The indigenous populations had their own traditions, particularly ritual dances. During the colonial period, new immigrant populations brought their dances from Europe, Africa and Asia. This was followed by an influx of musical styles and their corresponding dances from other regions:
lambada,
merengue, and
salsa from Latin America;
wining,
cadence rampa, and
reggae from the Caribbean; and
ballet and dances from various pop music styles of the Western world.
Indigenous At the end of the 20th century, there were around 20,000
indigenous Surinamese living in the country. From the initial colonization and subsequent evangelization, they have lost much of their intangible
cultural heritage. Their musical ensembles, typically of the
trios, were no longer allowed to use traditional instruments such as the flute. The rise of radio brought many young indigenous people into contact with pop music. Young
Caribs in eastern Suriname came under the influence of the French-Antillean
cadence rampa, while the
Arawaks switched almost entirely to
kawina music. During the 20th century, initiatives emerged to reverse the disappearance of indigenous culture, and also to revive old dances. In
karawasi and
pyjai music, the Carib dancers also stand in a circle, with music intended to put the dancers into a trance. The maraca and krawasi are also found among the
Wayanas. Due to evangelization, their cultural music had completely disappeared by the 20th century. The lost traditions were revived with help from Wayana populations in
French Guiana. Compared to the Caribs, the Wayana people traditionally observe longer periods of mourning: their practice consists of three days and nights of playing music and drinking, a week of sleep, and then a resumption of music for three consecutive days. In Suriname, Winti continued to develop with Christian and indigenous influences. An example of an indigenous element is the style of dancing while bending knees for
indji-winti (also
ingi-winti), Several original Winti dances also developed, such as the sekete among the
Saramaka, and the awasa and songé among the
Aukan, in which the dancers also make music by shaking instruments attached to their ankles. In the second half of the 19th century, various dance styles merged into the tuka style. Central to Winti is the belief in the supreme being, with each winti performing its own style of music and dance with a different character and color. The sokko and banja are important music and dance styles meant to evoke the spirits of ancestors. Each banja commences with praise of "Mother Earth". The ancient dance was performed primarily by dancers and, because of its beauty, was sometimes permitted and attended by plantation owners. Since 2003, an annual
Drageman Dey (Drageman Day) has been organized around 20 September for pallbearers; in 2015 and 2017, the event included a contest for the best pallbearers.
Chinese ,
Paramaribo, 2019
Chinese were the first group of contract laborers to enter Suriname to solve the shortage of workers resulting from the abolition of slavery. The
Chinese New Year is the annual event in which the Chinese culture is most visible to the other Surinamese population groups. The
dragon dance ushers in the festivities, joined by family gatherings with meals, lanterns, lots of fireworks, and other dances performed by groups on stage. The dragon dance is performed by a team of two or more dancers that imitate a dragon in a costume with bright colours. The ceremony is traditionally meant to scare away evil spirits and is performed by Chinese worldwide during nearly all special festivals. This tradition started during the
Han dynasty in the two centuries before
CE.
Indo-Surinamese Indo-Surinamese people brought
Hindustani music from North India (especially
Uttar Pradesh) to Suriname, which is one of the two main movements there besides
Carnatic music from South India. One of the Indo-Surinamese dances that came along is the Chokrá; it was originally performed with two male dancers, one of whom was dressed as a woman. This was chosen in India after it was decided that women could only dance for a select company or in temples. After only the man dressed as a dancer remained, the name was changed to
londa ke nác. Among young people, interest in this declined in the late 2010s, but it is still a popular dance. From the desire of Indo-Surinamese youth to dance and have fun, rather than listen to moralistic
baithak gana, the 20th century saw an increasing interest in
Bollywood films. Hindi-language
filmi music introduced styles such as disco and other pop, with a significant share for dance. Youths also established dance orchestras, which included Western instruments and performed various styles of music. and is also one of the dances performed in Marlène Lie A Ling's Folkloric Ensemble Paramaribo. Leading Surinamese dancers in this genre are Evita Issa, Namita Bhaggoe-Ajodhia and Sieske Rama, and it is generally performed by Indo-Surinamese. The North Indian
kathak is danced by Indo-Surinamese as well. The peasant dance nagara, which is danced to drums of the same name (nagaras), has virtually ceased to be popular in the early 2020s.
Javanese From the Dutch East Indies,
Javanese people brought the horse dance
Jaran Kepang. During the performance, the dancers sit on a stick horse woven from reeds. To the rhythm of
gamelan music, Javanese youths in Suriname at the end of the 20th century are also mainly interested in dance music styles, such as contemporary pop-Jawa, as well as local styles like Surinamese
kaseko and Caribbean
merengue, and less in styles of their ancestors, such as gamelan. including the set-dansi (related to the
quadrille) by artists such as Jopie Vrieze and George Schermacher. In 1952, the Cultural Center Suriname (CCS) established the country's first ballet school, and from 1973 ballet education continued through independent schools, where around a thousand students were enrolled by the mid-1970s. and since 1986 Surinamese ballet dancers have been performing internationally from Marlène's Ballet Company. One Surinamese form is the dogla style developed by Ilse-Marie Hajary. She blended jazz ballet with Afro-Caribbean movements and rhythms and added Indian movements with the hands, feet and head.
Developments and mixes The dances from the various population groups together formed the basis for new developments. This often went parallel with the development of musical styles such as bigi-poku, kawina and kaseko. Even after that, dances continued to develop across the board in Suriname. == Moengo Festival of Theatre & Dance ==