Dutch (Vruggink 1985: 55–59). The politeness style in Javanese, important in defining social relations, has been reduced in Surinamese-Javanese. 18. Tjon Sie Fat (2010: 87) comments that the recent immigration from China had made the linguistic situation within the Chinese community “unusually complex.” Carlin (2001: 228) thinks it is possible that Mandarin rather than Kejia will become the main language. 19. The Hindus in Suriname are either Samaji’s or Sanatani’s. The relative division between Samaji’s and Sanatani’s in approximately 20:80. The reform movement Arya Samaj (Association of the Respected Ones) presented the opportunity for upward social mobil- ity; in 1929 pandits formed the Sanatan Dharm (Eternal Law). Each had their own network and following and set up their own social and educational institutions. In the 1920s and 1930s a split in the Muslim community took place between “reformists” and ‘traditional- ists.” The first group emphasized the importance of official doctrine and prayed toward Mecca. The latter were called “West worshippers” as they prayed, as in Java, toward the West. They still performed pre-Islamic rituals. This division has had a profound influence on the religious and sociopolitical organization of the Javanese (Jap-A-Joe, Sjak Shie, & Vernooij 2001: 204–207; Bakker 2009: 8–10; Hoefte forthcoming). 20. Priests and missionaries “recruited” talented children for their denominational schools; not all children or families converted to attend such schools, as testified by Soehirman Patmo who in the mid-1950s left the Javanese village of Bakkie in Commewijne to go to a Catholic school Notes 221 in Paramaribo, but his family did not become Catholic (Djasmadi, Hoefte, & Mingoen 2010: 91). 21. Interview by De Koning, Paramaribo, January 23, 2007. 22. Interview by De Koning, Paramaribo, January 20, 2007. 23. Interview by De Koning, Paramaribo, February 1, 2007. 24. For more on the NDP see chapter 8. 25. In the earliest censuses “Negro” and “Colored” were separate categories, but since 1972 these have been lumped together as “Creole.” See De Koning (2011a: 261–262) on the role of official statistics in solidifying and naturalizing ethnic categories; also Menke 2011: 210–211. 26. ABS 1972: 4. The text is vague on what group would question ethnic counting, but national- ists are a possibility. 27. Van Lier (1971: 263) has a different view as “people belonging to totally different classes mixed with each other on a completely equal footing.” In his view, there was no development of “class determined behaviour and class pride.” 28. Bourdieu 1986. Economic capital or productive property can be used to produce goods or services; social capital includes (network) relations and social position; cultural capital revolves around life style, educational background, and linguistic styles; symbolic capital is the use of symbols to legitimate the possession of varying degrees of social, economic, and cultural capital. Mating strategies can be important to add to the diverse forms of capital. 29. Van Lier 1971: 265. He adds that they identified themselves so fully with the metropolis that criticism of their policies or personal insults were viewed as attacks on the Kingdom of the Netherlands, thus offending their national pride. This attitude was compounded by the coterie-like atmosphere in a small, colony populated by a variety of “foreigners.” 30. For a history of Jews in the color system, see Vink 2010: 130–146. In 1893, 14 Chinese men belonged to the small electorate, based on tax registers, of less than 450 men, in 1897 this number had increased to 73 (Gobardhan-Rambocus 2008: 72), for more on the election system, see chapter 1. 31. Wekker (2001: 182) points at “the disproportionate number of unmarried, upper-middle-class Jewish, Creole, and Chinese women in the first half of the century” and links this to the cult of pure womanhood. 32. Van Lier 1971: 258. After 1910 mulattoes joined the ranks of the lawyers, until that time a Jewish monopoly. “Around 1940 there was not a single Jewish practioner [praktizijn, not university-trained lawyer] practicing in Surinam, while there was only one Jew fulfilling an important function within the judiciary.” 33.

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