Paramaccan people#language
{{Short description|Maroon ethnic group of northeast Suriname}}
{{Infobox ethnic group
|group = Paramaccan
|image = File:Bijeenkomst onder een paalwoning in Langetabbetje in Suriname De Nederlandse vl, Bestanddeelnr 252-6713.jpg
|caption = Meeting under a pole dwelling in Langatabiki (1947)
|total_year = 2014
|total_source = estimate
|total = 11,000
|region1 = Paramacca, Suriname
|pop1 = 4,300
|region2 = Urban French Guiana
|pop2 = 3,900
|rels = Christianity, Winti
|langs = Paramaccan
|related = Ndyuka
}}
{{Infobox official post
| post = {{lang|djk-pamaka|Granman}}
| body = the Paramaccan people
| image =
| incumbent = Jozef Misajere Forster{{cite news|url=https://www.waterkant.net/suriname/2020/02/24/pamaka-stam-heeft-nieuwe-granman/|title=Pamaka stam in Suriname heeft nieuwe granman|website=Waterkant|language=nl}}
| incumbentsince = 2020
| residence = {{lang|djk-pamaka|Langatabiki}}
}}
The Paramaccan or Paramaka (French: Pamak{{cite web|url=https://www.populationsdeguyane.fr/peuples/pamak/ |title=Pamak|website=Populations de Guyane|access-date=20 July 2020|language=fr}}) are a Maroon tribe living in the forested interior of Suriname, mainly in the Paramacca resort,{{cite web|url=https://www.suriname.nu/175alg/sipaliwini01.html|title=Distrikt Sipaliwini|access-date=23 May 2020|language=nl|website=Suriname.nu}}{{cite web|url=http://regionaldevelopment.gov.sr/actueel/2019/paamaka-en-ndyuka-leggen-grens-vast/|title=Paamaka en Ndyuka leggen grens vast|website=Regional Development.gov.sr|access-date=23 May 2020|language=nl}} and the western border area of French Guiana. The Paramaccan signed a peace treaty in 1872 granting the tribe autonomy.
Overview
The administrative centre for the tribe is located in Snesiekondre,{{cite news|url=https://www.starnieuws.com/index.php/welcome/index/nieuwsitem/2215|title=Bestuurscentra Sipaliwini bouwtechnisch opgeleverd|access-date=23 May 2020|language=nl|website=Star Nieuws}} but the main village of the resort is Langatabiki which is also the residence of the {{lang|djk-pamaka|granman}} (paramount chief) of the Paramaccan people.{{cite web|url=https://www.planningofficesuriname.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/STRUCTUUR-ANALYSE-IV.pdf|title=Planning Office Suriname - Districts|website=Planning Office Suriname|language=nl|access-date=23 May 2020}} The tribe controls 13 villages in Suriname,{{sfn|Plan Bureau|2014|p=169}} and the village of Providence in neighbouring French Guiana.{{cite journal|last1=Mallé|first1=Marie-Pascale|url=https://journals.openedition.org/insitu/2373 |title=Les maisons des Noirs marrons de Guyane|journal=In Situ|year=2004|series=Le patrimoine rural|volume=2004 #5|issue=5|page=4|doi=10.4000/insitu.2373|doi-access=free}}
The total population in 2014 was estimated at 11,000 people with 4,300 people living in the tribal areas in Suriname, and 1,000 living in the interior of French Guiana.
History
The Paramaccans were runaway slaves from the Handtros or Entros plantation who fled around 1830.{{sfn|Marten|Schalkwijk|2018|p=3}} In 1856, the August Kappler reported that the tribe had established villages near the Paramacca Creek.{{sfn|Marten|Schalkwijk|2018|p=19}} In 1872, they had signed a peace treaty with the Dutch colony giving the tribe autonomy,{{sfn|Marten|Schalkwijk|2018|p=19|loc={{sp}}|ps=:"Original publication:Koloniaal Verslag van 1872 page 543"}} and Frans Kwaku, the leader of the expedition to Paramaribo, was officially appointed granman by the Governor.{{sfn|Marten|Schalkwijk|2018|p=19}} In 1879, a group of about 90 Paramaccans led by Apensa created a settlement on an island in the Marowijne River near the mouth of the Paramacca Creek. The town was named {{lang|djk-pamaka|Langatabiki}} (Long Island).{{Cite web|title=Encyclopaedie van Nederlandsch West-Indië - Page 155 - Boschnegers|website=Digital Library for Dutch Literature|url=https://www.dbnl.org/tekst/benj004ency01_01/benj004ency01_01.pdf|date=1916|access-date=20 July 2020|language=nl}} During the Surinamese Interior War, the Paramaccans sided with the Jungle Commando,{{sfn|Thoden van Velzen|1988|p=215}} which resulted in a large migration to French Guiana.
Language
{{anchor|language}}
Paramaccan is also the eponymous term for their language, which is English-based{{sfn|Borges|2014|p=124}} with influences from Dutch, African languages,{{sfn|Borges|2014|p=167}} and other languages. It is similar to the languages spoken by the Ndyuka and Kwinti, and mutually intelligible with Sranan Tongo.{{cite web|title=Syntactic Developments in Sranan|url=https://www.dbnl.org/tekst/aren012synt01_01/aren012synt01_01_0003.php|website=Digital Library for Dutch Literature|author=Jacques Arends|date=1989|access-date=20 July 2020}} Paramaccan is the youngest of the Surinamese pidgin languages.{{sfn|Borges|2014|p=187}} The language had an estimated 2,000 to 3,000 speakers in 1991.{{cite web|url=https://www.suriname.nu/302ges/archi169.html|title=Languages of Surinam|website=Suriname.nu|access-date=20 July 2020}}
Villages
- Langatabiki (Suriname)
- Lokaloka (Suriname)
- Nason (Suriname)
- Providence (French Guiana)
- Snesiekondre (Suriname)
See also
Brother Mambo: Finding Africa in the Amazon, JD Lenoir with Phil Ceder (Kutukutu), Black Rose Writer, 2022.
References
{{Reflist}}
Bibliography
- {{cite thesis |last1=Borges |first1=Robert |year=2014 |title=The Life of Language. Dynamics of language contact in Suriname |url=https://www.lotpublications.nl/Documents/348_fulltext.pdf |location=Utrecht |publisher=Radboud University Nijmegen }}
- {{Cite conference|title=Conference on Slavery, Indentured Labour, Migration, Diaspora and Identity Formation.|last1=Marten|first1=J.|last2=Schalkwijk|first2=W.|date=19 June 2018|publisher=Anton de Kom University|url=https://lsil2017.files.wordpress.com/2018/06/schalkwijk-marten-the-pamaka-tribe-in-suriname.docx}}
- {{cite web|last1=Plan Bureau| url=https://www.planningofficesuriname.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/STRUCTUUR-ANALYSE-IV.pdf|title=Planning Office Suriname - Districts 2009-2013|website=Planning Office Suriname|year=2014|language=nl}}
- {{cite web|url=http://rjh.ub.rug.nl/index.php/sogi/article/download/20137/17609 |title=De Brunswijk-opstand: Antropologische kanttekeningen bij de Surinaamse burgeroorlog|website=University of Groningen|last=Thoden van Velzen|first=Bonno| date=1988|language=nl|publisher=Sociologische Gids}}
{{Ethnic groups in Suriname}}
{{Ethnic groups in French Guiana}}{{Maroons}}{{DEFAULTSORT:Paramaccan People}}