CREOLIZATION
ANDTHELESSONS
OFA
WATERGODDESS
INTHEBLACK
ATLANTIC
Aux vnN SlpRlReN
Universidodede Roterdào
In recent yearscreolization has been employed by anthropologists and sociologists
to describethe effectsof globalization.' This was particularly stimulated by the
work of the Swedishanthropologist Ulf Hannerz.In a much-quoted article in the
late 1980s, he described the worldwide cultural interaction resulting from
globalization as a'world in creolization'.' He, and a growing number of researchers
in his wake, have employed this concept to describe contemporary cultural
innovations resulting from global interactive processes.It is also increasinglyusedas
a term in the post-modern preferencefor hybridity. The renowned sociologist
Stuart Hall has referred to the 'aestheticsof creolization' and the anthropologist
Vertovechas noted that contemporary cultural phenomena'are more globalized,
cosmopolitan and creolized or hybrid than ever'.,
Creolization, in their vision, is a kind of hybrid mixture that increasinglybinds
the world together.This hasbeen accompaniedby the abandonmentof what social
scientistsonce referred to as cultural essentialismand the desirefor authenticitv
' See,for example,f. Fabian,'Popularculture in Africa: findings and conjectures';Africa 48:4( 1978),or
H.G. Siebers,Creolizationand Modernizationat the Peiphery: The Caseof the Q'echi'esof Guatemala(phD
diss.Nijmegen 1996).
'Hannerz(1987).
I Stuart Hall (1991:39);Vertovecquoted in Cohen(7997:128).
In his analysisof the Black AtlanticPaul
Gilroy ( 1993:46)eloquentlyrejects'ethnic absolutism'and pleadsfor the creativityof'creolization,métissage,
mestizajeand hybridity'.This is takento impassionedheightsin SalmanRushdie'sdefenceof SatanicVerses,in
which óe term creolization does not in fact occur: 'lf the Sannic Versesis an hing, it's a migrantt-eye view
of the world. It is written from the very experienceof uprooting, disjuncture and metamorphosis (slow or
rapid, painfirl or pleasurable)that is the migrant condition, and from which, I believe,can be derived a
metaphor for all humanity [...] The Satanic Versescelebrateshybridity, impurity, intermingling, óe
transformation that comesof new and unexpectedcombinations of human beings,cultures, ideas,polidcs,
movies,songs.It rejoicesin mongrelization and fearsthe absolution of the Pure.Mélange,hotchpotch, a bit of
this and a bit of that is how newnessenters the world. It is the great possibility that massmigràtion givesto
the world, and I havetried to embraceit. The SatanicVerses
is for change-by-fusion,
change-by-conjoining.
It
is alove song to our mongrel selves'(Rushdie1991:394),In descriptionslike this ofpost-colonial, póstmodern identity, creolization represents'asyncreticprocessoftransverse dynamicsthat endlesslyreworks and
transforms the cultural patterns of varied social and historical experiencesand identities. The cultural
patterns that result from this "crossbreeding"(or cross weaving) undermine any academicor political
aspirationfor unitary origins or authenticity'(Balutansky& Sourieau1998:3).
8+
:
when discussingnon-Westerncultures.Culturesare now generallyviewed as'work
in progress',in which growing numbers seecreolization playing a central role. But
what kind of phenomenon is this?
I will not go into the etymology of the term creole, nor on its socio-historical
developmentin the Americas,where criollo/crioulo/creolearoseas a term in the
sixteenth century to denote everything and everyoneborn in the Americas which
was not originally indigenous.However,it was not until the late nineteenth century
that the term was used in an active sense,creolization, by linguists who used it to
describe the linguistic genesisof completely new languagesin the Caribbean as a
result of socio-cultural interaction between Africans, Europeansand Amerindians
since the first daysof the transatlantic slavetrade.
Here they found complete, recently createdlanguagesand discovereda kind of
laboratory situation in which every phase and aspect of the entire processof
languageformation, transformationand acquisition,even'languagedeath'could be
examined.n Indeed the study of creole languages- known as creolistics - has
become a separateand not unimportant branch of linguistics which has seen a
number of hard-fought debatesover the years.' This focus on creole languagesled
gradually to a shift in interest from creoleitself to the processof becoming creole,or
creolization. While for a long period this retained a specifically Carribean
connotation, the results of this researchacquired increasinglyuniversal dimensions
as the linguistic analysesbecamemore abstract and model-oriented.
The three debates in creolistics of particular relevance to research on
creolization focus on simple, yet fundamental issues:how and where do creole
languagesevolve;how fast is the processand when does it end; and what is the
principal impetus for the development of a creole language.By replacing the word
languagewith culture it is possible to extrapolate these linguistic questions to
culture in general,resulting in the following.
n Apart from various dictionariesof languagesspokenby slavesand their descendants
in various
countries,the earliestlinguistic study was probably by I.l. Thomas on the Trinidad dialect,The Theoryand
Practiceof CreoleGrammar(London 1869).
' The use in the Atlantic areaof the term'Creole' or creolelanguageto describewhat were originally
thought ofas bastardisedEuropeanlanguagesdatesfrom the seventeenthcentury (Chaudenson1977:273).
Examplesoccur in variousCaribbeancoloniesin the eighteenthcentury of writers with more than a passing
interestin the structure of the local creolelanguage,which increasedin the nineteenthcentury (e.g.l.M.
Magen, Grammaticaover det Creolskesprogof 1770 and.f.f. Thomas'sstudy on the Trinidad dialect, The
Theoryand Practiceof CreoleGrammarof 1869).Yet creolistics,the study of the processof creolization,is
generallythought to havebegun at the closeof the nineteenthand start of the twentieth century,especially
following the studiesby Schuchardt,Hesselingand fespersen(SeeReinecke1977;MeyerandMuysken1977;
PIag1995:17).In the 1930sthe study ofpidginization and creolizationbecamea seriousaspectoflinguistics,
albeit somewhat marginal. The foundation of an international researchcentre for Creole studies at the
Universityof the WestIndies in Jamaicaand the organisationof the First InternationalConferenceon Creole
LanguageStudiesin 1959representeda definitive academicbreakthroughfor creolistics.Sincethen, it has
acquiredits own respectableplace in linguisticsand has proved especiallyvital for the theory of language
formation (Reinecke 1977:viii). Recentdebateson creolistics are discussedin Hymes (1971),Valdman
(1977),Woolford&Washabaugh(1983),Byrne& Holme (1993),Arends(1995).
CREOLIZATION
ANDTHELESSONS
OFA WATERGODDESS
INTHEBLACK
ATLANTIC
85
Depending on the degree of power imbalance andlor numeric or other
demographic discrepancybetween groups ignorant of each others culture, the
processof creolization is precededby the emergenceof a so-calledpidgin. This
rudimentary contact language (culture) has limited use and consists of a highly
simplified and reducedlinguistic system,in our casethereforea cultural behavioural
or social system;the native culture remains dominant. As contacts develop from a
sudden clashbetweendifferent cultures of which at leastone is outside of its original
environment, power becomesunevenly distributed and, depending on the socialpsychologicaldistancefrom the dominant group, creolization may begin. If that
distance is relatively small, a shift towards the dominant culture will take place,
eventually resulting in the disappearanceof the pidgin. In linguistics this is
describeddramaticallyas'languagedeath'so that we could adopt the term'culture
death'.uIf, however,the distancefrom the dominant culture is great,then a genuinely
new culture may emerge.t This occurs when subsequentgenerationsare no longer
able to maintain their forebears'primary culture. The pidgin then becomestheir
primary culture. When this happensit necessarilyexperiencesa rapid expansion;it
no longer servesa limited purpose and has to accommodateevery aspectof life. '
The speedof this processis the subjectof considerablediscussion.Someclaim that
the transition from pidgin to creoleis completedwithin a singlegeneration,basedon
the universalprinciple of language(c.q.culture) acquisition,the so-calledbioprogram
innate to every child.' Today,linguists who take social and historical circumstances
into account increasinglyagreethat, whatever the context, creolization is far more
gradual, sometimes taking as long as two centuries, and that the speed differs in
different segmentsof the language(c.q.culture). Bilingualism (c.q.bi-culturalism) can
thereforecontinue for severalgenerations,although steadilydeclining.'0
6 In fact Warner-Lewiswarns againstbeing too quick to refer to languageor culture death,as is often
done with West African languagesin the Caribbean.Despitethe cultural rigidity of the slavesystem,
conditionsexistedfor the survival of African languagesand culturesin the New World. Moreover,all
migrants carry and transmit various parametersof knowledgeand conditioned motorial skills through
memoriesand somatic behaviour.'The assumptionthat African languagesdied out once a slavewas
"seasoned"derivesultimately from racistpremisesthat dissociateAfricans from culture, cultural loyalty,an
affectivebeing,and intellect' (Warner-Lewis1996:212-3).
'The role played by social-psychologicaldistancehas emergedparticularly in researchinto second
languageacquisition (T2) among Turks in Germany.This description is largely basedon Voorhoeve&
Lichtveld(1975:273); Charry ( I 983:I 9-20); Wekker( I 989a:4).
6 Pidgin is the product of inTER-action between different cultures, creolization is the subsequent
processof inTRA-action,inwardly directedinteraction,forming a senseof communiry rules and structure.
Wherea largedistanceseparates
the dominant culture,inTRÁ-actionwill alsobe substantialand creolization
extensive;and vice versa.Somelinguists describethis as'focusing'- various aspectsof form and content
dominate in the formation of a new culture basedon the direction in which the group identity develops,
whether a Europeanor an A-fricandirection (LePage1977:239;Miiblháusler1995:245).
e This is known as the LanguageBioprogram Hypothesis(LBH), propagatedby Derek Bickerton (see
e.g.Roofsof LanguagaAnn Arbor, 1981).
refersto a'differential(as
'oSeePlag(1995),Arends(1995),Chaudenson(1992).Arends(1993:374-5)
opposedto monolithic) process'of creolization.That is, divergentratesof creolizationfor different aspects
of the process,dependingon the degreeof conflict oÍ acceptancea particular innovation receivesfrom the
ALEX
8ó
.
Finally, the debateabout the structure and direction of the creolization process
focuseson whether creolization is a merger of different language (c.q. culture)
systems or a compilation or combination of languages (c.q. cultures) (see
Chaudenson L992:47ff.). This discussion has also spilled over into the social
sciences,although it has hardly led to the kind of further refinement or theoretical
substructure developedin the field of linguistics. Among linguists the discussionis
known as the substratum-versus-superstratumdebate.In the caseof the Carribean,
the question is whether Africa or Europe dominated the formation of the creole
language(c.q. culture) and whether, and if so how this has shifted in the continuum
between the two extremesof the socially-deprivedAfrican pole and the dominant
European pole, known as the prestigeor target language(c.q. culture). Where a
languageshift occurs towards the social and economically dominant extreme this is
known as decreolization.With a little effort this processcan be quantified and
measured,although in practicethe situation is rather lesspredictable.Thus it has
becomeevident that it is not just the languagethat operateson a continuum, this
applies equally to the speakers.What is measuredtherefore dependsto large extent
on the context (DeCamp 1977,WinfoÀ 1994).Varying demographic patterns,
power imbalances,social differencesand distinctions between cultural segmentsall
play a role (seeAlleyne 1988, 1994). Moreover, the relatively simple continuum is
actually made more complex by the presenceof other cultures than the African and
European - such as indigenous and Asian cultures - as well as the'global culture'
that plays an increasinglymajor role. Languageshifts, and in our caseculture shifts,
are therefore not by definition decreolization; they may equally point to
recreolization, for example under the influence of cultural nationalism, or a new
phase of progressivecreolization. At the same time, the discussion also has an
ideological dimension. After all, as some have noted, the fact that it is taken for
granted that the European extreme is the superstratum, prestige or target language
(c.q. culture), suggestsat least a degreeof Euro-centrism (Warner-Lewis 1996:209).
The creolecontinuum model that Ulf Hannerz adoptedin the 1980shas been
presentedin growing numbers of publications as the ideal concept to describeand
analysethe expanding cultural connections and networks of today's increasingly
globalized world. In the functioning and positioning on this creole continuum, a
central factor is power imbalance,generallyreferred to in terms of the relation
between the centre and the periphery. Yet, remarkably, creolization is also used to
describe cultural interaction and merging, even by Hannerz, as illustrated by his
groupsconcerned.Thus Arendsconcludesthat with Sranan,which many linguistsconsiderone of the most
interesting creole languages,creolization is more a question of secondlanguageacquisition in a process
extendingover one or two centuries(Arends 19932374-5).Ina higtrlypractice-orientedcomment on the
rapid-versus-gradualcreolization debateWarner-Lewis(1996:194)noted that it is sometimesdifÊcult to
determinewhether a person is a secondor fourth generationcreolespeaker,dependingon the paternalor
maternal line. Moreover, she continues,it should not be forgotten that the generationalsequencefrom
pidgin to mature creole languageis highly schematic,since in everydaylife the generationsobviously mixed
and communicated with eachother.
INIHEBLACK
CREOLIZATION
ANDTHELESSONS
OFA WATERGODDESS
ATLANTIC
:87
remark that'[a]long the entire creolizing spectrum, from First World metropolis to
Third World village, [...] a conversation between cultures goes on' (Hannerz
1987:555).In this sense,creolization is therefore more a continuing intercultural
conversation- although within the asymmetry of centre-periphery relations - than
a description of confrontation and struggle.
This leavesthe term creolization in a romantic - or perhaps politically
-'learn-so-much-from-each-other'
kind of world. Yet the reality is quite
correct
different. In fact, and more importantly here, the discussionsin creolisticsprovide
plenty of suggestionsfor alternativeoptions to the useof terms such as'harmonious
mixture'in this analysis.For example,the emergenceof pidgin and creolelanguages
depends totally on an unequal demographic and power balance,and on a socialpsychologicaldistancefrom the dominant power. Moreover, the use of terms such
as decreolization, differentiated creolization and language death in linguistics is
more suggestiveof an erratic processof struggle, selection and survival, than of a
relatively harmonious intercultural conversation.Some aspectsof this processare
well illustrated by the history of the water goddessof Suriname and WestAfrica.
Africanwatergoddesses
Gods and especially goddessesassociatedwith water occur in many cultures
acrossthe world and sometimesdisplay remarkable similarities. Where this is most
evident is in the African cultures on either side of the Atlantic Ocean - a logical
consequenceof the shared history of the slavetrade and slavery,with its resultant
forms of cultural interaction.
The evolution of the pan-African vision of water goddessesinto a mermaid-like
creature is often attributed to the existencein both Carribean and West African
waters of manatus that occasionallysurfaceunexpectedlyand the female of which,
especiallywhen seenby moonlight, is reminiscent of the human form (Salmons
1977:8,Wendl 1991:105).It hasalsobeen suggested
that the appearanceoffthe West
African coast of European ships with imposing figureheadsof mermaids and other
mythological figures contributed to the development of the image too (Salmons
1977:8,Drewal 1988b:104,Wendl l99I:I02-5, Kramer 1993:227).And naturally,
European folklore, related by sailors,would also have had an influence.
Both in the Carribean and the African vision, the water goddessis describedas
an extremely attractive, immeasurablywealthy mermaid-like woman with long,
generally smooth hair and a relatively light skin residing in a paradisiacal
underwater world. Somehave suggestedthat this representsthe ultimate reversalof
the everydayreality of her adherents(Wendl I99I:I2-4, Kramer 1993:226-39).
Sometimesthe goddessabducts people in or on the water and brings them to her
underwater palace.Occasionallyshe is surprised - almost alwaysby men - as she
sits on the shore holding a mirror and combing her hair. She immediately darts
ÁLu vÁNSÍ'PR|ÁAN
88
away leaving her comb and other attributes behind. Invariably shethen reappearsin
the man's dream to demand theseback. If he obeysand keepstheir meeting secret,
and if he promises to be her faithfrrl lover, she will make him rich. But if he refuses
she will bring bad luck to him and his family.
Even without the initial shoreline meeting, the water goddessmay visit people,
generally women, in their dreams and they too will become rich if they obey the
goddessand remain faithful to her. The water goddessis worshipped with all kinds
of ritual offers,often consumer goods,but she is best consulted through a specialist
and communicates to her adherents by taking possessionof them during trance
dances.
In fact there is not just one African water goddess,but many, even in a single
society.Yet in almost all thesesocietiesa general,or rather all-embracing name has
emerged and/or it is absolutely clear which deity is the most important. Here the
similarities between West African and Afro-Carribean water goddesses,or rather
water mothers, end. So first a review of their creolization history in Suriname.
Watramama
Betweenaround 1650 and 1830 some 213,000slaveswere transported to
Suriname from the area that rangesfrom today's Senegalto Angola (Van Stipriaan
1993:314).Yet, a key factor in the creolization processis that these transports did
not consist of a balanced mix of Africans representingthe continent's various
cultures. In generalthe slaveswere taken from four major areaswhich were refered
to with generic ethnic names."
" This is not to imply that thesewere the only African peoples(seefollowing note). In 1835,for
example,Teenstrarecorded a further fourteen different ethnic groups, noting qualities then useful to
slaveholdersbut which now reveal aspectsrelating to creolization. Thus he described the Luango as
'submissive,good workers',but prone to run awayif giventoo much work and unableor barelyableto learn
'the Negro-Englishlanguage';the Papawere'more sensiblethan other tribes',brave,strong, good-natured,
liking for strong drink; C,ormanti
hard-working and'open',although Teenstracomplainedof their excessive
were generallygood workers,but short-temperedand proud aswell as'keenon dancingto exhaustiorf;the
Mande (Mandingo) were'from a good nation'and'quick to learn the new way of life' (Teenstra1835II:18084). His remarks reveal that the Luongo were the most reluctant to merge with other cultures, while
Mandingo culture merged with the leastdifficulty. As the first to arrive, it is hardly surprising that little
pressurewasplacedon the Luangoto adapt,while the pressureon the Mandingo,the last to arrive,wasthe
greatest.The other ethnic groups mentioned by Teenstraare the Damakuku ('extremelystupid and bad
people'), Sokko ('unusually stupid, but good-naturedand loyal'- theseincluded some Moslems),Pombu
('not among the besttypes'),Abo ('willing and hard-working,but unusuallygluttonous'),Gola (amongthe
'best slaves'),Gangu ('a good, strong race of Negroes,but unusually vindictive when angry'), Tiamba
('willing and strong'),Pré ('good workers'),Wan-Wie ('good-naturedand submissive')and Temné('wiling
and good workers,more sensibleand inclined to defendtheir own intereststhan other tribes').Accordingto
Teenstra,most of thesegroupswereonly found in Surinamein limited numbers.
ANDTHELESSONS
INTHEBLACK
ATLANTIC
CREOLIZATION
OFAWAIERGODDESS
8g
Table I Embarkation area for Africans bound for Suriname
Collective ethnic name
Percentage
Luango
between Cameroon and Angola
Luango
(Luangu)
c.30 o/o
Slave Coast
Togo, Benin, West Nigeria
Papa
c. 15 o/o
Gold Coast
Ghana
Cormanti
(Kormanti)
c.30 o/o
Ivory Coast and Grain Coast
(also Windward Coast)
Guinea,SierraLeone,
Liberia, Ivory Coast
Mandingo
(or Mande)
c.25 o/o
Area
in
slave import
(NB, percentagesare only indications)
Table2 Arrival of Africans in Suriname 1675-1803(on Dutch ships)
Mandingo
1675-1699
19,000
1700-1729
26,000
1730-1759
68,000
17601803
70,000
Cormantin
Papa
Luango
I o/o
38 o/o
6l o/o
26 o/o
62 o/o
12 o/o
25 o/o
4l o/o
8 o/o
26 o/o
39 o/o
27 o/o
I o/o
33 o/o
Compiled on the basis of Postma (1990:122-123,186, 2I2, 305-349);the
embarkationport of an averageof l4o/oof the slaveswas not known. In addition,
between l79l and 1827,at least around another 25,000Africans were shipped in
non-Dutch vesselssemi-legally.Thesewere probably mainly Mandingo and Luango.
A few thousand others were smuggledin illegally (seeVan Stipriaan 1993:314).
Luango slaveswere transported to Suriname throughout the period in relatively
large numbers and formed almost a third of the total. Papawere transported in large
numbers only in the early period, and hardly any arrived after 1730;they formed no
more than a sixth of the total. In the course of the eighteenth century Cormanti
began to be transported instead of Papa,forming a third of the total. Another
substantial group, the Mande or Mandingo, formed around a quarter of the total,
althoughthesewerelatecomersin Surinameso that, despitetheir numbers,they had
to struggle harder to make their mark on Afro-Surinameseculture than the groups
that precededthem.
ÁLa
vAN SIPRjMN
90i
One of the remarkable aspectsof this processis the powerful influence of the
Papa,despite the relatively small number that arrived in Suriname from Africa,
albeit in an early period. This is clearly reflected in the introduction of the water
goddessWatramama in Suriname.Around 1775lean Nepveu,a perceptiveobserver
and later governorof Suriname,noted that'the Papa" [...] haveintroduced certain
diabolical practicesin their romps and dances,which they havetransferred to all the
other slaves,[...] which is generally known as Watermama' (Nepveu c. 1775:232).
This description is the first in which the term winti occurs,in this casemainly in
relation to the trance dance for Watramama. In contrast, Nepveu'scontemporary,
Anthony Blom, noted that participation in this strictly prohibited Watramama
dance was far from general among the slaves'sincethey are traditionally from
differentnations,thoseof one not trusting the other'(Blom 1787:389).Itseemsthat
the intercultural acceptanceof this originally Papacult was not a smooth process.
Yet the increasing frequency with which, despite the prohibitions, the likes of
Watramama in particular and her cult are mentioned in the colonial sources
suggeststhat these formed the core of what might in the early stagesbe termed a
common pidgin culture, while the local African cultures, or significant parts of
thesecontinued to survive for long periods. The central place of the water goddess
in this development is hardly surprising, given the overwhelming role water played
in the livesof the slaves(Van StipriaanIg94,Oostindie &Van Stipriaan1995).They
had come to Suriname acrossthe water, and the plantations they were forced to
build and maintain lay along the river, so that their most traumatic task centred on
an endlessbattle againstfloods. Moreover, many Africans knew the water goddesses
from their original cultures and from their contacts with indigenous Surinamese
peoplesthey learned that Surinamesewatershad been inhabited by water goddesses
before they arrived.
So despite the strict ban on the Watramama cult, despite the characteristicuse
in this rigid slave system of (ethnic) divide and conquer tactics and excessive
violence, and thanks probably also to the almost total failure to evangeliseamong
Suriname'sslavesuntil well into the nineteenth century, it was possiblefor an AfroSurinameseculture to develop far removed socially and psychologically from the
colonial culture, with winti religion, including the originally Papa cult of
Watramama, at its core.
Sinceeachethnic group was apparentlyableto retain its own gods and rituals for
a long period, and since a kind of cultural hierarchy existedwith the first African
cultures to arrive taking a dominant position, the circumstanceswere right for
creolization.It was necessaryto overcomethe mutual differencesin order to struggle
for spaceand rights in and outside the system.Moreover, the slavesgradually
These
" Also mentionedwere'Nago,Arada and other slavesgenerallyknown by the nameFidaseslaves'.
groupswereoften referredto with the genericnamePapa;Fida wasthe Dutch namefor the OuidahAVhydah
of today'sBenin,former Dahomey.
ON ANDTHELESSONS
OFA WATERGODDESS
N THEgLACK
CREOL]ZAT
ATLANTIC
i 91
developed in this processinto peasant-like communities, settled on particular
plantations in which they now had an interest of their own (Van Stipriaan 1995).
Ethnic-cultural differencesgradually becameblurred, even if only becausemany
would have found it difficult to find a partner of the same ethnic background. In
everydaypractice slavesfrom different African cultureswere forced to make all kinds
of cultural selections,adaptations,mixes and innovations. Yet this does not mean
that the ethnic-cultural differencesdisappeared.They simply shifted from everyday,
material reality to the metaphysicallevel by being transformed into rituals. Thus a
pantheon of gods and deities (winti) emergedcomprising Luango winti, Papawinti
and Cormanti winti, each with their own language,rituals and apparitions, whose
adherents communicated with their own songs, dances and rhythms (see e.g.
Voorhoeve& Lichweld 1975:52;Wooding l979,Price & Price 1980:f78-80).Clearly
this shift opened the way for the creation of common ground in everydaylife.
In fact, in this creolizationprocessWatramamaappearsto havelost her prominent
and, for many,threateningposition and character.Perhapsthis reflectedthe declineof
the importance of water in everyday lives of the slaves,while the role of the soil
generationslay buried. Gradually,a kind of
increased:it was in the soil that successive
peasant existenceemerged. Perhaps this was why Mother Earth, Mama Aisa,
developedinto the prominent goddessshe is in today'swinti pantheon. Meanwhile,
Watramamaalso lost her specificallyPapaidentity. [n one respectsheemergedin the
hierarchicallylessprominent terrain of 'Indji' (Indian) winti; in another shebeganto
take on Cormanti elementsaswell asPapa,and might inadvertentlyspeakthrough the
mouths of possesseddancersin an esotericLuango language(Wooding 1972179).
Remarkably, therefore, while she went through an unmistakable process of
creolization,through this mixture shealsolost someof her distinctiveidentitp making
it difficult to placeher in the hierarchyand eventuallyforcing her into the margins.By
the sametoken, she also lost the elementof dangerand acquireda gentler role as the
intermediary betweenthe human world and Mama Aisa (Stephen1985:48)."
" While the ban on performing the Watramamadanceremainedin place,plantation ownersgradually
becameincreasinglytolerant in the nineteenthcentury.Klinkers concludesthat they no longer viewed the
dance as a real threat (Klinkers 1997:63-5).As Iate as IT44Watramama was still describedas a demon
(spooksel).Ifher adherentsdid not follow her instructions to the letter,'the Watermamawould soon make
their child or husbandetc die or inflict some other evil' (Ontwerp 1744:317).A century later,an observer
describeda more gentle, conciliatory approach:'the WATERMAMA [is] a god in whose influence they
believeand whom they worship avidly.Becausethey makeall kinds of offersof drink and food to her.When
I inquired, they depictedthe Watermamaas a beautifirl Indian with a child; why not a Negress,which was
oddly denied, I do not know. She is crowned with waterlilies, about which hummingbirds flutter with
feathersmadeof preciousstonesglisteningin the settingsun.The son of the wildernessmakesoffersof drink
and food, with perhapsthe samedevotion as a Christian saysan Ave Maria; and if the ceremoniesthey
perform appearridiculous to our eyes,the carewith which they are executedrevealsthat theseare a serious
matteÍ and that is after all what is most important' (IetsoverSurinamelS54:156).Around 1900the governor
appearsto havegivenpersonalpermissionfor a danceto celebratethe return to the real world - foretold by
a wintiman - of a woman who had been abductedyearspreviouslyby Watramamaand taken down to her
underwaterpalace.Indeed,the governor insistedon attending the ceremonyhimself, although a group of
missionaries
eventuallymanagedto dissuade
him (VanLier c. 1920:15-8).
92
Clearly,theseinterpretations are basedto some extent on conjectureand require
further research.The principal purpose here is to show that the creolization process
which transformed the water goddessprobably began with a reduced pidgin phase
in which her Papabackground remained the most prominent, recognisablefeature.
Clearly, also,this did not take place over a single generation, since large groups of
slavesstill distrusted the cult in the late eighteenth century; which indicates,
moreover,that the mixing of cultures was not alwaysa harmonious and egalitarian
affair. Indeed, it seemsthat creolization may also involve an element of unification
and innovation featuring the explicit airing of ethnic-cultural differencesin rituals.
Furthermore, changes,or shifts may not necessarilyrepresent decreolization
towards the social and economic dominant culture, given that European colonial
culture was (almost?) entirely uninvolved.
Nevertheless,after slaverp and certainly in the twentieth century, as mass
evangelism,Westerneducation and generalgovernmentpolicies took hold, winti
religion, including Watramama, became marginalised,especiallyin the towns,
retaining its position only in lower-classfolk culture. In recentyears,howevet it has
begun to reemergefrom this position. Slowly but surely, the partially Westernised
Afro-Surinameseintelligentsia has begun to reappraisewinti as a way of life and a
form of spirituality relevantto them. It should not be forgotten that the prohibition of
winti worship - once officially labelled idolatry - was only repealed from the
Surinameselegalcodein I97I, shortly beforeindependence!Meanwhile,the migrants
from Surinamehavebrought winti to the Netherlands,the countrywhich had banned
winti religion and especiallyWatramama since the eighteenth century. Not only is
scholarlyinterestin the phenomenonincreasing;lnthe winti tradition is being upheld
with the support of specialists,especiallyamong Holland's Afro-Surinamese,in
healthcare,in domestic circles,at meetings and ceremonies.And perhaps most
surprisingly,in recent yearsI have encounteredtwo contemporary depictions of
Watramamaat leadingDutch museums!" Sheappears,therefore,to havetaken some
fundamentalnew steps:for the first time, shehasventuredbeyond Suriname'sborders.
As part of what was once a folk religion, shehas now forced her way into the spiritual
and scholarly experiential world of the upper social echelonsin Suriname and the
Netherlands,while her imageis now displayedWesterntemplesof art and culture.
Are thesethe final stirrings of a decreolizationprocess?Is this recreolization?Or
is this perhaps a new creolization phase?Time alone will tell. Either way, the broad
'nA bibliographyseveraldozenpageslong of publicationsabout winti in the Netherlandsand Suriname
in the period 1970-1991by Mildred Raijmann,which appearedin 1992,has been followed by numerous
studies.
" The first time was in 1994,at the Messengerfrom the Jungle erhrbition at Rotterdam's Museum of
Ethnology,by Surinameseartist JohnLie A Fo,who is actuallyof entirelyAsianbackground.The secondtime
was in 1998 at Amsterdam'sStedelijkMuseum in an exhibition of work by the equally non-African but
very Surinamesepainter and sculptor Erwin de Vries.That both artists come from non-Afronevertheless
Surinamesebackgroundsindicatesthe degreeto which Watramama- and winti in general- has outgrown
traditional boundaries.
93
concept of creolization employed in linguistics is a useful way of showing the
various phasesof the development of this intercultural phenomenon. And perhaps
a clearerinsight into developmentssurrounding the water goddesscan be obtained
by comparing her history in the continent she originally came from - Africa.
Mami Wata
In West Africa the history of Mami Wata, as she is now generally known, has
followed an almost diametrically opposed course to that of Suriname'sWatramama.
She has developed from a local water goddesswithin a wider pantheon of gods
connectedwith various societies,into an almost standard,pan-African deity with an
autonomous cult, part of a mainly urban and popular folk culture in which the awethat
This is
the goddessinspiresappearsto haveprecedenceover her gentlercharacteristics.
has
formed,
all
kinds
local
supra-national
cult
since
of
not to saythat a homogenous,
varieties still exist.Yet her growing pan-African popularity and the increasingnumber
all point in this direction. 'uShe
of publications,films, picturesand Internet discussions,
appearstherefore to have become part of Africa's modernisation and globalization
process,and the questionis whether this can be expressedin terms of creolization.
Three developmentsappear to have played a key role. As already mentioned, it
is possiblethat the original WestAfrican imagesof water goddesseswere influenced
by European images of mermaids and similar figures as early as the sixteenth
century. Developmentssince the nineteenth century can be traced with greater
certainty. One is the role of the Kru in today's Liberia, who emerged as
intermediaries for European traders along the WestAfrican coast,and undoubtedly
had a major influence as cultural intermediaries on cultural changesin that part of
the continent, which also appearsto have resultedin somejealousyand local rivalry
(Wendl 1991:115)." Thus it hasbeendemonstratedthat in somesocietiesthe name
Mami Wata, itself a pidgin English term, became current after the arrival of Kru
traders (Wendl 1991:113-6)." Thus the developmentof a standardimage of the
'uSeeSalmons(1977);Paxson(1983);Drewal1989aand b, Kramer(1993);Wendl(1991);Jewsiewicki
(1997).A livelydiscussion
(1991),Frank(1995),Jell-Bahlsen
of Mami Watacan alsobe found on Africa Hwherecontributions can be found under searchterms suchas
net, (www.h.net.msu.edu/logs/logsearch.cgi>
mammy,mami and wata.
" The Kru were employedon English ships as sailors,guidesand intermediaries.At the end of the
coastalvoyagethey were usuallypaid in kind. They then paddledhome in fullyJaden canoes,apparentlyas
far as the Congo estuary.Whereverthey moored they usedtheir merchandiseto trade.It is easyto imagine
the impressiontheseKru traderswith their well-stockedand seaworthycanoesmadeon the coastalsocieties
they visitedand that theywerethought to enjoythe goodwill of the watergods.Over the yearsgroupsof Kru
traders settled along the length of the West African coast where,with their relative wealth, they became
especiallypopular among the women.Around 1875some20,000Kru men appeaÍto havebeenliving along
the coastsoutheastof Liberia,with around 2,000in southeastNigeria alone (Wendl l99l:115).
" The pidgin English name Mami Wata (from Mamma Water) bas even enjoyed currency in
FrancophonecountriessuchasSenegaland Congo,alongsidethe local names.
ÁtEX yAN5tPRiAÁN
94
pan-African Mami Wata may reflect the influence of the Kru version of the water
goddess."
The secondmajor factor influencing the creolization and standardisationof the
water goddessis a picture of a woman from Samoa,a snakecharmer who appeared
in Carl Hagenbeck'sfreak show in Europe dutring the 1880s.Large numbers of
postersappear to have been displayed,eventually finding their way to Africa where,
in the courseof the twentieth century, the snakecharmer becamethe key image for
Mami Wata (Drewal 1988b:38;Wendl 1991:t16-21).One recognisableelement is
the two snakessheholds. In the core territory of the Mami Wata cult, in and around
Benin - where Suriname'sPapa slavesoriginally lived - pythons in particular are
seen as messengersof the gods and through their ability to predict the future are
often linked to Mami Wata (Jell-Bahlsen1997:108-9).At the same time, her nonAfrican, relatively Asiatic appearanceseemsto have coincided with the existing
image of the water goddess.
In the 1930spaintings and copies of the German poster began to appear in
growing numbers.By the 1980sthe influenceof the original poster could be traced
in no less than 4l cultures in fourteen different African countries (Drewal
1988b:96).Clearly a lively market existedfor imagesof Mami Wata. Indeed, Indian
businessmenin Africa also cashedin on the trade. They had tens of thousands of
postersand derivative prints made in India,'0 resulting in an accentuationof Mami
Wata's Asian features and occasionally even merged with images of Hindu gods
(Drewal 1988a:121-3).
" The image of the pan-African water goddesshas therefore
developedfrom a mixture of African, European and Asian elementsthrough a
processreferred to by Mami Wata researcherDrewal as'one of active interpretation,
adaptation,and re-creation,not reproduction'(Drewal 1988b:45)."
The third factor influencing the creolization of Mami Wata is Africa's rapid
social and economic transformation in the twentieth century, particularly in the
latter decades.Urbanisation and participation in globalization processes,such as
migration, haveenormously influenced and changedfamily, community and gender
relations. The claritv and occasionalforced harmony of thesetraditional links was
'' Other trading peoplesapart from the Kru probably alsocontributed to the spreadof the Mami Wata
cult. For examplethe Ijo, who traded acrossthe entire Niger delta - including in slaves- and sailedcanoes
carrying asmany aseightypeople,would alsohavebeeninfluential.The useof Ijo asa ritual languageamong
somepeoplesin this areaappearsto confirm this (Drewal 1988b:38).
'?.In 1955,for example,the ShreeRam CalendarCompany in Bombay delivered12,000copiesof the
Mami Wata posterto two tradersin the Ghaneancity of Kumasi (Drewal 1988b:96).
'zl'Africans determined that there was a direct connection between these Indian images,the beliefs
associated
with them, and Indians'successin financial matters,just as mermaidsand other Europeanicons
had beenlinked with wealthand power' (Drewal 1988b:40).
suggests,
moreover,that MamiWatas popularityhasalsobeenstimulatedby
" Paxson(1983:411-5)
Arabic Islamic storiesof djinns - spirits who are able to marry people.'Although I havefound no precise
instanceof Mammy Waterherselfbeing one with a djinn of AfricanIslam,the descriptionsof both areclose:
the dual-nature, the powerfrrl and exclusivesexualliaisons,the bondage with promise of gifts' (Paxson
1983:415).
95
replaced by chaos, ambiguity, aggression,individuality, as well as the unexpected
opportunities and innovations of life in an urban environment. Mami Wata
embodies all these aspectsof modern life, which have alwayslain dormant in her.
Shecan be as unpredictable and aggressiveas urban life itself, she can make people
rich, or drop them like a hot potato, she relatesto individuals rather than the
community and her insistence on unconditional loyalty from adherents is
interpreted by some as a signal for new rules of sexualcontact. Moreover, especially
for women, she can encourageand justi$' changing gender relations, opportunities
for sudden wealth, female priesthood and control by the individual over their own
sexuality (Jewsiewickil99I:133 ff., Frank 1995:340-2,Jell-Bahlsen1997:118,126-9).
It has been suggestedthat Mami Wata symbolisesthe ultimate'other' (Fabian
1978:327;Drewal 1988a:101,
Wendl l99l:I2-4; Kramer 1993:221-7).Because,
while
she has remarkably human traits, she also has a fish tail, lives in the water, possesses
untold wealth and has non-African skin and hair, while the origins of her form can
be found in three different continents.So this ultimate'other'would clearlyappeal
to thosewhoseexperientialworld usedto consistof a clear'us'group and a distinct
'them'group, but which now asa result of urbanisation and migration, has changed
into a world in which almost everyonearound is the 'other'. Mami Wata is the
creolized symbol of the 'other', presenting solutions where the familiar traditional
gods no longer suffice.
In fact Mami Wata is not the only option. Islam and Christianity have also
expandedenormously in this part of the world, with all kinds of local variants.
Mami Wata is certainly the most West African of the three, although she has
adopted some Christian and Islamic elements. Nevertheless,the rivalry is
considerableand occasionallyeven violent. 23
Mami Wata seemstherefore to havebeen the right goddessat the right time
for many est African societies as these experienced drastic, ongoing
transformations.In the courseof this processof change,a creolizedMami Wata
emergedfrom her parochial context and becamean autonomous,supra-localgod
'z3The popularity of her cult and her rivalry as a woman with the Christian Virgin Mary has incurred
the hatred of many Christianswho sometimesattack her with every availableweapon.This occasionally
leadsto riots and panic that can costlives.As in severalcasescited by Jell-Bahlsenin Nigeria.'In one violent
attack on a Water Goddesstemple, two life-size seatedshrine sculpturesfor the River GoddessAva were
beheadedby fanatic Christians at Ukana near Nsukka in 1992, and there are many more stories of
destructionsof local shrines,harassmentof priestsand priestesses,
and of burnings A-fricanart objectsthat
are associatedwith non-Christian religious beliefs and practices.Yet, as if this was not enough,various
churchesalso spread vicious allegationsparticularly against the female river spirit; in their attempt to
discredit the child- and wealth-givingMother Water Goddess.Church leaderschargethat Mammy Water,
"takes away children",or "kills babies"' (Jell-Bahlsen,Reviewof V.Castleman's
Mommi Wata,Spirit of the
Rhter lOttawa 19951on Internet H-net List for African History 22 lune 1998).Meyer also notes that the
messagespreadby someChristian denominationsin Africa, like the PentecostalChurch,in their campaigns
againstMami Wata is aimed not just againstthe water goddess,who is portrayed as an incarnation of the
with her cult, which they alsoascribeto the kingdom
devil, but alsoagainstthe consumergoodsassociated
of the devil (Meyer 1999:764-7).
96
with a whole cult to herself and her own, expanding pantheon of associatedgods
and spirits, in part coopted from other religions and mythologies. Meanwhile she
has retained a local profile in the form of a consistentlywide diversity of local water
gods and goddesseswith often wide-ranging functions.'n The same applies to her
priestessesand priests,some of whom attract clients from far beyond their own
society,or who employ material acquired through networks that sometimes reach
out as far as other continents. 2s
In fact, although Mami Wata is now known in around twenty African countries,
she has not alwaysdevelopedinto a religious cult. This is especiallytrue in the core
territory stretching from Cameroon to Ghana, while in a country like Congo her
imagehasbecomeespeciallypopular as an icon representing(individual) hope and
successin a rapidly changing and violent world. Successfulpeople place painted
Mami Wata figures - produced since the 1970sby specialisedartists known as
Watistes- in their living rooms as symbols of their upward mobility, while the
figuresalsoprotect againstevil and the unknown'other' (Paxson1983:417-8;
Vogel
1991:116;fewsiewicki1991:130).Following the most famous Watiste,Chéri Samba,
who in fact warns againstthe temptations of Mami Wata in his work, many Mami
Wata paintings have now penetrated the hallows of the international art world in
the cities of the West.'6
The creolization of Mami Wata demonstratesthat a potential exists for the
processesof globalization and modernity. Meanwhile, she has not lost her local
roots, which suggeststhat here too differentiation has acquired a place in the
creolizedwhole.
In short, creolization occurs where groups from different cultures confront each
other with relative suddennessand violence, with intensity and in a situation of
power imbalance,resulting in those involved being forced to adopt changesin order
to be able to survive together. The familiar frames of referencesno longer suffice,
peoplefeel alienated,surroundedand threatenedby the'others'.This is a processin
which decreolization, culture death, merger and recreolization compete for
" For example,amongthe Igbo in Nigeriathe local nameof the water goddessis Ogbuideor Uhammiri,
and sheis addressedasEzeMmiri (ruler of the water),while for non-Igbo her nameis MammyWater/Mamy
Wata (Jell-Bahlsen
1997:106,
121).Among the Ibibio, alsoin Nigeria,sheis calledNdem Mmo, and is also
referredto by outsidersasMammyWata (Salmons1977:8-9).InCongo (former Zaire) sheis Mamba Muntu,
in CameroonMengu and in Sierra Leone Tingoi (Fabian 1978:319-31;Kramer 1993:221-27).Among the
Ewe in southeastGhana and southern Togo '[a] whole row of old deities now appearedtn mami wata's
entourage,all equippedwith the attributes of modernity: mami-densu,mami-tohosu,mami-abloetc. As a
consequence
of extremesyncretism,this pantheonalsoappearssimultaneouslyin a Hindu vercionas mamivishnu,mami-rama etc.,while Christiansequate mami wata with the Virgin Mary and assignmami-josef,
mami-jesuvi,mami-gabrielandother saintsand angelsto her entourage'(Kramer1993:235).
" SeeDrewal ( 1988b:a2)and Chesi'sdescriptionof the famousTogolesepriestessMamissi Koku who
waspersonallyreceivedby Ghanasheadof state(Chesi 1979:58-87).
'u Chéri Samba'sinternational breakthrough came in 1989with the celebratedMagiciensde ln Terre
exhibition at the CentrePompidou in Paris.Sincethen his work has appearedmany times,including in the
Netherlands,for examplein Africa Now at the GroningerMuseum (1991-92).
97
dominance. The new forms that result are a bundle of contradictions, with people
constantly moving back and forth, sometimesflexible, sometimesproblematic.
What doesthe water goddesshaveto sayon the subject?Her Surinamesehistory
shows that ethnic-cultural differences were bridged through ritualisation,
meanwhile Watramama herself lost her ethnic specificity and gradually
marginalised; her West African history revealsthat she can become autonomous
and international without cutting her roots in local societies.Sheepitomisesa new
identity, adapting to the new context, presenting an alternative to expanding faiths
from outside, while absorbing elements from these religions. In short, increasing
cultural interaction which eventually leads to a merger of severaldifferent cultural
traditions may be possible,or may indeed only occur if spaceis conquered for the
institutionalisation of difference,either from below or from inside. That is a process
which is not necessarilyharmonious, which may continue for generationsand
which has receiveda fresh impulse from globalization.
Does this answer my original question and has creolization been shown to be
the ultimate analytical concept for this field of inquiry? That is not a claim I would
care to make as yet. However,I believe that with a little refinement and adaptation
the concept of creolization will contribute to the internal understanding and
discussionof intercultural interaction within a context of a-symmetrical power
relations. On different sidesof the Atlantic the watergoddessgavedifferent answers,
however,I think they form part of a creolizing whole.
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