Preface

Surinam Creole (called Negro-English, Taki-Taki, and Nengre or more recently also Sranan and Sranan tongo) has had a remarkable history. It is a young language, which did not exist before 1651. It served as a contact language between slaves and masters and also between slaves from different African backgrounds and became within a short time the mother tongue of the Surinam slaves. After emancipation in 1863 it remained the mother tongue of lower-class Creoles (people of slave ancestry), but it served also as a contact language or lingua franca between Creoles and Asian immigrants. It gradually became a despised language, an obvious mark of low social status and lack of proper schooling. After 1946, on the eve of independence, it became more respected (and respectable) within a very short time, owing to the great achievements of Creole poets: Cinderella kissed by the prince.

In this anthology we wish to give a picture of the rise and glory of the former slave language. The introduction sketches the history of Surinam Creole in its broad outlines, starting from the first published text in 1718. The texts are presented in nine chronologically ordered chapters starting from the oral literature, which is strongly reminiscent of the times of slavery, and ending with modern poetry and prose. Each chapter is introduced by some general remarks that present all the relevant information necessary to appreciate and understand the texts. Footnotes clarify minor points.

The title of the anthology - Creole Drum (krioro dron) - requires some explanation. The name comes from a certain part in the traditional banya play in Surinam (see chapter 1), in which participants have the opportunity of commenting in song on past events. Through this book we too comment on past events. In the real krioro dron ridicule is most prominent, but our book is more in the nature of a song of praise. This is not due primarily to the design of the editors but rather to the quality of the works themselves.

This book might be regarded as a modern counterpart of an earlier book by the same authors, called Suriname: spiegel der vaderlandse kooplieden. Een historisch leesboek (Surinam: mirror of the Dutch traders. A historical reader) (Zwolle, 1958). The texts there, mostly in Dutch, illustrate the history of Surinam. Here we illustrate the history of the Creole language of Surinam.

The limited purpose of the anthology excludes specimens of the Dutch literature of Surinam, which has become more important during the last ten years. Before that there was only one Creole author, Albert Helman (pseudonym of Lou Lichtveld), who considered himself more a Dutch author with a Creole background. In a poetry contest in 1960, it was quite clear that the Dutch poems by Surinam authors represented a markedly lower level of accomplishment than their Creole poems. The situation has since changed. Johan Ferrier and Bea Vianen have published remarkable novels in Dutch and have found Dutch editors sufficiently interested to publish their work. Another group of authors working and living in Surinam publish in Dutch and in Creole or in a sort of local Dutch. They wish to publish and distribute their work locally, and it is rather difficult to obtain it outside Surinam. They employ quite original marketing techniques, selling their products on street corners and attracting customers with a local band. They also recite their works in schools and at public meetings. In this way they try to keep in touch with their own people. One of the most productive authors of this group, which is named after its periodical, Moetete, is Dobru, pseudonym of Robin Ravales.

The Moetete group has more than local interest. The most serious problem of the Caribbean writer using a European language seems to be that he is often more appreciated and read in Europe than in his home country, which is also the case with African writers. He constantly faces the threat of losing contact with his audience. The use of local idioms is subconsciously screened by European editorial policies. Publishing in Surinam means that one has to be satisfied with reaching a small audience. Every author publishing in Surinam, and especially one who writes in Creole, knows beforehand that his work will be sold only on a very small scale.

The editors of this volume have different backgrounds, which is sometimes revealed by the way their opinions are formulated in different chapters. Ursy M. Lichtveld, a Surinam Creole, composed chapter 5 and had a prominent part in the composition of chapter 9. Jan Voorhoeve, who is Dutch, wrote the introduction and prepared the first three chapters, using much firsthand material which he taped in Surinam in close cooperation with H.C. van Renselaar. Vernie A. February, born in South Africa, is responsible for the translations of the texts, which also means that he took part in their interpretation. These three names are mentioned on the title page, indicating that they share responsibility for the entire work.

We wish to acknowledge the help of many others. Richard Price

read the first draft of the manuscript and gave valuable advice about the composition and presentation of the work for an American audience. At a later stage he carefully checked the manuscript once more. Douglas McRae Taylor went over the manuscript with the editors in search of errors in the translations. He has an intimate knowledge of the Surinam Creole language and culture and was able to interpret the texts and to determine whether they were rendered faithfully into English. In two instances Douglas and his son Jacques tried out completely new translations, which were gladly accepted by the authors and incorporated in the text. H.F. de Ziel prepared the text of chapter 4 and assisted in interpreting modern poems. The Surinam students following the lectures of Jan Voorhoeve at Leiden University during the academic years 1969-70 and 1970-71 contributed valuable suggestions. The Netherlands Foundation for Cultural Cooperation with Surinam and the Netherlands Antilles (STICUSA) made possible the translation of the texts into English. The same institution granted Jan Voorhoeve a one-month period in Surinam in February 1970 to renew contacts with the Surinamese authors. The Netherlands Foundation for the Advancement of Tropical Research (WOTRO) did the same for Ursy M. Lichtveld. Many storytellers, singers, and authors contributed toward giving this anthology its present form. We feel honored to be entrusted with this task.

University of Leiden	Jan Voorhoeve
Bureau of Linguistic Research in Suriname, University of Amsterdam	Ursy M. Lichtveld
Africa Study Centre, Leiden	Vernie A. February