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Surinamese people

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Surinamese people
Total population
Circa 900,000
Regions with significant populations
 Suriname: 500,000
 Netherlands: 350,000
Languages
Dutch, Sranantongo
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.

Composition

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

Surinamese people in Suriname

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.

Surinamese people in the Netherlands

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.

Language

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.

Spoken language per household in Suriname, 2004
Language Most spoken home language Second home language Total coverage of the language
Number % Number % Number %
Dutch 57.577 46,6 29.163 23,6 86.740 70,3
Surinamese (Sranantongo) 11.105 9,0 45.634 37,0 56.739 46,0
Sarnami Hindoestani 19.513 15,8 8.121 6,6 27.634 22,4
Javanese 6.895 5,6 6.846 5,5 13.741 11,1
Maroon languages 18.797 15,2 2.493 2,0 21.290 17,2
Other languages 6.501 5,3 4.030 3,3 10.531 8,5
No second home language - - 23.754 19,2
Unknown 3.075 2,5 3.422 2,8
Total 123.463 100,0 123.463 100,0
Source: Seventh general population and housing census 2004, Algemeen Bureau voor de Statistiek

Dutch

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.

Surinamese or Sranantongo

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.

Overview

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

Religion

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

  1. ^ a b Joshua Project. "Joshuaproject.net". Joshuaproject.net. Retrieved 2010-03-28.
  2. ^ "Violence erupts in Surinam". Radio Netherlands Worldwide. December 26, 2009.
  3. ^ "Guyana: Caught in Brazil's Net?; Small Nation, New to Free Markets, Fears Loss of Its Identity". The New York Times. March 30, 2000.
  4. ^ Gert Oostindie en Emy Maduro, In het land van de overheerser - II - Antillianen en Surinamers in Nederland 1634/1667-1954 (KITLV; Leiden 1986)
  5. ^ Algemeen Bureau voor de Statistiek in Suriname: Geselecteerde Census variabelen per district (volkstelling 2004)
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