Unlike Kwakoe in the Netherlands, Surinamese in America have a big gathering one day a year; Sranan Dei. What once started as a fun family day has grown into a fixed annual gettogether that many Surinamese look forward to. It is clear why.
Unlike Kwakoe in the Netherlands, Surinamese in America have a big gathering one day a year; Sranan Dei. What once started as a fun family day has grown into a fixed annual gettogether that many Surinamese look forward to. It is clear why.
Famous Boxer Joval light weight champion is a well-known figure in the Sranan Dei Traditional costume from Suriname
It feels like Independence Day or Keti-Koti in Paramaribo. Families come from far and wide to see friends from the distant past, to eat pom, to drink orgade and of course to dance that pokoe. Instead of the old potluck, where everyone brings food and everyone eats from each other, you can now buy all kinds of popular Surinamese dishes. At ten o'clock people start greeting each other to set up the first stalls. A good spot is of course important for sales. Even before all the stalls are there, the first visitors start walking in and slowly but surely it gets busier. The sun shines almost as brightly as in Suriname when the first band from Miami starts playing at two o'clock.
Rivox from fawaka.net is a very well known one. Also visit his website
Angela Reingoud from the Suriname League who decorated Marro's board.
The first generation of Surinamese in America forms a close-knit group. Angela Reingoud of The Suriname American League, for example, specially set up a board for Marro, a loyal Sranan Dei supporter who could not be there for the first time because he was in a coma. Friends of Marro respectfully stood by the board to look at the photos and other old memories and then added their memories to the collage.
Of course I picked out the nappies. Doesn't this teen have gorgeous hair?
This day is not only looked forward to because it is simply fun, but especially because Surinamese people in the US are not as visible in society as they are in the Netherlands, for example. You don't come across another sranamang overnight and you can't get a bami or a soato like in Amsterdam. It is all the more fun to meet your own people again after a year of hard work, while you can enjoy the delicious Surinamese cuisine and the pleasant Surinamese music. The atmosphere was therefore good. The whole event radiated warmth and it seemed as if everyone was laughing.
Eartha from the Netherlands, Alana, student of the Business School of New York
The day was led to a dazzling climax to the sounds of the second Surinamese-New York band that started playing at four o'clock. There was laughter, story-telling, eating and dancing everywhere. And believe me, the hips and legs were really loosened. When the band traditionally plays the last song Wai Anisa, the handkerchiefs are waved with gusto. People are a bit dazed when the song is really over, but the park has to be cleared by nine o'clock. Next year again.
On the left Rosie King and in the middle Vernon from the organization Wi Sani this is literally a happy nappy family