Creole drum

An Anthology of Creole Literature in Surinam

[p. 51]

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

1 See chapter 1 for comments on the ancestor cult.

2 Herskovits 1937 (pp. 292-99) had similar facts in mind when he coined the term socialized ambivalence. Not only in religion but also in marriage customs, linguistic behavior, and other spheres of daiiy life, a Creole seems to have a quasi-free choice between two totally different sets of human behavior patterns. Cf. Introduction.

[p. 52]

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

3 Some informants stated that church hymns must be regarded as songs in honor of Anana. This may indicate that a certain degree of syncretism is found at the very base of the system. I once heard a ‘pagan’ priest cite the Bible as a buku fu Anana (‘the book of Anana’).

[p. 53]

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-

4 Fodu, the Indian gods, and the kromanti gods each have a different cult language in which certain key words in common Creole are replaced by secret words of Amerindian or African descent (Voorhoeve 1969).

5 Herskovits 1936 made a distinction between sky gods (including Anana and the tapu kromanti), earth deities, river gods (mainly Indians), kromanti, and bush gods. He is partly followed by Wooding 1970, who makes a distinction between sky gods (tapu kromanti, but this category in fact includes all kromanti), earth deities, river gods, and bush gods. In a private discussion Wooding suggested that I might have missed the transition in the ritual order between kromanti and bush gods, which would be difficult to observe.

6 Herskovits 1936 (p. 44): ‘Of all supernatural forces which govern the destiny of the individual, none surpasses the role of the akra, - the soul - in determining that destiny.’ In the following pages Herskovits presents a rather complete and accurate description of soul ceremonies. Most Creoles regard other terms like dyodyo and se as alternative words for the same concept. Specialists, however, make a distinction.

[p. 54]

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.

7 A description of the susa play can be found in Comvalius 1922. I have seen susa only when played in honor of the ancestors. The play does not seem popular in town any more.

[p. 55]

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.

[p. 56]

 

 

 

 

1.

 

Loko, mi kanti.

 

Wanaysa, kari a boy

 

kon opo mi.

 

 

 

2.

 

Mi a no legwana,

 

mi a no legwana,

 

mi na papa gado.

 

Mi a no legwana,

 

mi na papa winti.

 

Mi a no legwana.

 

 

 

3.

 

Someni langa mi wani kon dya,

 

ma agida no ben de.

 

Aye, ayo,

 

agida no ben de.

 

 

 

4.

 

Fodu dede, ma a de.

 

Yu kapu en nanga howru,

 

ma a de.

 

Yu naki en nanga tiki,

 

ma a de.

 

Fodu dede, ma a de.

 

 

 

5.

 

Dagwe peni weti-o.

 

Fa a moy te.

 

Peni weti-o.

 

Fa a moy te.

 

 

 

6.

 

Ala den ingi, kon na dan.

 

Ala den mati, kon na dan.

 

Kon na dan, kon na dan.

 

Ala den ingi, kon masi agida.

 

 

 

7.

 

Mi no e trobi den, ba,

 

mi no e meri den.

[p. 58]

 

 

 

 

Sramakaliba mi de,

 

Hamborgu mofo mi de.

 

Mi no e meri den, ba,

 

na den e trobi mi.

 

 

 

8.

 

Mi na broko kurkuru,

 

mi de go nanga frudu,

 

mi de kon nanga fara.

 

Bosugwaragwara,

 

bosugwara dyaruma.

 

 

 

9.

 

Eru eru, ma fu sowan libi,

 

Eru eru, ma fu sowan libi.

 

Mi na eru gado, mi na Ganggaso.

 

Eru eru, ma fu sowan libi.

 

 

 

Efu a bun na yu, dan a sa bun na mi.

 

Efu a bun na yu, dan a sa bun na mi.

 

Efu goron boro, mi no de na ini.

 

Efu mama dede, mi no sabi.

 

 

 

10.

 

Arwaka taki, a tori kaba;

 

ma Kribisi bari, a de ete.

 

Ingi-o akaya,

 

mi koni moro den ala.

 

 

 

11.

 

San komopo a nengre kondre?

 

San komopo a farawe?

 

 

 

12.

 

A ningi ningi ningi ningi,

 

mi na Kabre.

 

Busmu.

 

Mi na Kabre.

[p. 60]

 

 

 

 

A santre fa nyuma.

 

A mi na Kabre.

 

 

 

13.

 

O di fu Sranan moro,

 

di fu Sranan moro.

 

Nowtu de na ala kondre,

 

ma di fu Sranan moro,

 

di fu Sranan moro.

 

 

 

14.

 

Pimpana pimpa na popo-e,

 

mi e begi akara.

 

Pimpana pimpa na popo yanda,

 

mi e begi akara.

 

 

 

15.

 

Kuneti alamal,

 

Kuneti, sribi bun.

 

Mi poti mi ede

 

na Masra futu sey

 

Mi lobi en sote,

 

ma en lobi moro mi.

 

Kuneti,

 

Kuneti, sribi bun.

 

 

 

16.

 

Engelsten ben tyari

 

wan nyun boskopu kon:

 

te na ini baki

 

wan nyun pikin didon.

 

Glori haleluya, glori haleluya,

 

yere san pasa.

 

 

 

17.

 

Wan bun bigi feest ben de na Nazareth,

 

- Nazareth -

 

di na koning ben kon.

 

O mi yas, mi yas,

 

singi tapu kaba.

 

 

 

18.

 

Di Moses teki a tiki,

 

a naki a tapu a watra,

 

a watra kon makandra,

 

- Haleluya.

 

O di tambak tambak tambak

 

O di tambak tambak tambak

 

O di tambak kweri so,

[p. 62]

 

 

 

 

- Haleluya.

 

 

 

Den suma fu Egipti,

 

den begi na den masra,

 

fu feti fon srudati,

 

- Haleluya.

 

O di tambak tambak tambak

 

O di tambak tambak tambak

 

O di tambak kweri so,

 

- Haleluya.

 

 

 

19.

 

Nowan suma

 

- Husuma dati baka dan?

 

Nowan suma

 

- Husuma dati baka dan?

 

Nowan suma no lobi mi,

 

nowan suma no lobi mi

 

leki Jezus, mi bun Masra.

 

 

 

20.

 

Di mi yere yu feryari,

 

ne mi kon fristeri yu.

 

- Halelu, halelu, haleluya.

 

Wan fu den tu ogri suma

 

begi masra taki: Ke!

 

- Halelu, halelu, haleluya.

 

Ke Masra, na yu kondre yanda

 

tangi tangi membre mi.

 

- Halelu, halelu, haleluya.

 

Jezus piki en, a taki:

 

Tide srefi yu sa de...

 

- Halelu, halelu, haleluya.

 

nanga mi na paradijsi.

 

Gado kondre yu sa si.

 

- Halelu, halelu, haleluya.

 

Yeho Yeho Yeho Yeho

 

Yeho Yeho yehova.

 

- Halelu, halelu, haleluya.

 

 

 

21.

 

Boy, un no yere suma na mi?

 

Boy, un no sabi suma na mi?

[p. 64]

 

 

 

 

Mi na Kwaku Lamberti

 

fu bilo Kawna liba.

 

Boy, un no yere suma na mi?

 

 

 

22.

 

Mi de a dorosey, mi de a dorosey.

 

Mi no yere gengen,

 

mi no yere tutu,

 

mi de a dorosey.

 

 

 

23.

 

Yu mu kari den uma ‘den sani’.

 

Yu mu kari den uma ‘den sani’.

 

Sensi manspasi kon,

 

uma no e teri man moro.

 

Yu mu kari den uma ‘den sani’.

 

 

 

24.

 

Kamra doro yu no wani sori mi.

 

Kamra doro yu no wani sori mi.

 

Na ini yu kamra

 

mi e go lolo wan dey.

 

 

 

25.

 

Mi a no peprebon fu den uma.

 

Mi a no peprebon fu den uma.

 

Fu den uma waka sey pasi,

 

den broko wan pepre.

 

Mi a no peprebon fu den uma.

 

 

 

26.

 

Sin san de na mofo sin de kon.

 

Perun Perun mi patron,

 

san wani kon, meki a kon.

 

Ingrisiman sa tyari a planga

 

go na yobo pran

 

Bakuba bakuba kaseri kaseri

 

nimbo nimbo yaasabo,

 

bosroma penki, bosroma bo.

[p. 66]

 

 

 

 

Ala den grikibi,

 

den no sabi den finifini wroko.

 

Ma Kodyo, fa yu don so?

 

A don so kita kita kay koy.

 

- Basi Grinya, yu mofo langa tumusi,

 

- puru wan.

 

 

 

27.

 

Mamama

 

Papapa

 

Kofi lepi na bon,

 

tobo no furu.

 

- A da mi-o pa pa a da mi-o.

 

Basya e wipi mi.

 

- A da mi-o pa pa a da mi-o.

 

 

 

28.

 

Fayasiton no bron mi so,

 

no bron mi so,

 

dan yu lon gowe.

 

- Agen masra Jantje e kiri suma pikin.

 

 

 

29.

 

Broko futu loli e loli, ba.

 

- Tyengele.

 

Sika futu loli e loli, ba.

 

- Tyengele.

[p. 68]

 

 

 

 

30.

 

Mi tay mi amaka kaba.

 

Mi poti mi pikin didon.

 

- Kamalamba sende,

 

kon fiti yapon.

 

 

 

31.

 

O mi abi wan lobi,

 

fu saynde mi lobi en.

 

Switi tongo na mi mofo,

 

nanga kamalama na mi sribipe.

 

 

 

32.

 

Mati te yu go, yu no mu tan langa.

 

Gudu te yu go, yu no mu tan langa.

 

Bika kaneridoyfi go a kankantri.

 

Te yu go, yu no mu tan langa.

 

 

 

33.

 

Mi empi priti a mi baka.

 

Suma e go nay en gi mi?

 

Suma e go nay en gi mi?

 

Mi yayo.

 

 

 

34.

 

Mati go a mati oso,

 

mati teki en mati manu.

 

Way angisa-e,

 

way angisa gi na uma.

 

 

 

Ma efu a ben de mi ankanamu,

 

kondre ben sa yere.

 

Way angisa-e,

 

way angisa gi na uma.

 

 

 

35.

 

Mi komopo na busi, mi kon na foto.

 

- Sinaweren sarambabu -

 

Mi go a kantoro fu go teki mi moni.

 

Mi anga mi mati waka langalanga,

 

Saramakastrati langalanga.

 

Di un doro na Agutobo a watrasey,

[p. 70]

 

 

 

 

nomo mi anga mi mati dyompo na ini a wenkri.

 

Un kari a sneysi kon gi un wan bita.

 

Dan pikinmoro yu o yere na dan.

 

Seybi motyo ben tringi na lo.

 

Den taki: Pikin masra, kon yere wan tori.

 

Un kari den motyo kon na ini a wenkri.

 

Seybi motyo, seybi pisi tabaka.

 

Seybi motyo, seybi dosu swarfu.

 

Seybi motyo anga seybi pipa.

 

Seybi motyo, seybi grasi sopi.

 

Wan ben de na ini di mi ben lobi.

 

Mi taygi mi mati: Mi o suku a meid.

 

Sensi mi e taigi yu de, mi e suku a meid.

 

Yere san a lobi e go taygi mi:

 

Masra mi gudu, na pe mi e libi,

 

wan owru granmisi de a mi sey.

 

Mi taki: Mi gudu, u o waka safri.

 

Dan mi anga a lobi ben go na oso.

 

A puru en koto, mi puru mi bruku.

 

A puru en yaki, mi puru mi yas.

 

A puru en angisa, mi puru mi ati.

 

A teki wan koto, a trowe a gron.

 

Nomo kopiplanga e go krey en nowtu.

 

Wan pôti granmisi ben de a sey.

 

A taki: Pikin masra, mi gudu, meki safri.

 

Yu e go broko a planga kiri mi dya.

 

 

 

36.

 

Zestien April. Di mi boto lay.

 

Tapanahoni, na dape mi de go.

 

 

 

Ma te mi doro na Ansubangi,

[p. 72]

 

 

 

 

ne mi ati ben sari fu tru.

 

 

 

Fingalinga na yu finga,

 

gowtu keti na yu neki,

 

Rosalina, san ede yu de krey.

 

 

 

Di mi memre den fotowenke,

 

ne mi ati ben sari fu tru.

 

 

 

Rosalina, Rosalina,

 

Rosalina, fu san ede yu de krey.

 

 

 

Bastian fon

 

 

 

37.

 

Meneri, meneri, da piekien, pardon.

 

Membrie wan tem, membrie wan tron,

 

Fa joe ben lobbie mie so té,

 

En fa mie lobbie joe jette.

 

 

 

Bastian fon! bastian fon!

 

Da oeman meekie mie hatie bron!

 

 

 

Té na condré joe kon fo scrifiman,

 

Mie no ben sabie san na wan man;

 

Fa joe ben lobbie mie so té,

 

En fa mie lobbie joe jette.

 

 

 

Bastian fon! bastian fon!

 

Da oeman meekie mie hatie bron!

 

 

 

Mie ben dé kalli joe mooi scrifiman,

 

Joe poeloe mie na mie nenne Anan;

 

Fa joe ben lobbi mie so té,

 

En fa mie lobbi joe jette.

[p. 74]

 

 

 

 

Bastian fon! bastian fon!

 

Da oeman meekie mie hatie bron!

 

 

 

Té joe ben bossi joe JABA,

 

Mie ben takki: kaba! kaba!

 

Da falsie lobbie, joe no ké,

 

Ho fassi joe doe so to dé.

 

 

 

Bastian fon! bastian fon!

 

Da oeman meekie mie hatie bron!

 

 

 

Pardon Meneri! Pardon! pardon!

 

Joe ben lobbi da skien wan tron.

 

Mie beggi joe! mie beggi: ké!

 

Meneri a no noffo jette?

 

 

 

Bastian fon! bastian fon!

 

Da oeman meekie mie hatie bron!

 

 

 

Meneri, meneri, membrie da piekien,

 

Da sori joe mie lobbi krien.

 

Mie beggi joe, mie beggi: ké!

 

Bastian a no noffo jette?

 

 

 

Bastian fon! bastian fon!

 

Da oeman meekie mie hatie bron.

 

 

 

Hoe fassi? mie takki fon!

 

Da oeman meekie mie hatie bron!

 

Mie takki fon! fon hin so té,

 

Al wassi a fal don deddé.

 

 

 

Bastian fon! bastian fon!

 

Da oeman meekie mie hatie bron!

[p. 57]

 

 

 

 

1.

 

Loko, I am sagging,

 

Wanaysa, summon your aide

 

ro raise me anew.

 

 

 

2.

 

No iguana am I,

 

no iguana am I,

 

the snake god I am.

 

No iguana am I,

 

the snake's spirit I am.

 

No iguana am I.

 

 

 

3.

 

For all too long I yearned to come,

 

agida⁸ was not there.

 

Aye, ayo,

 

agida was not there.

 

 

 

4.

 

Voodoo snake god is now dead,

 

dead and yet alive.

 

Chop him down with a machete.

 

He will still remain.

 

Beat him with a stick.

 

He'll remain alive.

 

Snake god is now dead,

 

dead and yet alive.

 

 

 

5.

 

Dagwe is spotted white.

 

How very pretty is he.

 

He is a spotted white.

 

How very pretty is he.

 

 

 

6.

 

All ye Indian gods,

 

haste thee to the place.

 

All ye Indian friends,

 

haste thee to the place.

 

To the place, to the place,

 

haste thee.

 

All ye Indian gods,

 

come, beat the drum.

 

 

 

7.

 

I do not disturb them, friend,

 

I do not touch them at all.

8 Winti dances are performed to the basic rhythm beaten on the agida drum and the kwakwa bench.

[p. 59]

 

 

 

 

At Saramacca River am I.

 

I face Hamburg plantation.⁹

 

I do not touch them, friend,

 

I am disturbed by them.

 

 

 

8.

 

I am a basket torn apart.

 

I ride on the flow,

 

recede with the ebb.

 

Bosugwaragwara,

 

bosugwara dyaruma.¹⁰

 

 

 

9.

 

Sorrow! But what a life!

 

Sorrow! But what a life!

 

I am the sorrow god, I'm Ganggaso.

 

Sorrow, sorrow! But what a life!

 

 

 

If you think it's good for you, so will it be.

 

If you think it's good for you, so will it be.

 

When grounds vibrate, I am not there.

 

When mother is no more, I know no way.

 

 

 

10.

 

The Arawak has a saying,

 

the story has run its course.

 

The Carib goes on calling,

 

the story is still there.

 

Oh Indians, ouch!

 

I'm cleverer than them all.

 

 

 

11.

 

What has arisen

 

from the black man's land?

 

What has arisen

 

from afar?

 

 

 

12.

 

A ningi ningi ningi ningi,

 

I am a Kabre.

 

Busmu.

 

I am a Kabre.

9 It is said that this special winti is present in a log floating on the Saramacca River in the vicinity of the Hamburg plantation.

10 Lines without special meaning are left untranslated in the text. They are quite numerous in winti songs and popular children's play songs. These lines may contain special cult words or corruptions of expressions in Indian or African languages.

[p. 61]

 

 

 

 

Santre has gotten hold of me today.

 

I am a Kabre.

 

 

 

13.

 

Oh, that of Surinam is so much more,

 

that of Surinam is so much more.

 

Want is found in all the lands,

 

but that of Surinam is so much more,

 

that of Surinam is so much more.

 

 

 

14.

 

Pimpana pimpa na popo-e

 

I am supplicant to kra.

 

Pimpana pimpa na popo yonder.

 

I am a supplicant to kra.

 

 

 

15.

 

Goodnight to you all,

 

Goodnight, sleep well.

 

I placed my head

 

at the feet of God.

 

I love him so much,

 

but his love is even more.

 

Goodnight,

 

Goodnight, sleep well.

 

 

 

16.

 

Voices of the angels

 

brought new tidings here:

 

Deep down in a manger

 

lay a newborn child.

 

Glory Halleluyah, Glory Halleluyah!

 

Hark, what's happened here.

 

 

 

17.

 

A big feast was in Nazareth,

 

- Nazareth -

 

when the King arrived.

 

Oh my coat, Oh my coat,

 

the song is at an end.

 

 

 

18.

 

When Moses raised his staff high,

 

the water he then beat,

 

the waters came together,

 

- Halleluyah.

 

Oh, the tambak tambak tambak

 

Oh, the tambak tambak tambak

 

Oh, the tambak swishes so.¹¹

11 Kweri is a regular creolization of the English word square. It is also used for the swishing of a stick. Tambak must in that case be a name for Moses's stick.

[p. 63]

 

 

 

 

- Halleluyah.

 

 

 

The people out of Egypt,

 

they pleaded with their masters

 

to fight off all the soldiers.

 

- Halleluyah.

 

Oh, the tambak tambak tambak

 

Oh, the tambak, tambak tambak

 

Oh, the tambak swishes so.

 

- Halleluyah.

 

 

 

19.

 

Nobody,

 

- Whoever it may be,

 

Nobody,

 

- Whoever it may be,

 

Nobody loves me,

 

nobody loves me,

 

but Jesus, my good Lord.

 

 

 

20.

 

When I heard of your birthday,

 

I came to say hullo.

 

- Hallelu, Hallelu, Halleluyah.

 

Of the sinners on the cross,

 

one asked the Lord, Oh yea!

 

- Hallelu, Hallelu, Halleluyah.

 

Oh Lord in your land yonder,

 

please will you think of me?

 

- Hallelu, Hallelu, Halleluyah.

 

Then Jesus said to him:

 

This very day you'll be...

 

- Hallelu, Hallelu, Halleluyah.

 

with me in paradise.

 

God's Kingdom you'll behold.

 

- Hallelu, Hallelu, Halleluyah.

 

Jeho, Jeho, Jeho, Jeho,

 

Jeho, Jeho, Jehova.

 

- Hallelu, Hallelu, Halleluyah.

 

21.

 

Fellers, haven't you heard who I am?

 

Fellers, don't you know who I am?

[p. 65]

 

 

 

 

I am Kwaku Lamberti

 

from the lower Commewijne.

 

Youths, haven't you heard who I am?

 

 

 

22.

 

I am outside, I am outside,

 

I don't hear the bell,

 

I don't hear the horn,

 

I am outside.

 

 

 

23.

 

Go ahead and call the women names.

 

Go ahead and call the women names.

 

Ever since our freedom day

 

women no longer respect the men.

 

Go ahead and call the women names.

 

 

 

24.

 

You refuse to show me

 

where the door of your room is.

 

You refuse to show me

 

where the door of your room is.

 

In it I'll enter still,

 

come frolic with you there.

 

 

 

25.

 

To women I'm no pepper tree.

 

To women I'm no pepper tree,

 

for which they leave the way and stray,

 

to pluck from it a pepper red.

 

To women I'm no pepper tree.

 

 

 

26.

 

Sin? What do they say? Sin is coming?¹²

 

Perun, Perun, my boss,

 

let come who wants to come.

 

Englishmen will carry the wood

 

to the white man all at once.¹³

 

Bakuba bakuba kaseri kaseri

 

nimbo nimbo yaasabo,

 

bosroma penki, bosroma bo.¹⁴

12 Variant lines that have been observed in Paramaribo are: Sin, san de na mofo se de kon; go na yobo pan; nimo nimo yaasabo; den sabi a finifini wroko; fa yu don, yu don so. We followed the recorded text.

13 The variant word pan might be the ideophone pam (cf. Focke 1855), expressing fullness. Comvalius 1938 interpreted yobo pan as ‘the big water’ or ‘the sea.’ Pran, as recorded by us, is also an ideophone expressing suddenness.

14 The words have possibly been chosen for their rhythmic quality, without reference to a particular meaning. Therefore they are left untranslated in the text. Bakuba means ‘raw banana,’ kaseri ‘ritually clean,’ bosro ‘to brush,’ and penki was the place in Paramaribo where criminals were hanged.

[p. 67]

 

 

 

 

All those common birds are ignorant

 

when it comes to finer points.

 

But Kojo! How can you be so dumb?

 

He is dumb as kita kita kay koy.

 

Boss Grinya, your mouth is too big,¹⁵

 

withdraw!¹⁶

 

 

 

27.

 

Mamama

 

Papapa

 

The coffee is ripe on the tree.

 

The basket is not full.

 

He gives it to me

 

Papa! He gives it to me.

 

Overseer lashes me,

 

He gives it to me

 

Papa! He gives it to me.¹⁷

 

 

 

28.

 

Hot stone burn me not so,

 

burn me not so.

 

Go away, go away!

 

Once again Master John

 

is out to kill

 

somebody's child.

 

 

 

29.

 

Lame foot dangles and dangles.

 

Tyengele.

 

Foot with chigger under the nail

 

dangles and dangles, friend.

 

Tyengele.

15 Literally, ‘your mouth is too long.’ This might also mean ‘you show contempt.’

16 Puru wan, literally ‘Withdraw one.’ The children who use this song in their game sit in a circle and one counts the legs. On puru wan one of the feet has to be withdrawn, and the singing starts over again until no feet are left.

17 Two interpretations are possible. If the word da comes from the Saramaccan verb da (‘to give’), we have to interpret papa as an ideophone, indicating the beating the child gets. If, however, the word da comes from de a (‘to be at’), the line means: ‘Father, he is after me.’ During the game a stone is passed around, as also in the next song.

[p. 69]

 

 

 

 

30.

 

I have unrolled my hammock.

 

Laid my child to rest.

 

- Kamalamba sende,

 

- come try this dress for size.¹⁸

 

 

 

31.

 

Oh, I have a love.

 

Why do I love her so?

 

Ah, her sweet tongue in my mouth,

 

her frolicking on my bed.

 

 

 

32.

 

Friend, when you go, do not stay too long.

 

Dearest, when you go, do not stay too long.

 

For cinnamon dove has flown to the cotton tree.¹⁹

 

When you go, do not stay too long.

 

 

 

33.

 

My shirt is torn in the back.

 

Who will come sew for me?

 

Who will come sew for me?

 

I am a free bird still.

 

 

 

34.

 

A friend went to a friend's house,

 

a woman to a woman's,

 

took from her her husband.

 

Honor then this woman

 

with waving of kerchiefs.

 

 

 

But if it pleases me,

 

it will be known to all.

 

Honor then this woman

 

with waving of kerchiefs.

 

 

 

35.

 

I emerged from the bush and went to town

 

- Sinaweren sarambabu -

 

I went to the office for my pay.

 

My friend and I strutted up and down,

 

all along the Saramacca street.

 

When we came to Agutobo near the shore,

18 According to my informant, this song was first used by a woman to signal to her lover outside that the coast was clear.

19 ‘Cinnamon dove’ is a literal translation. According to my informant, the song refers to a man smitten with venereal disease, who was sent to the hospital for treatment. Cinnamon dove could refer to his sexual organs, which were wrapped in a cotton bandage, hence the reference to a cotton tree.

[p. 71]

 

 

 

 

we dropped into a shop, my friend and I.

 

We summoned the Chinee man to bring us a shot.

 

Now you'll see some fireworks.

 

Seven tarts like a row of beads.

 

They said: Sweetheart, Sirs, come listen here.

 

We invited the tarts into the shop.

 

Seven tarts, seven tobacco strings.

 

Seven tarts, seven matchboxes full.

 

Seven tarts with seven pipes.

 

Seven tarts means seven shots.

 

One there was I fancied most.

 

I said to my friend:

 

I'll try that one.

 

No sooner said,

 

than I tried the bitch.

 

Listen what the darling tells me:

 

Sweetheart Sir, there where I live,

 

lives an old dame immediately below.²⁰

 

I said: My sweetheart, we'll softly work.

 

And then I took the darling home.

 

She took off her dress, I my pants.

 

She took off her blouse, I my coat.

 

She took off her kerchief, I my hat.

 

She took a cloth and spread it on the floor.

 

The burden caused the boards to creak.²¹

 

A poor old lady below her lived.

 

She said: Sweet Sir, my dear,

 

go slowly please!

 

You will cause the boards to break

 

and kill me here.

 

 

 

36.

 

Sixteenth April. My boat is ready.

 

Tapanahoni, thither I am off.

 

 

 

But when I came to Ansubangi,²²

20 The text says literally ‘next door.’ This creates a problem, however, in interpreting the last lines, where the old lady is clearly threatened by the boards above her head. Thus, we took the liberty of adapting the translation.

21 There is reference in the text to a certain kind of hard wood, kopi.

22 Ansubangi is a place just opposite Paramaribo, on the other side of the river. The general meaning is that a girl has promised her boy friend to accompany him to the bush, where he probably worked as a gold digger. But having crossed the river, she started crying. When the man asks her what is wrong with her, she confesses that she cannot leave her friends in town.

[p. 73]

 

 

 

 

then was my heart with sorrow filled.

 

 

 

Finger rings on your finger,

 

golden chains on your lovely neck,

 

Rosalina, why do you cry?

 

 

 

When I thought of the girls in town,

 

then was my heart with sorrow filled.

 

 

 

Rosalina, Rosalina,

 

Rosalina, why do you cry?

 

 

 

Bastian fon

 

 

 

37.

 

Master, master, forgiveness, the child,

 

think of the time, think of the time,

 

how you loved me then.

 

Oh, how I love you still.

 

 

 

Overseer lash out, overseer lash out,

 

the woman fills my heart with ire.

 

 

 

When you came to this land to keep the books

 

I had not yet been near a man,

 

How you loved me then.

 

Oh, how I love you still.

 

 

 

Overseer lash out, overseer lash out,

 

the woman fills my heart with ire.

 

 

 

My handsome keeper of books you were.

 

Didn't you snatch me from my mother's breast?²³

 

How you loved me then.

 

Oh, how I love you still.

23 The word Anan in the song has been interpreted as a woman's name because of the capital letter used in the Sranan text. This is probably not correct. The word refers to a now almost obsolete question particle, which in Focke 1885 has been written anáä. The same particle may be found in song 16 of chapter 1. We did not change the orthography in which this song was originally published.

[p. 75]

 

 

 

 

Overseer lash out, overseer lash out,

 

the woman fills my heart with ire.

 

 

 

When you kissed your Yaba,

 

lay off I cried.

 

This love is false.

 

You do not care.

 

Why this behavior today?

 

 

 

Overseer lash out, overseer lash out,

 

this woman fills my heart with ire.

 

 

 

Forgiveness, my Lord, forgiveness please.

 

You loved this body once.

 

I pray, Oh I pray to thee.

 

Master, isn't it enough?

 

 

 

Overseer lash out, overseer lash out,

 

the woman fills my heart with ire.

 

 

 

Master, master, please think of the child.

 

It shows you that my love is pure.

 

I pray, Oh I pray to thee.

 

Overseer, isn't it enough?

 

 

 

Overseer lash out, overseer lash out,

 

the woman fills my heart with ire.

 

 

 

What? Lash out, I say.

 

The woman fills my heart with ire.

 

Lash out, I say, lash out so hard

 

till down she drops dead on the ground.

 

 

 

Overseer lash out, overseer lash out,

 

this woman fills my heart with ire.