Videos of Indigenous Culture of Suriname

All population groups of Suriname have their own culture and music in town and country. The indigenous Amerindian people and the Maroon communities in the deep interior have also retained their cultural heritage.

Senior Amerindian men in Palumeu village, inhabited by Tiriyó (Trio) and Wayana people in the far southern interior of Suriname, demonstrate playing a pan flute with a string instrument, using a turtle shell as a soundboard, and traditional weaving, in the traditional large round thatched community hall, common to Amazonian Indian tribes.

Young men in Gunsi, a village, inhabited by Saamaka (Saramacca) people, one of the Maroon groups in the interior of Suriname, perform their vigorous drumming. The Maroons are descendants of slaves who escaped into the jungle and resumed a traditional African way of life of their ancestors. Formerly called “bushnegroes”, the Maroons maintain a strong African tradition. This was recorded at night in a virtually dark house, hence the poor picture quality.