Preface: This post has been lingering in my drafts for at least two years now. Somehow I could just never find the time to finish it. However, due to these current events, I have been struggling to find a way to actively contribute to the cause. I don’t want to answer that I was “mostly watching the protests on CNN and NOS and then netflixing and working from home” when future generations will ask me what I did to make their current situation better. I also don’t want them to think that I was afraid to take action. I’m not afraid. But I am tired. Tired of having to constantly explain my worth to people who don’t physically look like me. Tired of convincing people that racism actually exists, yes even here in “Europe”. Tired of the educating, the explaining while having to relive my pain and hurt and those of my ancestors. Just tired. I feel that in 2020, if you do not understand what black people go through everyday due to systemic racism, you just do not want to understand. No matter what I do. And that’s fine. I am not going to waste my time and energy on you. They are the most precious. I want to actively do something for black people in these times. Something that empowers us. Something with such an effect that those future generations won’t have to ask me what I did. They would just be able to feel and see it. But to be honest, I haven’t quite figured out what that ideal something is or could be. So until I have figured that out, for now, I’m just going to post about what I think part of my purpose here on this life-journey is; to write in the best way I know how about our excellence, our resilience, all while trying to relink and fix connections which were forcibly destroyed. I want to make us remember that Black people are like banana trees…

During the transatlantic slave trade, various West, Central and sometimes even Southeast African ethnic groups were forcibly shipped off to the Americas and the Caribbean. In some instances, some of these ethnic groups were at war with each other back home. But when they found themselves suffering the same faith on the plantations and in the mines of ‘the new world’, they connected. Evidence of that connection is omnipresent throughout the Diaspora, where the newly sprouted subcultures are almost always a melange of various African cultures.

That’s the case in Suriname as well.  Take for example Winti, the African Surinamese religion. Even though Akan culture (in present day Ghana, Ivory Coast, Togo) dominates, Winti consists of present day Congolese elements (the Luangu Winti), Yoruba elements (Papa Legba in Suriname,  Elegua/Exu as he is known in Nigeria), Dahomey/present day Benin (Fodu) and several other religious/cultural elements from various West and Central African ethnicity.

A primary way of connecting of course is through language. Suriname has several African Surinamese languages. There is Sranan or Sranantongo, the countries lingua franca, but there are also other languages spoken by the descendants of groups of escaped enslaved people, like for example Okanisa, Samaaka etc. All these languages contain words and linguistic patterns that have their origin in Africa.

There are various sources for African words within Sranan. My fellow blogger, Suriname African Heritage has already compiled a list of about 21 words. In his book Bigisma Taki a book about Surinamese proverbs, or odos (also a word with an African origin, by the way),  Julian Neijhorst also has a whole section on Surinamese words of African origin. In 2014, a  study done by Van Andel et al. revealed that Africans recognized substantial parts of the New World flora . In fact, according to the study,  33% of the plants in the  database used for the study were linked to a similar African vernacular name or contained lexical items or African origin (Van Andel et al., 2014), Isn’t that amazing?!

There are many other sources, all spread out of course. The purpose of this post is to combine all these sources and create a central list. I hope to get feedback to add to this list, especially since I’ve created an additional list of words that I suspect are also of African origin. I however do not have the technical expertise nor the comprehensive knowledge of African languages to be an authority in the matter. The list so far is comprised of 180 words. But there are more. I didn’t add all the plant names listed in the Van Andel et al. (2014) study, only the ones I (somewhat) recognized. In the column literary sources, I added all the source(s) I have located for the words. Sometimes I added to add to the meaning of the word with information of my own, or with information that I would consider is general knowledge. In those cases, I added a * in t he column for literary sources.

I want to stress out again, that I’m not an expert, so feedback, corrections etc. are welcomed! Enjoy!

List of Sranan words with an African origin

Sranan *1	Source Word	Meaning	Ethnic African Origin	Literary source *2
abeni	abeni	name for a girl born on Tuesday	Akan (Twi, Ewe, Fante, etc)	*
aboma	mboma	anaconda	Bantu	2
abongra	mbongo (Bantu), agboman (Fon)	sesameseed, plantname =Sesamum indicum, S. radiatum	Bantu, Fon (Benin)	2,7
ackee	akye, aché	plant, name =Blighia sapida, to become hard = kyem	Twi (Ghana)	7
adjuba	adjuba	name for a girl born on Monday	Akan (Twi, Ewe, Fante, etc)	*
adjuba	adjuba	name for a girl born on Monday	Akan (Twi, Ewe, Fante, etc)	*
adonkè pau (Sa)	akponkpo	plant, name =Schefflera spp.,pau (Port) = tree	Baule (Ghana)	7
adyakasa	adzaka	Man! Wow!. I’ve also seen it translated to “you’ve been warned!”	Yomba	2,*
adyokri	adzoke	a certain cake	Ewe	2
adyuma	gboma (Ewe, Fon), boma (Mina), ogumam (Nago)	plant, name =Capsicum frutescens	Ewe, Fon,  Mina, Nago (Benin, Togo)	7
afi	afi	name for a girl born on Friday	Akan (Twi, Ewe, Fante, etc)	*
afo	afӑ (grandmother)	ancestor	Kunama	2
agama	agama	chameleon	Akan (Twi, Ewe, Fante, etc)	5
agi (Pa, Au, Sa)	adi (Ewe), adjikun, agikwin (Fon)	plant, name =Ormosia spp.,seed to play agi game with	Ewe,Fon (Ghana,Benin)	7
agida (ayida, adjida)	a merger of two words: ayi= earth, da = snake	a merger of two words: ayi= earth, da = snake. One of the primary drums used in the Fodun Winti rituals. It’s a long, relatively narrow shaped drum	Fon (Benin)	1, 6, *
agodo (Sa)	go	plant, name =Lagenaria siceraria	Yoruba (Benin)	7
agomawiwiri, aguma	gboma (Ewe, Fon), boma (Mina), ogumam (Nago)	plant, name =Solanum americanum,wiri = weed (En) or wi (Akan)	Ewe, Fon,Mina, Nago (Benin, Togo)	7
agumakama (Sa)	nguma	plant, name =Laetia procera	Loko (Sierra Leone)	7
aisa	asesa	God of the Earth	Akan (Twi, Ewe, Fante, etc)	5
akara (Sa)	akara (Yoruba), akra (Tcha)	plant, name =Pouteria cf. cuspidata	Yoruba,Tcha (Benin, Togo)	7
akata palulu (Sa)	nkata (kikongo)	plant, name =Heliconia spp.,pariri, paruru  (Ca) = Heliconia,”head pad of banana leaf”	Kikongo (Congo)	7
akra	akra (Twi)	plant, name =Psychotria apoda, kra means “soul”, kra is also listed	Twi (Ghana)	7
akuba	akuba	name for a girl born on Wednesday	Akan (Twi, Ewe, Fante, etc)	*
alamankina	tschina (Loango), ki-ina (Kikongo)	plant, name =Aegiphila macrantha Ducke, Everyman’s food taboo, food taboo	Loango, Kikongo (Gabon, Angola)	7
alamu (Sa)	ilemu	plant, name =Citrus X paradisi	Yoruba (Nigeria)	7
amba, amimba	amba	name for a girl born on Saturday	Akan (Twi, Ewe, Fante, etc)	*
amiomio (Sa)	myon myon	plant, name =Jatropha gossypifolia, myo = fire (Fon)	Goun (Benin)	7
ampuku, apuku	Nzambi Ampungu	an Ancestral spirit within the African Surinamese religion, It’s the Congolese name for the High Creator God	Kikongo (Congo DRC)	7,*
anana, anana kedoeaman kedoeampon	Nana Twedeampong Nyankopon	God the Creator, the Supreme God	Akan (Twi, Ewe, Fante, etc)	5,*
anango switi (Sa), a nango súti (Sa), nagosi (Au)	anago sitin	plant, name =Terminalia amazonia	Fon (Benin)	7
anansi	ananse	Folcloric figure of the Spider	Akan (Twi, Ewe, Fante, etc)	2, 5
antroewa	ndroa	plant, name =Solanum macrocarpon ,African eggplant	Ando (Ivory Coast)	7
anzau weko (Pa)	ndzawu (Masangu), nzau (Kongo)	plant, name =Inga capitata,asau = bark used to scrub pots. An nzau is an elephant in Kikongo. Also see “asaw” on this list. Waïkje is Caraib word.	Masangu (Gabon), nzau (Congo)	7
apinti	apenteng, mpintin	A drum used primarily to convey messages to nearby villages. Also the name of the oldest radio station in Suriname	Akan (Twi, Ewe, Fante, etc)	3,*
apuku baasi (Au)	Nzambi Ampungu	plant, name =Crotalaria micans,plant used in religious ceremonies decicated to the boss of the forest spirits	Kikongo (Congo DRC)	7
asaw	nzau, nzovu	Elephant	Bantu	2
asema	adze	vampire, witch,succabee	Ewe	2
awaribangi	ware, aware	a certain game	Twi, Fante	2
aya-udu (Au)	ayan	plant, name =Swartzia sp.,udu is the Sranan word for wood	Yoruba (Nigeria)	7
ba	ba	a way to adress a man, brother	West + Central Africa	2,*
babun-nefi	kenkisi (Punu), nkengezi (Kikongo), dugengitsi, dikengitsi (Masangu)	plant, name =Scleria spp.,The translation of the Sranan name is “monkey knife”. The translation of the plants name for all the listed African languages is “howler monkey knife”.	Punu,Kikongo,Masangu (Gabon)	7
bacove	koba (?)	plant, name =Musa sp.,,banana	koba (?),Sao Tome	7
bakra	mbakara	white (Dutch) person	Efik	5,2
bakru	baku, ba- kulu	(evil) spirit personified as a little man with a big head. Forebearer or ghost in Kikongo	Nig, (Kikongo) Congo	2, 7, *
bakru wiwiri	ba-kulu	plant, name =Petiveria alliacea,evil dwarfs weed, wiri = weed (En),”forebearer, ghost”	Kikongo (Congo)	7
bakuba, swa bak’ba	agbagba (Yoruba), koba (?)	plant, name =Musa sp.,(sour) sweet banana,banana	Yoruba Nigeria, Sao Tome	7
bamba maka	mabamba	plant, name =Desmoncus polyacanthos,bamba spine,rattan	Kikongo (Gabon, Angola)	7
bobi bobi (Sa)	bobi (?)	plant, name =Euphorbia hirta,breast milk,”breast”	Cameroon	7
bobo, bobojantje	bόbo, bùbu, bobo	someone who is afraid of everything, coward, dorky; Bobo is also the West African name for a man whose name isn’t known. It’s also possible that those kidnapped from the Gold Coast were called Bobo.Traditional name of a Krio boy is Bobo-John.	West-Sudan, Ewe, General West Africa	2,*
boeboelaas	bubu-i,buburu,	In Suriname, children or taught be afraid of Boeboelaas, similar to Good Friday bobolee of Trinidad (scapegoat). “Meki Bubu””, translated literally as “making bubu” translates to making funny faces. Specter or bogaboo, bad or evil	Kwa, Yoruba	2,*
boni	boni	name for man, common in present day Benin. Also several regions in Benin, Burkina Faso and Mali or bare the same name. In Suriname, the name Boni is most commonly known as that of one of the most popular maroon leaders during the days of slavery	Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali	*
boyo/dokun	dokono	a sweet pudding like cake made from coconut and cassave	Twi	2
buba	buba	skin, bark	Baule (Ivory Coast)	7
busi musakasaka (Pa)	musaga	plant, name =Gurania reticulata, busi means bush….,	Banzabi (Gabon)	7
busi soké (Pa)	soke	plant, name =Sapotaceae spp.,busi means bush….,	Mende (Sierra Leone)	7
busi yamsititei	nyambi (Bambara)	plant, name =Smilax spp.,bush yam liana,all yams, general name in West Africa	Bambara (Mali)	7
callaloo	karuru (unknown if Angolan or Brazilian Indian origin)	plant, name =Centropogon cornutus,,dish of different slimy leaves	karuru (unknown if Angolan or Brazilian Indian origin),	7
confo	confo	priest (in Afro Surinamese religion)	Akan	3
dada	dada, dada, daada	respectful name for an older woman, mother (Ewe), old (Fante), very old (Grebo)	Ewe, Fante, Grebo	2
dagukoko	kokuwe (Fon), tchankoko (Tcha), kuokuo dua (Twi)	plant, name =Posoqueria longiflora,dog balls (testicles),	Fon,Tcha,Twi (Ghana, Benin)
dagwe	tagwé	boa constrictor	Ewe	2
dahomey	dahomey	The country in West Africa now known as Benin encompassed a region known during  the transatlantic slavetrade as Dahomey. Surinamese Maroons were known to name their newly founded villages after the villages and country they were taken from. In Suriname, we have a Maroon village called Dahomey. This village was popularized in a Surinamese folksong.	Benin	*
dèdèawiwiri (Au)	onyame bewu na mawu (Twi, Burkill (1985-2010)), nyame wua, ne me wu (Twi), Cakankou (I cannot die)	plant, name =Commelinaceae spp.,dead weed (translation of African name), wiri = weed (En),God will die before I die (Burkill (1985-2010)), Dzah: If God is dead, than I will die too. Also see  the listed “gado dede”	Twi,Cakankou (Ghana, Benin)	7
diatutu (Sa)	tutu (Kikongo, Mende)	plant, name =Centropogon cornutus,Dia is dear, and tutu is horn,trumpet, flute	Kikongo (Angola), Mende	7
ditibi wiwi (Sa)	tipetipe	plant, name =Desmodium asperum	Yoruba (Nigeria)	7
djeme	djengdjeng	plant, name =Bellucia grossularioides,,	Mende (Sierra Leone)	7
djendjenkumaka (Sa)	egniè, egnien (Anyi, Baule)	plant, name =Ceiba pentandra,kumaka (Ar) = Ceiba pentandra,	Anyi, Baule (Ivory Coast)	7
djindja masusa (Au)	ma-susa	plant, name =Zingiber zerumbet,ginger masusa,	Kikongo (Angola)	7
djönkú gbegbé (Sa), jonku gbegbe (Sa)	jankoroshe (Yoruba), gbe (Ewe), dwonku (Twi)	plant, name =Spermacoce latifolia,,gbe = bush, dwonku = hip	Yoruba, Ewe, Twi (Nigeria, Ghana)	7
dobama (Au)	imbamba	plant, name =Tapirira guianensis	Masango (Gabon)	7
dodoy	dwudwo	lull, calm	Twi	2
doti	doti	ground	Akan (Twi, Ewe, Fante, etc)	5
dyaba tee (Sa)	dyaba	plant, name =Trichomanes vittaria,…. tail,	Bakele (Gabon)
dyombi krara (Sa)	nzambi	plant, name =Coix lacrima-jobi,jumbie bead,”God”	Kikongo (Congo)
dyumbi	ndsumbi	ghost appearance, devil (Bantu)	Bantu	2
e-e, ejeh	ehe	exaclamtion of surprise; when the Maroons want to confirm, they say ejeh, which is the Caribean equivalent of eh he!. The Yoruba equivalent of “yes” is ehe	yoruba, igbo	2,3
es’esi	isa-isa	quick hastly	Ewe	2
fefifinga	faiv-finga-lif (Krio), aloviaton (Fon)	plant, name =Paullinia spp.,five finger (translation of Fon name),five fingers (Krio, Fon)	Krio,Fon (Sierra Leone, Benin)	7
filili (Au)	emi ile, ege ile	plant, name =Euphorbia thymifolia,,	Yoruba (Benin)	7
fodu	fodu, vodun	an Ancestral spirit within the African Surinamese religion	Dahomey (Benin)	2,*
fodu kama (Sa),	vodun	plant, name =Coccocypselum guianense,snake bed,voodoo, snake god	Fon (Benin)	7
fonfon	fo	whipping	Ewe	2
fugufugumenti	fufurufuru (Limba), fukufuku (Yoruba)	plant, name =Hyptis atrorubens,…. mint,”lungs”	Limba, Yoruba (Sierra Leone, Nigeria)	7
fukufuku toriman	fukufuku	plant, name =Priva lappulaceae, torimanis the Sranan word for storyteller, fukufuku means “lungs” in the listed African languages	Yoruba (Nigeria)	7
fyofyo	yó/ yoé	a certain parasite, also has a spiritual meaning in Winti, the Arican Surinamese belief system	Ewe	2,*
gado dede mi dede	onyame bewu na mawu (Twi), nyame wua, ne me wu (Twi), cakankou (Fon, Nago), Tcha	plant, name =Commelinaceae spp.,God dead than me dead (translation of Twi name,God will die before I die / If God is dead, than I will die too / I cannot die. Gado dede as this weed is also called, is a very stubborn weed. The name indicates that this plant is hard to near impossible to kill.	Twi,Fon, Nago (Ghana, Benin)	7, *
gagoti, gatoti ,	gawuci (Adja), ganhotin (Fon)	plant, name =Sapindaceae spp.,,tin (Fon) = tree	Adja, Fon (Benin)	7
gangan	ň-kam, I kam	grandmother	Efik, Ibibio	2
godo	godo	plant, name =Crescentia cujete,godo (En) = gourd ,calabash cultivar	Nigeria	7
gogo	gogo	buttocks	Akan (Twi, Ewe, Fante, etc)	5
gogomango	ogo (Fon), ma (Fon)	plant, name =Phytolacca rivinoides,,ma = leaf	Fon (Benin)	7
gomawiwiri	avegboma	plant, name =Phytolacca rivinoides,wiri = weed (En),	Ewe (Ghana)	7
gongosa	nkonkonsa	gossip, slander	Twi	2
gwégwétitei	gbèègbè (Fon), begbe (Fon)	plant, name =Dalbergia monetaria,…..liana,	Fon (Benin)	7
jengéjenge (Sa)	djengdjeng (Mende), nyenguingui (Masango), nyengenge (Mitsogo)	plant, name =Nepsera aquatica,,	Mende,Masango, Mitsogo (Sierra Leone, Gabon)	7
juku	jukka	to poke, to stick	Fula language(Ghana, Nigeria, Cote D’ ivoir)	5
kaka	akuko, akókó	rooster, could also be derived from the English word cock	Twi	2
keskesi	kése	capuchin monkey	Ewe	2
kimboto	matombote, omutomboti (Lunyaneka), jimbundu (Kimbundu), kiboto (Kiongo)	plant, name =Sapotaceae spp.,,ki-boto = “tree having ironwood”	Lunyaneka,Kimbundu, Kiongo (Angola)	7
klarun, krarun		plant, name =Amaranthus spp.,callalloo (En+Am),		7
kobi	kobi	name for a boy born on a Tuesday	Akan (Ashanti, Fante, etc)	*
kodjo	kodjo, kudjo kudzo	name for a boy born on a Monday	Akan (Ashanti, Fante, etc)	*
kofi	kofi	name for a boy born on a Friday	Akan (Ashanti, Fante, etc)	*
kokobe	kokobe	leprasy	Twi, Nzema(Ghana)	2,7
kokobesibonki	kokobe	plant, name =Zygia latifolia,leper’s bean,leper, leprosy	Nzema (Ghana)	7
kokolo (Au)	okokolo	chicken. Kokolo comes from the Okanisi Maroons in Suriname	Akan	8
kokriki	krikri oulé	plant, name =Abrus precatorius, Ormosia spp.,,	Gouro (Ivory Coast)	7
komlan	komlan	name for a boy born on a Tuesday	Akan (Ashanti, Fante, etc)	*
kosyiton (Pa)	kosito	plant, name =Fabaceae spp.,,	Mandinka (Ivory Coast)	7
kra	(a)kra	soul	Akan	3
kri kra		manner of starting a Anansi story	Akan (Ashanti, Fante, etc)	2,*
kromanti	kormantse	an ancestral spirit within Winti, the African Surinamese religion.	Ghana	*
kromanti	kormantse	plant, name =Pavonia fruticosa,Coromantine spirit. During the transatlantiv slavetrade there was a Dutch fort located in present day Ghana called fort Coromantine, This plant is used in Winti rituals dedicated to a Kromanti Ancestral spirit.	Fante (Ghana)	7,*
kwaku	kwaku	name for a boy born on a Wednesday. The 1st of July 1863, which is the day slavery got abolished in the former Dutch colonies, fell on a Wednesday. To honor this day, a monument respresenting a young man named Kwaku was erected in Suriname.The city square he stands on is known as the Kwaku square. In the Netherlands, and now also in Belgium, a popular Surinamese music, football, and food festival is held, around the date of the 1st of July, named the Kwaku festival.	Akan (Ashanti, Fante, etc)	*
kwami	kwami	name for a boy born on a Saturday	Akan (Ashanti, Fante, etc)	*
kwasi	kwasi	name for a boy born on a Sunday	Akan (Ashanti, Fante, etc)	*
kwasiba	kwasiba	name for a girl born on a Sunday	Akan (Ashanti, Fante, etc)	*
kwasibita	Kwasi	plant, name =Quassia amara,Male Akan day name (Kwasi’s bitter), named after Surinamese traditional healer,Kwasi. This Kwasi played a very controversial role within Suriname’s history; person born on Sunday	Twi (Ghana)	7, *
kwinti, kwintu ,	bla kuinle	plant, name =Eryngium foetidum,,”to drive out sickness”	Kru (Ivory Coast)	7
lau	lau	crazy, insane	Kikongo	5
leba, legba	elegua (exu)	a yoruba deity (Orisha) who is able to clear the path of communication between this world and the world our ancestors reside in. In Winti, the African Surinamese religion, the Legba serves the same purpose.	Yoruba	*
leletiki	letin	plant, name =Amphirrhox longifolia Mart. ex Eichler,swizzle stick,milktree (French?)	Fon (Benin)	7
loangotitei	loango	plant, name =Aristolochia spp.,Loango liana,ethnic group and language	Loango (Gabon)	7
loko (Apuku),	loko, iroko (Fon, Yoruba)	plant, name =Ceiba pentandra,,snake god	Fon, Yoruba (Nigeria, Benin)	7
maka mboa (Sa)	jimboa	plant, name =Amaranthus spinosus,spiny Amaranth,	Kimbundu (Angola)
marbonsu	munra agbou ta	a brown wasp, could be derived from the Yoruba warning munra agbou ta, be cautious of wasp stings. In Guyana they are called marabunta	Yoruba	2
masango bita	mosongo	plant, name =Unxia camphorata,bitters of Masango tribe?,Masango ethnicity	Apindji (Gabon)	7
masusa	ma-susa	plant, name =Renealmia spp.,ndongo = andere Aframomums, “wood ginger”	Kikongo (Angola)	7
misobisobi, mi sobi sobi (Au), musobisobi (Pa)	musobisobi (Bapunu), nsobisobi (Loango)	plant, name =Trema micrantha,,	Bapunu, Loango (Gabon)	7
motomoto	nmōtō	mud(dy)	Kwa	2
mumu	e-mumu	coward	Twi	2
na	na	can be translated to “it is”, for example “na yu”, means “it is you”	Igbo	*
neku	neku	poison to catch fish. I was always under the impression that this was a word from one of the Suriamese Native American ethnic groups. I recall seeying a film about Native American folclore where they explained the origin of the word	Loango (Congo)	5, *
nene	nne	form of address for an older woman, nanny. (I wouldn’t be surprised if  nne is also the etymological origin for the word nanny)	Efik, Ibibio	2,3,*
nyan(-nyan)	nyam	there are about 47 African words like nama/nyam/nyiana/inam that phonetically resemble nyan, but only 3 have the have the same meaning it has in Suriname, which is food, the others stand for meat.	Wolof (Senegal)	5,2
obe	abe (Akan), okbe, ope, obi (Yoruba, Nago)	plant, name =Elaeis oleifera,African oil palm	Yoruba, Nago, Akan	2, 7
obia	ubio , abia, obi, o bye, obiri	black magic,  doctoring, mysticism,magic,”charm to cause sickness or death, in Nembe, obi means disease, and the Akan word for priest is o bye.  Also the name of a plant, name =Heliconia psittacorum,	Efik, Ibibio, Nemde, Akan, Awutu (Ghana, Nigeria)	5,2,7
odo	lododo	proverb	Ewe	2
okobuka (Sa)	okpo	plant, name =Senna spp.	Igbo (Nigeria)	7
okro	okworo/okworu, okwuru, okuru	okra vegetable, name =Abelmoschus esculentus,,	Igbo and many other languages	5,2, 7
patyapatya	potopoto, potopotoo/potopotota	muddy	Igbo, Mandinka, Wolof, Twi	2
pegreku	pechereku (Fon), pedreku (Katafon), kpédjélékoun (Fon, Goun),	plant, name =Xylopia spp.	Fon,Katafon,Goun (Benin)	7
pemba	pembe	pemba is  kaolin,  a white powdery or clay substance mostly used in Winti (african Suriname religion) rituals. Also sometimes eaten by pregnant women to fight off nausea. Pembe is the Kikongo word for white.	kikongo	3,*
pepre nanga sautu (Au)	wisa ne kyene (Wassaw), ngo ne kyene (Akyem)	plant, name =Annonaceae spp. Just like the Sranan name, the names in the listed African langauges translate to “,pepper with salt (translation of African name),pepper and salt tree (Wassaw), oil and salt (Akyem)	Wassaw, Akyem (Ghana)	7
pinda	mpinda, mbenda	peanut	Congo, Gabon	*,4
pinpin	pende, peni	plant, name =Cyperaceae spp.,different grasses	Temne (Sierra Leone)	7
pipa-udu	pipawo	plant, name =Posoqueria latifolia,pipe wood?,	Kissi (Sierra Leone)	7
pululo (Au)	pululu	plant, name =Maquira guianensis,,bubble	Kikongo (Angola)	7
sabi	kusaba	to know. According to the Naks Suriname (2013) “sabi” is derived from the word “kusaba”, which is the kikongo word for “to know”. However, I was always under the impression that “sabi” was derived from either the Spanish or Portuguese word for “to know”, which is “saber”. This is also substantiated by Neijhorst (2008). However, what is also interesting in this, is that in Nigeria, they’ve used this same Spanish/ Portuguese loanword in their Pidgin language that, just like Sranan, is also Enghlish based. Just like in Suriname, sabi means “to know”.	Kikongo, Nigeria	2,3,*
sakasiri	saka	plant, name =Canna indica,shake seed,rammelen	Kikongo (Angola)	7
sakusaku (Sa)	nsaku-nsaku	plant, name =Cyperus prolixus,,”a lemon plant”	Kikongo (Angola, Congo)	7
sangrafu	nsangalavwa	plant, name =Costus spp.,”a cane-like plant,used in native medicine”	Congo	7
sekseki	sekere	a ratle like musical instrument made from a calabas filled with seeds	Yoruba	2
sida sida  (Bo)	siganzi	plant, name =Eleusine indica	Baule (Ivory Coast)	7
singabaasi (Sa), sinyabasu (Pa)	sindja	plant, name =Vouarana guianensis,síndja (Sa) = ashes,	Bariba (Benin)	7
sisi	sisi	form of address for a woman. For the Igbos this is primarily used to address a young woman. During slavery days in Suriname, “sisi” was used to address women of color who were the “official” mistresses of white men, while the wife was the “misi”, the latter derived from mrs or miss.	Igbo	*
sopropo	sopropo (Ashanti, Twi)	plant, name =Momordica charantia	Twi (Ashanti Ghana)	7
soso	soso	only	Igbo	5,2
syusyu	susuwkā	whispering, gossip, expressing suspicion (Twi)	Twi	2
tata	tata/taata, tata	form of address for father, also used for parents or ancestors	Ibibio, Congo	5,2,3
tata bumba	tata mbumba	an Ancestral spirit within the African Surinamese religion	Congo	*
tëmëkú (Sa)	tahokuku	plant, name =Lepidagathis alopecuroidea, stubborn(Au). Temeku also means persistent. The word Temeku was popularized in a Surinamese song about a woman persistently pursuing a man. In the song she was called a Temeku.	Bariba (Benin)	7
tonton	tonton	brains	Loango(Congo)	5
tonton	tumtum	ball of mashed cooked plantains, Surinamese version of fufu	Twi	2, *
trangayesi	n’aso ye de	stubborn, disobient. Literallly means “hard ears”. “N’aso ye de” (Twi) translates to “his ears are hard”	Twi	2
tutu	tutu	horn, trompet, messenger (Mende), flute (Kikongo(Angola))	Mende	2
tyagotyakon	ha sa kpa sa	a translation for tyagotyakon would be “bring come and carry go”, which is also how this expression is known in several parts of the Caribbean. “Ha sa kpa sa” is a Grebo expressions which can be translated to “brings news and gives news”. A “tyagotyakon” is a troublemaker	Grebo	2
tyo tyo (Sa)	tio	plant, name =Crotalaria pallida,,pinda	Mandinga (Ivory Coast)	7
tyuri	čipu (Wolof),ciipu/ciipuroo, kiifu (Mandinka), tsaki (Hausa), sioop (ibibio)	disapproving sound also known as suck teeth through out Africa and the African Diaspora	Wolof, Manidinka, Hausa , Ibibio	2
unu	unu	we, us, you (plural), your	Igbo	5,2
verekete	merging of two words, “vele” and “kete”	vele= earth, kete = sacred. The verekete is a Winti (Winti refers to the name of the traditional African Surinamese religious belief system. It’s also the name used for the spirits or deities within that religion).	Mina (Benin)	1, *
wiri	wi	hair or weed. (I was always under the impression that wi came from the English word weed)	Akan (Twi, Ewe, Fante, etc)	5, *
yaaba	yaaba	name for a girl born on a Thursday	Akan (Twi, Ewe, Fante, etc)	*
yamsi	nyam	Probably derived from the word nyam, but the European slavetraders thought it was the name of  the tuberous plant they ate		5,2
yanga	nyanga	dance, vanity	Mende	2
yao	yao	name for a boy born on a Thursday	Akan (Twi, Ewe, Fante, etc)	*
yayo	yayoo	to roam	Mandinka	2
yesi	esi	ear	Akan (Twi, Ewe, Fante, etc)	5
yeye	yeye	spirit	Akan (Twi, Ewe, Fante, etc)	5
yobo	oyibo, oyinbo	white person (less commonly used word than bakra, also on this list)	Nigeria	*

List of potential Sranan words with an African background

There are also words that I suspect could be of African origin. However, keep in mind, I’m not an expert, so I would need the help of the community and speakers of West and Central African language to possibly identify certain words.

Sranan	English translation	possible origin
ayo	In Suriname ayo can be an exclamation of happiness. Ayo is the Yoruba word for joy. In Suriname, ayo is also the informal name of one of the larger plantations in Suriname, used ever since slavery. I don’t think the enslaved would ever refer to a plantation as joyous, and therefore I’m hesitant to link this word with the Yoruba meaning. However, it still is noteworthy	Yoruba
bangarang	a “slutty” woman, see also banya
banya	a type of dance. Also known as banga in Jamaica according to Neijhorst (2008). The word “bangarang”, also listed here, is popularly known throughout the Caribbean as that signifying a “slutty” woman and could be derived from this word as to indicate a woman always frequenting banya dances?
bimba	Sranan name for Elephantiasis, a medical condition causing the enlargement and hardening of limbs or body parts due to tissue swelling.
bonu	aspect within the African Surinamese religion Winti. Once I’ve heard it explained by mevr E. Purperhart if I’m not mistaken, as to be derived from the french word bon. According to her, if you would do bonu, you were doing “something good”. In my opinion, the word sounds too “African” to be derived from a French word. But then again, I’m not an expert.
bori	to cook
brafu	instead of soup we sometimes say brafu, for example pindabrafu (peanutsoup), okrobrafu(okrasoup/stew). We also only add this word to soups from the African Surinamese cuisine.
dja-dja	real, big, true, strong. For example “Mi na wan dja-dja Srananuma” translates to “I am a true Surinamese woman”, see also kankan
dyugu-dyugu	chaos, trouble
fa	how, as in “Fa yu de? = How are you doing?”
foto	city. Now I can already hear the Surinamese reading this post thinking:’ “Foto” is derived from the word fort!’. Yes, I know that’s what the general consensus for the origin of this word is. However, just hear me out. In several West African countries (Senegal, Guinnee, Guinnee Bissau) there are several cities with the word futa or fouta as prefix for example Futa Toro, Futa Jallon etc. Futa is meant to signify the region they lived in. Is it possible that foto could be in fact derived from “futa”? Am I reaching here!? lol	Pulaar, Fulbe
furu	to steal, to not play fair
gagu	to stutter
gongote	banana porridge
liba	river. Is it possible that the word liba is derived from Joliba, the Mandinke name for the Niger river, one of the most important rivers of West and Central Africa, also called “the river of rivers” ?	Mandinke (Mali, Liberia)
kabra	In winti the kabra are the oldest Ancestral spirits. They are the ancestors that started the clan. Followers of Winti regularly hold a ceremony where they honor and  give offerings to their kabra, which is called a kabra tafra. Is it possible that this word and its origin are actually from Ancient Egypt? In his “African origins of civilization”, Cheikh Anta Diop quotes the writer Moret about the ancient Egyption methaphysical  beliefs Ka and Ba and I quote: “What was the role of the Ka and the Ba in ancient Egypt? Moret answers this question in Le  Nil et la civilisation égyptienne (p. 212):    The Ka, which united with the Zet, is a divine being that lives in the sky and does not appear until  after death. We were wrong to define it, with Maspero, as the double of the human body, living  with it, but leaving it at the moment of death, and being restored to the mummy by the Osirian  rites. The formula for the spiritualization of the king shows that while Horus purifies the Zet,  dematerializing it in the Basin of the Jackal, he purifies the Ka in another basin, that of the Dog….  Ka and Zet were thus separated … and had never lived together on earth…. In the texts of the Old  Kingdom, the expression “to pass to one’s Ka” means “to die.” Other texts specify that an essential Ka exists in the heavens. This Ka presides over one’s intellectual and moral forces; at the  same time, it purifies the flesh, embellishes the name, and gives physical and spiritual life… Once the two elements are united, Ka and Zet form the complete being who attains perfection.  This being possesses new properties which make of him an inhabitant of the heavens, called Ba  (soul?) and Akh (spirit?). The soul (Ba), represented by the bird Ba, with a human head, lived in  the heavens… As soon as the king is joined by his Ka, he becomes Ba…” Source: Diop, Cheikh Anta (1974), African Origins of Civilization. Lawrence Hill & Co.Chicago.	ancient egypt?
kankan	real, big, true, great, strong for example “Mi na wan kankan Srananuma” translates to “I am a true Surinamese woman”. See also dja-dja. An alternative name for Mansa Musa, the king of Mali and the richest man to ever have lived was Kankan Musa https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mansa_Musa	Mali
laku	a type of dance
lomé	Ewe founded capital city of the republic of Togo. In Suriname we have a Maroon village called (New) Lombé. It was common for newly escaped Maroons to name their village after villages and countries they had left behind in Africa	Ewe
masanga	house	Sierra Leone ?
mofina	humble
nomo-nomo	In French it’s coûte que coûte, which can be translated to “no matter the costs”. “Nomo-nomo” adds some persistence or extremity to the situation. For example, we can say : ‘Yu wan go na dorosei?/ Do you want to go outside?’. However, when we add nomo-nomo, we add some extremity or urgency: “Nomo-nomo, yu wan go na dorosei?!”, which expresses the following sentiment ” Why do you insist on going outside?!” or “Do you really need to go outside, right now, at this moment?!”
sani	thing	Igbo
takru	ugly
winti	According to  Van Andel et al (2014), the name of the plant “Kwinti” is derived from the Kru word or phrase “bla kuinle”, which means “to drive out sickness” (see listed). Is it possible that the word Winti isn’t derived from “wind”, as we believe in Suriname, but from this Kru word? The meaning of “bla kuinle” matches part of Winti’s purpose.

Other linguistic patterns

In Nigeria (mostly Yoruba) and Jamaica there’s something that’s called the “H” factor. The H-factor is when you add the letter H to a word that begins with a vowel, and/or remove the letter H from a word, to start the word the vowel after that letter H. In Sranan we have that too, albeit to a lesser extent. Some examples:

The English word hog has turned into agu, or hagu. Ask turned into aksi, or haksi. Head turned into ede. And there are many more examples. Just like with the word sabi, the same linguistic patterns happened even when speaking Creolized or pidgnenized European languages.

*1. There are various African Surinamese languages, which can overlap in certain instances, but which also have unique words and structures. If nothing is specified in the column than we can assume that the word is a Sranan word. For the others, the abbrevations are : Au = Aucan, Sa = Saramaccan, Pa = Paramaccan, Bo = Boni.

*2: Literary sources:

1. Jones, O. O., Moore, L. L., & Bridgforth, S. (2010). Experiments in a Jazz Aesthetic: Art, Activism, Academia, and the Austin Project (Louann Atkins Temple Women & Culture). University of Texas Press. Opgehaald van https://books.google.nl/books?id=mAzY6xNhFd0C&pg=PA260&lpg=PA260&dq=benin+ayi&source=bl&ots=bCMDN97C4t&sig=ACfU3U13xwraKXvS3vlqDLxj5OvE1pFgxA&hl=nl&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiUvMfzpp3qAhUP2aQKHYw4AWMQ6AEwAXoECAwQAQ#v=onepage&q=benin%20ayi&f=false

2.Neijhorst, J. H. (2008). Bigisma taki…Herkomst en betekenis van meer dan 3300 Surinaamse spreekwoorden (odo’s) en uitdrukkingen. Paramaribo. To purchase: https://www.bol.com/nl/f/bigisma-taki/33733038/

3.Organisatie voor gemeenschapswerk NAKS. (2013). MUZIEK is TAAL ‘Back to the roots, terug naar de bron’. Opgehaald van Organisatie voor gemeenschapswerk NAKS: http://nakssuriname.com/muziek-is-taal-back-to-the-roots-terug-naar-de-bron/

4.Philippa, M., Debrabandere, F., Quak, A., Schoonheim, T., & Van der Sijs, N. (2003). Pindakaas – (broodsmeersel van fijngemalen olienoten). Opgehaald van Etymologiebank: http://www.etymologiebank.nl/trefwoord/pindakaas

5.Suriname African Heritage. (2015, Januari 13). african-words-in-suriname-language. Opgehaald van Suriname African Heritage: https://surinameafricanheritage.wordpress.com/2015/01/13/african-words-in-suriname-language/

6.Suriname1800. (2011, Juni). Begrippenlijst. Opgehaald van suriname1800: https://suriname1800.wordpress.com/begrippenlijst/

7.Van Andel, T. R., Van ‘t Klooster, C. I., Quiroz, D., Towns, A. M., Ruysschaerte, S., & Van den Berg, M. (2014, December 16). Local plant names reveal that enslaved Africans recognized substantial parts of the New World flora. Opgehaald van PNAS: https://www.pnas.org/content/111/50/E5346

8.Van Maris, B. (2014, Februari 3). Rituele taal uit Suriname is 200 jaar geleden bedacht. Opgehaald van Werkgroep Caraïbische Letteren: https://werkgroepcaraibischeletteren.nl/rituele-taal-uit-suriname-is-200-jaar-geleden-bedacht/