What’s in a name?

December 13, 2020.Reading time 18 minutes.

Even though a lot of historical records have been digitized, researching your Surinamese family history can still be tricky at times. For instance, the enslaved Africans in Suriname only received a family name upon manumission or emancipation. This makes digging through the slave registries still a very tricky process. You constantly have to check and […]

We preserved…!

September 25, 2020.Reading time 5 minutes.

In my post They connected…! I posted a list of Surinamese words that have an African origin. Of course Suriname isn’t the only country that has persevered and has managed to preserve Africa in all aspects of life. This post will focus on how Africa was preserved in the languages of the Diaspora. Take for […]

When the Motherland and the Diaspora meet (2)

August 28, 2020.Reading time 5 minutes.

Regular readers of my blog would know that I love black history and black culture. I love it when black people come together to create magic, and then in particular magic in the form of music. In the past I blogged about, what I called African Fusion songs, which were songs made out of some […]

They connected …! (2)

June 30, 2020.Reading time 6 minutes.

They Connected…!(2) Examples of African words in Suriname language

They connected…!

June 28, 2020.Reading time 58 minutes.

They connected…! A list of African words in African Suriname languages

Black people are like banana trees…

June 2, 2018.Reading time 7 minutes.

In Suriname there is an odo or saying: Mi na bana bon, o moro y’e trowe doti tap’ mi, o moro m’e fatu. Translation:

Africa’s best kept secret outside of Africa

June 25, 2017.Reading time 2 minutes.

As I have mentioned numerous times before on this blog,

Write it down, make it happen (II)

August 23, 2015.Reading time 4 minutes.

For the first part of the series, see here Since I love to travel and experience new cultures and traditions, these are the countries and places I’d like to visit some day:

Music is a wondrous thing!

August 21, 2015.Reading time less than 1 minute.

This song by the Nigerian artist Flavour is actually a remix of an older song by Cardinal Rex Lawson, a Nigerian musician from the 60tees. However, for his background rhythm Flavour used a Cuban melody that was first recorded in the 1930tees. This Cuban melody, a son pregón, is one of the most famous Cuban […]

When the Motherland and the Diaspora meet

July 21, 2015.Reading time 4 minutes.

First, let me start by saying that African people, whether we’re directly from the continent, from the Caribbean Diaspora, born somewhere in Europe, where ever, are one! In that sense, I don’t distinguish between our culture. Diverse as it is, it’s all African culture to me. With that said however,