SURINAME: MUSIC AND DANCE

Music in Suriname is a reflection of its people: coming from different origins, mixing together and creating something new, telling the story of its past and future.

Carlo Jones & the Surinam Kaseko Troubadours

One of the styles that Suriname is most known for is called Kaseko. This particular style is a mix of Indian and Caribbean traditions. Most likely, the term stemmed from the French phrase casser le corps, which means “break the body,” referring to a type of fast dance that was practiced during slavery times. This style of music is built on top of a very complex rhythmic percussion base, mainly with snare drums and a large bass drum called a skratji. However, they also used trumpets, trombones, and saxophones. A vocal form of music that rose around the end of slavery is called kawina. Kawina falls under the call-and-response style and also uses a lot of the instruments similar to kaseko.

A unique style of dance music stemmed from Suriname based on the music that the Indian community brought with them. And when they came, they brought along many of their native instruments with them, such as the tabla, sitar, tassa drums, and other percussion instruments like the dhantal and the dholak. A genre of music that merged these traditional Indian styles with those of the Caribbean they called Baithak Gana. Indian-based music eventually became so popular through the efforts of some key musicians, such as Dropati who was often referred to as the Mother of Baithak Gana.  

There are a couple of dances that are popular in Suriname that stem from their African roots. One dance is a Saamaka-style dance called Seketi. Originally a spiritual dance used to put the dancer in a trance, it’s now often performed as a way to greet visitors and tourists. Sometimes the Seketi dance is also done during church as a way to show praise. The Awassa dance is a storytelling dance. It also relies on several kinds of drums and percussion instruments to accentuate the movements. The kwa kwa and apinti drums are often used as accompaniment, although there may be some others. The dancers themselves tie shakers called kawai around their ankles. These shakers are usually made from the dried shells of fruits.
 

There were a few Surinamese artists that I listened to. The first was Damaru. His song “Mi Rowsu (Tuintje In Mijn Hart)” was popular in both Netherlands and Suriname and won some awards. I thought the song was pretty catchy, in a reggae/Caribbean style.

Another singer I came across is Ruth Jacott. She was born in Paramaribo, but moved to the Netherlands when she was nine. She ended up representing the Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest and won some other contests as well. I think she spans several genres, but I can totally imagine that her works would fall under “adult contemporary” from what I’ve heard. It also incorporates various Caribbean styles, Latin pop, dance, and some other styles.

I also took a listen to Oscar Harris & The Twinkle Stars. They were popular in the 1970s, and they certainly had that sound. Their style bordered on folk rock, and they sing in English, even though like so many other musicians, he was born in Suriname but moved to the Netherlands. I think their style of rock reminds me a bit of Jim Croce, although not in the voice.

Up next: the food