Chapter 2
Folksongs (Religious Songs, Play Songs, Dance Tunes)

A sharp distinction between the different genres of songs cannot be drawn, due mainly to the fact that children's songs, if old enough, can be used in the ancestor cult to please the yorka (‘ancestral spirits’)1 and that dance bands use all kinds of materials, including Christian and non-Christian religious songs that may even be featured on the local hit parade. This use of old religious songs for modern dancing usually entails drastic changes in the rhythmic and even the melodic patterns of the original songs.

The non-Christian, or so-called ‘pagan’ religion of Surinam has not yet been described in full, although Herskovits 1936 gives some useful indications of it. Marked African and Amerindian influences are present. Most river deities are of Amerindian descent and their worshippers even use Indian languages for cultic purposes. Many other gods can be traced back to African rituals and African words are used in their cult language. There are striking resemblances to religious cults in Haiti and Brazil, which were formed under approximately the same conditions. However, unlike the latter, they show no clear signs of syncretism. The Christian and non-Christian religions seem to coexist rather peacefully, although practised by the same people. Important officials of the non-Christian religion may even occupy key posts in the Christian church. There is no general feeling that the two religions exclude one another, although the official view of the church is different.2

The present system in Surinam must be the product of fairly recent developments. In nineteenth-century accounts, the dancing of watra mama (‘the water mother’) is described as violent and even dangerous, whereas in present-day local folklore watra mama seems to be a rather harmless creature. The gronmama, or ‘earth mother,’ and kromanti (a group of African gods) are much more

important in contemporary religion. In former times there was some specialization on different plantations. The local priest achieved some fame for curing specific illnesses or organizing specific cults. Fairly recent urbanization has nearly destroyed this geographic diversity. Successful specialists tend to go to town to earn more money. Town rituals therefore have acquired a rather baroque appearance and may extend over several days.

Religious diversity may even become a matter of personal taste. The younger generation in Paramaribo shows a marked preference for the kromanti gods and does not seem interested in other rituals. Boys and girls, mostly teenagers, arrive very late at the ceremony, after midnight, when the kromanti gods are about to put in an appearance. They at once take over control from the older people, who gradually retire. The violent kromanti dances seem to offer a useful outlet for repressed aggression.

The non-Christian religion centers on two basic concepts: winti literally ‘wind’ but indicating the gods, and kra, or ‘soul.’ The high god or creator is called Anana and is not regarded as a winti. He reigns over the whole creation, including the winti. Anana is always mentioned in prayers, especially in the final formula na nen fu Anana (‘in the name of Anana’). There exist no songs in his honor,3 nor will anyone become possessed by him. Human beings can reach him only through the intervention of the winti.

There are a great many winti, and they are grouped in several distinct pantheons. It is not entirely clear, however, how many separate pantheons there are and which gods belong to which. During a winti ceremony, the winti may take possession of a human being and completely change his personality. They are, however, invoked in a certain fixed order. First, the earth deities, headed by Aysa or Wanaysa, the earth mother, are called upon, then Loko, Leba, and others. The snake god Fodu, also called Dagwe or Papawinti, comes last in this group; it is not quite clear whether he heads a separate pantheon or should be included in the range of earth deities. After a short pause follow the river deities, especially the Indian gods. They are also invoked in a certain fixed order, starting with the deities of the Commewijne River. Finally, in the very early morning, come the kromanti, who seem to consist of African gods

only.4 This is the general outline of a winti dance in Paramaribo, as far as I could distinguish. The only exception is that sometimes a special dance is organized for the so-called tapu kromanti, or ‘sky kromanti,’ on Saturday afternoon. I am, however, fully aware of the possibility that I could have missed some distinctions.5

Winti performances are prohibited by law. Adherents therefore perform their rituals in special places off the main roads around the capital. The prohibition has also given rise to performances in disguise, sometimes as a costume ball (bar maske), to which participants wear costumes of their winti. Even more disguised are apparently ordinary dance parties where the brass band plays exclusively winti songs in the given order, allowing the dancers to become possessed in a discreet manner. It must be said, however, that the law against pagan rituals is no longer enforced. Performances have increasingly moved back into town. The people have also become aware of the cultural value of the winti songs and dances. Choirs include them in their repertories, and winti dances are even shown on stage. In general, people no longer feel the need to hide the ‘pagan’ background.

The other main concept in the non-Christian religion is the kra, a more or less personified soul concept.6 The kra can be consulted when its bearer does not feel well. There are special divination rituals used to arrive at the right diagnosis and the right treatment. The dividing line between non-Christian and Christian religions is much thinner here. The kra often asks for a church service and seems to love church hymns in general.

We have excluded official church hymns from this anthology, although they are very popular among Creoles. The hymns are mostly translated from German, Dutch, or English sources. There are, how-

ever, a few unofficial Christian songs that are not sung during church services and seem to have a genuine Creole origin. They are often performed at birthday parties or other informal gatherings, for instance at the weekly meeting of the so-called begi, a local prayer group.

Play songs are of a different nature. The susa is a play for adult men in which the players face each other. One person has to imitate the steps of the other. When he has been tricked into making a wrong step, his place is taken by another.7 The songs often treat relations between men and women, just as in the banya, but from the male point of view. Kangga songs are children's play songs (Comvalius 1946).

The kawna was originally danced in a counterclockwise circle. The songs are accompanied by a special kind of drum, beaten with a stick and hand, and by a quatro (a small guitar). A voice sings the melody. Kawna songs are also performed by modern bands with brass instruments, in which case the dance is executed in pairs and called kaseko.

Songs 1-11 are winti songs evoking the different winti in the right order: Loko, an earth deity, in song 1; Fodu, the snake god, in songs 2-5; different Indian gods (river deities) in songs 6-10; kromanti in song 11. Song 12 is also of a religious nature and generally called a Soko psalm (‘Soko hymn’). It may have a Moslem background. We were unable to obtain many examples of this type of song, which is executed without drums. Its words are largely unfamiliar to the singers. The line mi na Kabre (‘I am a Kabre’) could indicate a tribe in northern Togo or a very old yorka (‘ancestor spirit’), sometimes called kabra yorka. A Chokosi informant from northern Togo translated the line santre fa nyuma as ‘Santre has got me today.’ He suggested that the song might be the complaint of a Cabrais slave (Cabrais refers to a tribe in northern Togo). Song 13 is in honor of the ancestors. Song 14 is the only recorded example of a song in honor of the kra.

Songs 15-20 are Christian songs of the sort not tolerated in church. Those reproduced here are almost all the songs of this type that we were able to find. Song 20 shows by its opening lines that this kind of song is used at birthday parties, even if the content does not seem to fit. Songs 21-25 are susa songs. Songs 26-30 are children's play songs, of which 29 and 30 are generally called kangga. Song 26 is used by children as a means of counting before they start to play.

The interpretation of song 26 presents serious difficulties, as is so often the case in children's songs. Comvalius 1938 has given a historical explanation based mainly on the identification of Perun with the historical figure Peronne, commander of the fortress dominating the Surinam and Commewijne rivers. However, one must stretch too many details to fit this conception. A general weakness of this kind of historical explanation is that one has to assume that the colonial wars of the European nations made a big impression on the slaves, which does not often seem to have been the case. One of the biggest difficulties is the interpretation of the first line. Comvalius interprets the first occurrence of sin as a variant of sibi, a term of address between slaves who were transported on the same ship or worked on the same plantation, and the second occurrence of sin as a variant form of se (‘sea’). The Englishmen in the fourth line would in that case be English invaders. Clearly related children's play songs have been found on Curaçao, though they might best be regarded as corruptions of this Surinam song, because their interpretation in terms of Papiamentu (the local Spanish-based creole of Curaçao) presents even more problems. As the word sin does not mean anything in Creole, it is probably a name. A great many alternative interpretations offer themselves in that case. We will mention only two. Sin could be regarded as a creolization of the Indian name Singh, in which case the song deals with early racial tensions between British Indians and Creoles. Sin could also be the name of a ship; around 1825 there was an English steamer bearing the name Seine, actually pronounced ‘sin,’ that regularly visited the Caribbean.

Songs 27 and 28 are sung while a stone is passed around. Song 27 recalls the times of slavery: a child is flogged by the overseer because he has failed to fill his basket. Songs 31-34 are short dance tunes. Songs 35 and 36 are ballads of the gold diggers and balata bleeders. Song 37 is a ballad that goes back to the days of slavery.

Most of the songs were recorded by H.C. van Renselaar and J. Voorhoeve between 1957 and 1961. Song 36 was recorded by U.M. Lichtveld in 1970. Song 37 was found in Hoëvell 1854, 2:54-56.