Songs In A Strange Land

Dates

2022 - Ongoing
Author

Michelle Piergoelam
Location Rotterdam, Netherlands

Songs In A Strange Land visualizes the stories of hope and resilience, providing a glimpse of these traditions during the years of slavery, with the code language hidden in work songs. It is about underexposed Afro-Surinamese stories during slavery.

The enslaved spent hours on the water rowing their boats: during that time they rehearsed new songs with critical comments about the masters. The songs are sung using a call-and-response technique where one person takes the lead and the rest respond. It was a new way to create cultural elements and feel powerful.

Songs in a Strange Land visualizes the stories of hope and resilience, providing a glimpse of these traditions during the years of slavery, with the code language hidden in work songs. It is about underexposed Afro-Surinamese stories during the time of slavery, where intangible cultural heritage comes to light. These stories and traditions, passed down from Africa to Suriname, and from generation to generation, allowed the enslaved to share their thoughts without the slave owner knowing what was really meant.

Project description:

The rivers of Suriname, on the rivers of Suriname

Sailed the enslaved with their ships
They rowed and saw the sun set below the horizon, the moon’s reflections ripple on the water

The rivers of Suriname, on the rivers of Suriname

They transported trade goods into town,
Surrounded by the scent of coffee and tabacco, they made their way through the current

The rivers of Suriname, on the rivers of Suriname

They sang a melodic sequence of call and response
Their songs of resilience and sorrow broke the silence of the night

On these rivers of Suriname

Dawn brought them hope for better lives
And their songs still echo on the rhythm of the water

© Michelle Piergoelam - Image from the Songs In A Strange Land photography project

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The enslaved in the field, the rowing slaves used to sing during their labor. One of them acted as a cantor, the so-called 'trokiman', who also struck the rhythm with his oar on the water. The rest of the enslaved sang a repetition or a chorus after each verse, giving it a typical African call-and-response song structure.

© Michelle Piergoelam - Image from the Songs In A Strange Land photography project

© Michelle Piergoelam - Image from the Songs In A Strange Land photography project

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The song could also be addressed to ancestors or gods and spirits. That is why, especially in earlier times, the Watramama, the mermaid-like water goddess, who lived at the bottom of the rivers, was one of the most important religious powers who should be stayed in good spirit.

© Michelle Piergoelam - Image from the Songs In A Strange Land photography project

i

The enslaved spent hours on the water rowing their boats: during that time they rehearsed new songs with critical remarks about the masters. The songs were sung using a call-and-response technique where one person takes the lead and the rest respond. It was a new way to create cultural elements and feel empowered.

© Michelle Piergoelam - Image from the Songs In A Strange Land photography project

© Michelle Piergoelam - Image from the Songs In A Strange Land photography project

© Michelle Piergoelam - The rivers of Suriname were used to transport all kinds of goods to the city such as coffee, tobacco, cocoa and cane sugar.

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The rivers of Suriname were used to transport all kinds of goods to the city such as coffee, tobacco, cocoa and cane sugar.

© Michelle Piergoelam - The rivers of Suriname were used to transport all kinds of goods to the city such as coffee, tobacco, cocoa and cane sugar.

i

The rivers of Suriname were used to transport all kinds of goods to the city such as coffee, tobacco, cocoa and cane sugar.

© Michelle Piergoelam - The rivers of Suriname were used to transport all kinds of goods to the city such as coffee, tobacco, cocoa and cane sugar.

i

The rivers of Suriname were used to transport all kinds of goods to the city such as coffee, tobacco, cocoa and cane sugar.

© Michelle Piergoelam - Image from the Songs In A Strange Land photography project

© Michelle Piergoelam - Image from the Songs In A Strange Land photography project

© Michelle Piergoelam - Image from the Songs In A Strange Land photography project

© Michelle Piergoelam - Image from the Songs In A Strange Land photography project

© Michelle Piergoelam - Image from the Songs In A Strange Land photography project

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In that time Suriname roads were unknown, except for Paramaribo. All plantations were built along rivers because that area had the most fertile soil. This meant that the rivers and creeks formed the roads. All transport took place by water. Hence, most plantations had their narrow side directly to the river, and continued inland, often several kilometers.

© Michelle Piergoelam - Image from the Songs In A Strange Land photography project

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The songs often contained all kinds of comments about enslaved lives, or specifically about (mis)behaviour of the plantation owner who - at that moment - was sitting in the deckhouse. Although the language and imagery of those songs were meaningless for the European people, the songs were not at all meaningless for the Afro-Surinam people.

© Michelle Piergoelam - Image from the Songs In A Strange Land photography project

© Michelle Piergoelam - Image from the Songs In A Strange Land photography project

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Strange as it may sound, rowing a tent boat was one of the many occasions the enslaved people took advantage of to sing together. This also happened, for instance, when the enslaved had to process (stomp) the harvested coffee beans, to pit the cotton, to hood the sugar canes and to dredge the ditches. In short, all kinds of labour activities containing a certain kind of rhythm.