Surinamese people: Difference between revisions

Surinamese people

Total population
Circa 900,000
Regions with significant populations
Suriname: 500,000  Netherlands: 350,000
Languages
Dutch, Sranan Tongo
Religion
Christianity (Roman Catholic, Protestants)
Related ethnic groups
Dutch people

Surinamese people are inhabitants of Suriname, who come from Suriname or people of Surinamese descent. Besides living in Suriname, many Surinamese people live in the Netherlands. Suriname has been a colony of the Netherlands for a long time and after independence in 1975, many inhabitants of Suriname went to the Netherlands. Early '80s, a second large group of Surinamese people came to the Netherlands. But even before independence there were already Surinamese people in the Netherlands.

The population of Suriname is a mixture of different ethnic groups:

• Amerindians, the original inhabitants of Suriname, form 3.7% of the population. The main groups being the Akuriyo, Arawak, Carib/Kaliña, Trío (Tiriyó), and Wayana. They live mainly in the districts of Paramaribo, Wanica, Maroni and Sipaliwini. ^[1]
• Hindoestanen form the largest major group at 27% of the population. They are descendants of nineteenth-century contract workers from India. They are from the Indian states of Bihar and Eastern Uttar Pradesh, in Northern India, along the Nepali border.
• The Surinamese Creoles form the middle group 18% of the population. They are the mixed descendants of West African slaves and Europeans (mostly Dutch).
• The Javanese (descendants of contract workers from the former Dutch East Indies on the island of Java, Indonesia) make up 15% (close to 90,000) of the population.^[1]
• Surinamese Maroons (descendants of escaped West African slaves) make up 15% and are divided into five main groups: Ndyuka (Aucans), Kwinti, Matawai, Saramaccans and Paramaccans.
• Mixed 12.5%
• Chinese, mainly descendants of the earliest nineteenth-century contract workers, 1.8% and number about 14,000.
• Boeroes (derived from boer, the Dutch word for farmer) are descendants of Dutch nineteenth-century immigrant farmers. Most Boeroes left after independence in 1975.
• Brazilians, many of them gold miners.^[2] Most of the nearly 40,000 Brazilians living in Suriname arrived during the past several years.^[3]

In the seventh census of Suriname 2004, relations between the major groups as follows:

• 27.4% Hindustani,
• 17.7% Creole
• 14.7% Maroons
• 14.6% Javanese (Southeast Asians)
• 12.5% Mixed descent
• 5% White
• 2% Chinese
• 2% Amerindian

Most of the 492.829 (2004) inhabitants live in the north of the country, in the districts of Paramaribo, Wanica and Nickerie. The least populated county is Sipaliwini, that most of the interior includes. More than half of the population lives in and around the capital.

Approximately 350,000 Surinamese people live in the Netherlands, which many left Suriname around independence in 1975 after the military coup of 1980 or after the December murders on 1982. In the '90s of the 20th century, Surinamese people emigrated to the Netherlands because of the then poor economic situation in Suriname. Most Surinamese people in the Netherlands have a Dutch passport and the bulk has been successfully integrated into Dutch society. For the Surinamese society meant that an exodus sensitive bloodletting: under the skilled emigrants was much context and only a handful of them came back later. This had a huge brake on many areas (brain drain).

These were not the first Surinamese people in the Netherlands. In the colonial area there has always been migration between the Netherlands and Suriname. Initially this was mainly the colonial elite, from the twenties and thirties were less fortunate Surinamese people looking for a better education, employment or a music career to the Netherlands.^[4]

Six percent of the Chinese people in the Netherlands are from Suriname. Most of them are Hakka people.

In Suriname are no less than twenty languages spoken. Most Surinamese people are multilingual. In terms of numbers of speakers are the main languages in Suriname successively the Dutch language, the Surinamese language, the Sarnami Hindustani (Surinamese Hindi), the Javanese language, the different Maroon Languages (especially Saramaccan) and the Chinese language. Since most Surinamese people are multilingual (for instance the Dutch and Surinamese language), it is not easy for people to share in a particular language group.

According to the results of the seventh general population and housing census, which was held in 2004 in Suriname, Dutch is the most spoken home language in Suriname. In over 70% of households is Dutch spoken as the first or second language. Sranantongo is 46% of households speaking primarily as a second language, in more than 22% Sarnami Hindustani and Javanese in 11% of households. Remarkably, the bilingualism of the Surinamese households, almost 80% is half spoken language.

The official language of Suriname is Dutch, certainly in the coastal area is dominated by almost anyone and has become the main home language. That is the reason why Suriname is a member of the Dutch Language Union. According to a language research, on the occasion of the accession on behalf of the Language Union was carried out, is Dutch for 60% of the Surinamese people the first language. In the interior is the Dutch hardly spread.

Dutch is used by the government, in education, marketing, the media and in everyday life as well as writing.

The lingua franca is Sranan Tongo, which literally means 'Surinamese language'. It was originally the language of the Creole population, but also by many other Surinamese people understood and spoken (an estimated 90% of the Surinamese population can speak the language). Surinamese is linguistically a creole language, mainly a spoken language and written language is hardly used. The last 10 years there have been increases in the written use. There is also a growing literature in Sranan Tongo.

An overview of the languages spoken in Suriname, with the number of native speakers (rough estimate, double counting by two-or multilingualism)

• Language of Asia
  • Sarnami Hindustani (150,000), Surinamese variant of the Caribbean Hindustani, which emerged from and is related to the Indo-Aryan Bihari languages, especially Bhojpuri, spoken in the current India se states Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
  • Javanese (60,000)
  • Chinese (12,000)
  • Lebanese-Arabic (small number of speakers)

• Creole languages:
  • Surinamese or Sranan Tongo (120,000)
  • Saramaccan (12,500)
  • Matawai (2000).
  • Aucan or Ndyuka (15,500), including Paramaccan and Boni or Aloekoe
  • Kwinti (small number of speakers)
• Languages of America, divided into three language families:
  • The Karaïben, the Kalina or Karaïbisch (2000), the Trio and Wayana (together 600 speakers)
  • Arowak languages: Lokono (Arowaks, 1200)

• Language of Europe
  • Dutch (300,000)
  • English, mainly as a second language
  • Brazilian Portuguese, an estimated 40,000 speakers.

In the seventh census of Suriname 2004, the relationship between the religions as follows^[5]:

• 40.7% Christianity, of which about half Roman Catholic and half Protestant
• 19.9% Hinduism (Sanatana Dharma and Arya Samaj)
• 13.5% Islam (Sunni and Ahmadiyya)
• 5.8% Traditional and other religions
• 4.4% No religion
• 15.7% No data