Creolization - Dutch Islands of the Caribbean

 Continuing with the Creolization of the Caribbean islands, next we will learn a little about the Dutch islands of the Caribbean, this island has the official language Dutch. These islands conform to two groups:

The Dutch Windward Island is also called "SSS" due to the name of the islands that compose it, 

  • Saba, 
  • Sint Eustatius 
  • The southern part of the island of Saint Martin called Sint Maarten
The predominant language is English.

The Dutch Leeward Islands also called "ABC" for the islands of:

  • Aruba, 
  • Bonaire, 
  • Curaçao

The predominant language is Papiamento, a creole language formed by the mix of the Spanish language, words of Portuguese origin, the indigenous Arawak language, and African languages.

The Dutch islands have a great cultural mixture due to the relationship they had with the European powers during the colonization since they had a mixture with Spain, France, England, and Holland (colonizers) and with the African slaves and the natives of the islands. Below we show two examples of creolization in these Caribbean islands.

1 - Aruba

Creolization in the Dutch Caribbean islands is presented in the book "Tour de Force: A Musical Journey of the Caribbean", examples can be seen in the culture of Aruba.

The image shown below is of the Aruban composer Juan Chabaya, known as Padú del Caribe. This composer shows the cultural mix present on this island, in his compositions his characteristic the Caribbean and Dutch rhythms are observed. He ventured into genres such as merengue, dance, bolero, mambo, twist, rock & roll, and swing.

He wrote "Aruba Dushi Tera" with his friend Rufo Wever, a waltz that became Aruba's current national anthem and was long a rallying cry.


Source: (The Story of Aruban Living Legend Padu Del Caribe, n.d.)


The Dande is the true traditional Aruban music played to welcome the New Year. He was born around 1880 after the liberation of the slaves. The freed slaves began to play the tambu (drum that had been prohibited by the colonizers) and visited the homes of the island to wish them a happy new year. Below is a video that shows us the traditional music of Aruba.

Source: (cd baby, 2012)

In the video you can see that singing is Call- and- response between the singer and the group. You can also see the mixture of European, African, and indigenous musical instruments on the island. As are the guitars, the cuatro, accordion, tambu drum, maracas, and guiro.

2- Curaçao

The image below shows Pernell Saturnino, a Grammy Award-winning percussionist from the island of Curaçao. Currently, he owns a percussion school in Curaçao. His grandmother, great-uncle, and great-aunt participated in the origin and development of the Tambú folk rhythm. In his life as a musician, he learned rhythms from various countries such as Brazil, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Trinidad and Tobago. His music is an example of creolization, where the different rhythms of the Caribbean are mixed(Pernell Saturnino, n.d.).

Source:(50th Annual GRAMMY Awards, 2021)


The article "The “Seú” Celebration on Curaçao" shows a celebration that is deeply rooted in the history of Curaçao, The Seú, spring harvest festival. The word Seú comes from West Africa (the country of Guinea-Bissau) and means sky in the language of this country. The sky is fundamental in the celebration of Seú, since it is seen as the house of God, and it is worshiped and thanked for the harvest each year(The “Seú” Celebration on Curaçao | Landhuis Chobolobo, n.d.).

Soource:(Sharrel Adjatay, 2019)

In the video showing you can see the Seu festival and the presence of traditional musical instruments that were created with work tools such as the chapi (hoe) or the agan (a piece of iron or plowshare) and another such as kachu (horn of cow) or the tambú (drum) made with natural elements, and guitars and cuatro from Europe.


References

50th Annual GRAMMY Awards. (2021). Grammy.com. https://www.grammy.com/artists/pernell-saturnino/6096

cd baby. (2012, October 30). Grupo Di Betico - Dande. Www.youtube.com. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWeOOFKgUo8

Pernell Saturnino. (n.d.). Biblioteka Nashonal Kòrsou. Retrieved June 3, 2022, from https://bnkcuracao.com/audio/pernell-saturnino/

Sharrel Adjatay, D. (2019, May 19). Curaçao Seú 2019. Www.youtube.com. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0U42dPaZ7vs

The “Seú” Celebration on Curaçao | Landhuis Chobolobo. (n.d.). Www.chobolobo.com. Retrieved June 3, 2022, from https://www.chobolobo.com/articles/the-seu-celebration-on-curacao

The Story Of Aruban Living Legend Padu del Caribe. (n.d.). Biblioteka Nashonal Kòrsou. Retrieved June 3, 2022, from https://bnkcuracao.com/audio/the-story-of-aruban-living-legend-padu-del-caribe/


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