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LATIN AMERICAN SOCIO-RELIGIOUS STUDIES PROGRAM -
PROGRAMA LATINOAMERICANO DE ESTUDIOS SOCIORRELIGIOSOS
(PROLADES)
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF RELIGIOUS GROUPS IN
LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN:
RELIGION IN SURINAME
By Clifton L. Holland, Director of PROLADES
Last revised on 8 December 2010
PROLADES Apartado 1524-2050, San Pedro, Costa Rica
Telephone (506) 2283-8300; FAX (506) 2234-7682
Internet: http://www.prolades.com/
E-Mail: [email protected]
mailto:[email protected]://www.prolades.com/
Religion in Suriname
Country Summary
The South American nation of Suriname (formerly known as Dutch Guiana) is located
along the Atlantic Ocean between British Guyana and French Guinea. Its southern border is
shared with Brazil. The country includes 62,323 square miles of territory.
Its 476,000 citizens (2004 census) have tended to concentrate along the narrow coastal plain
rather than the remote interior region. The capital of the Republic of Suriname is Paramaribo
(pop. 240,000), where over 50 percent of the population resides; it is located in the northern
part of the country on the Atlantic Coast. Suriname is the smallest sovereign state in South
America in terms of area and population.
Suriname is famous for the outstanding
biodiversity of its pristine Amazonian
rainforests in the southern region of the
country, which are noted for their flora
and fauna. The Central Suriname Nature
Reserve is the biggest and one of the most
popular reserves, along with the Browns-
berg Nature Park that overlooks the Bro-
kopondo Reservoir, which is one of the
largest man-made lakes in the world.
Although the official language of Suri-
name is Dutch, most Surinamers can
communicate with one another through
the use of the lingua franca, Sranantongo,
a local language originally spoken by the
Creole population. Other languages
spoken are Hindi, Javanese, Chinese
(Hakka and Mandarin), English, and other
tribal languages of the Amerindians and
the Bush Negroes (Maroons). Surinam is
one of the most ethnically diverse nations
in South America.
There is a strong correlation between ethnicity and religious faith in Surinam. Many
political parties, including six of the eight governing coalition parties, have strong ethnic ties,
and members tend to adhere to or practice one faith. For example, within the governing
coalition, the majority of members of the mostly ethnic-Creole National Party of Suriname
(NPS) are Moravian, members of the mostly ethnic-Indian United Reformed Party are Hindu,
and those of the mostly ethnic-Javanese Pertjaja Luhur Party tend to be Muslim. However,
political parties have no requirement that party leaders or members adhere to a particular
religion. For example, the nation’s president, who is also the leader of the NPS, is a practicing
Catholic.
Suriname’s economy is dominated by the bauxite industry (established in 1917), which
accounts for more than 15 percent of GDP and 70 percent of its export profits. Other main
export products are rice, bananas and shrimp. During the 1980s, the nation began exploiting
some of its sizeable oil and gold reserves. About a quarter of the labor force works in the
agricultural sector. The Surinamese economy is very dependent on commerce with its main
trade partners: The Netherlands, the USA, Canada and Caribbean countries.
Current Ethnic and Religious Situation
Based on the 2004 census of population, religious affiliation is distributed as follows:
Hindu 27.4 percent, Protestant 25.2 percent (predominantly Moravian), Roman Catholic 22.8
percent, Muslim 19.6 percent, and other religions/none 5 percent.
The Constitution provides for freedom of religion, and other laws and policies contributed
to the generally free practice of religion. The law at all levels protects this right in full against
abuse, either by governmental or private actors.
The Surinamese population is composed of many ethnic and religious groups, each of which
has contributed to Surinam’s unique cultural heritage. The largest ethnic group is the
Hindustani, which makes up 27 percent of the population; it is composed of descendents of
contract-laborers from India (1873-1916, about 34,000 arrived in 64 shiploads) and is
predominantly Hindu with a minority of Muslims.
The Creoles (also known as Afro-Surinamese), about 18 percent of the population, are the
descendents of African slaves (250,000 were imported between 1612 and 1818) and European
settlers, mainly of Dutch origin, and reside on the northern coast. They are largely Christian
(both Catholic and Protestant) but also practitioners of the Winti religion and/or Myalism-
Obeah, which are folk religions of West African origin, similar in some respects to Vodou in
Haiti and Santería in Cuba and Puerto Rico, but are less syncretistic with Christianity. These
so-called “slave religions” were considered subversive in colonial times, because they served
as the inspiration and catalyst for revolt against slave-owners and colonial authorities in an
oppressive slavery system.
The Bush Negroes or Maroons, about 15 percent of the population, are descendents of run-
away African slaves who fled the coastal plantations in the 1660s and took refuge in the dense
tropical forests, where they continue to live in relative isolation and preserve their ancient
culture and religious traditions. They are grouped in six politically distinct peoples (Aluku-
Boni, Kwinti, Matawai, Ndjuka, Saramaka and Paramaka). The Maroons have an extremely
elaborate ritual life that is totally integrated with their matrilineal social organization.
The Javanese, about 15 percent of the population, are descendents of contract-laborers from
the Dutch East Indies (about 33,000 between 1890 and 1939) and are predominantly Muslim.
Like the Chinese and Hindustanis, most of them left the plantations after their labor contracts
ended and started small farms, at a time when the plantations were declining in importance for
the nation’s economy: the number of sugar plantations decreased from 80 in 1863 to only 4 in
1940.
Amerindians are 3.7 percent of the population, Chinese are 1.8 percent, and the remaining
12.5 percent are of mixed race: all of the ethnic groups described above mixed with
descendents of Europeans and Middle Easterners – Dutch, Portuguese (mainly from Madeira),
Lebanese, Syrian and Jewish immigrants.
A large number of faiths, including U.S.-based church groups, have established missionary
programs throughout the country since World War II. It is estimated that nearly 90 percent of
the U.S. missionaries are affiliated with Baptist church associations. The Inter-Religious
Council (IRC) was formed in 1989 in Paramaribo, composed of representatives from various
groups, with monthly meetings to discuss and plan ecumenical activities. The IRC is also a
member of The Religions for Peace Caribbean Inter-religious Network, which is a coalition of
national inter-religious councils and regional religious organizations in the Caribbean region,
dedicated to inter-religious cooperation for conflict transformation, peace-building and
sustainable development.
Historical Overview of Social, Political and Religious Development
Suriname was originally settled around 3000 BCE by the Arawak and later by the Carib
Amerindian peoples, who had developed a culture based on hunting, fishing and gathering by
the time that Christopher Columbus navigated the coastline in 1498. The territory was
formally claimed by Spain in 1593, but the first European settlement did not take place until
1616 when the Dutch arrived at the mouths of several rivers between present-day Georgetown,
Guyana, and Cayenne, French Guiana. The first Dutch settlement began in 1616 in this region.
In 1667, by the Treaty of Breda that ended the Second Anglo-Dutch War (1665-1667),
Suriname became a Dutch colony, at about the same time that the Dutch colony of New
Amsterdam (founded in North America in 1625) was ceded to the English (1664-1674) and
was renamed New York City. However, the territory of Suriname was contested by Britain
who claimed settlement rights; in 1651, about one-hundred Englishmen from Barbados arrived
with their slaves to establish a plantation colony, which was the first permanent settlement in
the territory.
During the Dutch and English colonial periods, the colonists developed an agricultural
economy that produced sugar, coffee, cacao and cotton on more than 400 plantations. In the
beginning, manual labor was provided by Amerindians and after 1640 by African slaves.
After the final abolition of slavery by the Dutch in 1863, many former Negro slaves
abandoned the plantations and the owners were faced with a shortage of manual labor.
Consequently, the Dutch colonial authorities approved the importation of Chinese contract-
laborers in 1853, followed by East Indians (from India) as “indentured servants” between 1873
and 1916; and, later, by Javanese from the Dutch East Indies (now, Indonesia) between 1894
and 1939. The contract-laborers had to work for five years to pay plantation owners for the
cost of their ship fare to Surinam. After the Chinese, East Indian and Javanese laborers were
free of their contract obligations, they were able to return to their home countries or renew
their contracts to work in Surinam for real wages. About one-third of the East Indian laborers
returned to India after their initial five-year contract ended. Those who chose to remain in
Suriname were given land, a bonus payment from the government, and special loans to assist
them in beginning a new life as independent farmers. In 1922, Suriname became part of the
Kingdom of The Netherlands; and, in 1927, the contract-labor immigrants became eligible for
Dutch citizenship.
By the beginning of the 20th
century, Suriname was home to a complex mixture of ethnic
groups and religious traditions. These various ethnic groups tended to remain separate, divided
both by ethnic tradition and by language. The divisions became important as the country
moved toward Independence, and they served as an obstacle to the development of a sense of
national consciousness that delayed the move from colonial status until 1975.
Following Independence, approximately one-third of the population took the opportunity to
move to the Netherlands, taking advantage of their Dutch citizenship. After a period of
government instability in the 1980s, including several coups, a democratic system was put into
place in 1990. It is estimated that around 250,000 people of Surinamese descent currently live
in the Netherlands, while thousands more live in the Dutch West Indies, the USA and in
countries neighboring Suriname.
The importation of East Indians to Suriname further complicated the nation’s social
stratification system, in which “whites” (plantation owners and overseers, owners of merchant
houses, and administrators), Creoles (in a variety of intermediate occupations), and former
Negro slaves (mainly agricultural workers or peasants) formed a hierarchy in that order. The
East Indian contract-laborers (mostly lower-class and “untouchables”) also were placed at the
lowest level of the social order, because they occupied agricultural jobs vacated by freed
slaves.
East Indians immigrants in Suriname, called “coolies” by the larger society, tended to
maintain their ancient cultural values brought with them from India (mainly from the United
Provinces of India, West Bihar and the Ganges Plains of North India), although they had
different linguistic, caste, socio-economic, ecological, cultural and religious traditions.
However, their ethnic identity as Hindustanis was based on a concept of “Mother India,”
which the East Indian immigrants to Suriname considered the place of origin of their common
cultural and religious traditions. Consequently, in Surinam, they formed a new ethnic group
within a pluralistic society and developed a new consciousness as “Hindustanis,” which
enabled them to effectively resist the process of cultural and racial syncretism later. However,
all East Indians, whether or not they were born in Suriname, were considered aliens until
granted citizenship in 1927.
The historical ethnic division of labor broken down during the 20th
century, especially after
World War II (1939-1945) and the achievement of Independence (1975). New avenues of
economic competition have emerged in business, the government bureaucracy and the
professions. However, the stereotypes originally derived from the ethnic division of labor and
internalized by the subjugated groups, and the attitudes associated with it, are still prevalent.
Nevertheless, the considerable wealth of many East Indians in Suriname today attests to their
success in overcoming social discrimination and political alienation and to achieving upward
social mobility and a higher standard of living than their predecessors. The pressure to
maintain traditional marriage and family values is very strong among the Hindustanis, but
intermarriage with other ethnic groups has resulted in an erosion of those values.
Language is an important element of ethnic identity. Therefore, the efforts by Suriname’s
Hindustani community to revive the Hindi (also called Sarnami) language, beginning in the
1950s, were viewed as a conscious attempt to recover its distinctive ethnic heritage. Several
religious and cultural organizations have played an important role in this revitalization
process.
General Overview of Christianity
Christianity was introduced to Suriname in 1683 with the arrival of several Roman Catholic
priests. However, they stayed only for four years. Priests came again in 1786, but again for
only a brief stay. Then in 1735, permanent Christian work was launched by the German
Moravian Brethren. The Moravian Church in Suriname now includes more than 10 percent of
the country’s 476,000 people.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Reformed
Churches of the Netherlands established work in 1741 and 1750, respectively, but primarily
served the white residents and lost many members after Independence in 1975. A variety of
other Protestant and Free Churches have established work in Surinam, but none have more
than a few thousand members each.
The Suriname Committee of Christian Churches dates to 1960. It is affiliated with the
World Council of Churches (WCC) and includes the Moravian, Dutch Reformed, Lutheran
and Roman Catholic churches.
The Roman Catholic Church. After two Catholic priests from The Netherlands settled in the
colony in 1817 and established the Prefecture Apostolic of Dutch Guyana-Suriname, the
Roman Catholic Church soon had a large following among the general population. The
Vicariate Apostolic of Dutch Guiana, with its seat at Paramaribo, was established in 1842 and
missionary work was assigned to the Redemptorists (Congregatio Sanctissimi Redemptoris)
by the Holy See. In 1842, there were only about 13,300 Roman Catholics in Suriname.
The first bishop of the Diocese of Surinam was consecrated in 1958. In 1950, there were
only five parishes that were served by 42 religious priests, in addition to 91 male religious and
181 female religious workers. Only five bishops (all Dutch) have headed the Diocese since
1907, and the current leader is Bishop Wilhelmus Adrianus Josephus Maria de Bekker
(appointed in 2004).
The Diocese of Surinam is a jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Port of Spain (Trinidad).
Today, about 23 percent of the population is Roman Catholic. In 2004, there were 31 Catholic
parishes in Suriname, served by 6 diocesan and 16 religious priests, assisted by 20 male
religious and 11 female religious workers. There has been a serious decline in the quality of
pastoral care given to the Catholic community as a result of the decline in the number of
Catholic priests since the mid-1960s (from 57 priests in 1966 to 22 priests in 2004) and
religious workers (from 98 male and 201 female religious in 1966 to 20 male and 11 female
religious in 2004).
Traditionally, Catholic religious devotion in Suriname is a sphere of activity dominated by
women and children, whereas men were not expected to show much concern about religion.
This trend has been strengthened by the role of church-run public schools administered by the
Roman Catholic Church in partnership with the government.
Prior to independence in 1975, most of the religious schools in Suriname were operated by
the Roman Catholic Church, which provided all the needed funding with the exception of
teachers’ salaries and a small maintenance stipend that was provided by the government. The
government educational system subsidized many of the primary and secondary schools
established and managed by religious organizations; these were considered public schools and
the teachers were considered public servants. Consequently, the Roman Catholic Church
played an important role in the socialization process by providing religious and moral
instruction to a diverse of ethnic groups. School attendance is compulsory for all children
until 12 years of age.
Particularly influential has been the important role played by the Roman Catholic Church in
preparing leaders of the nationalistic movement in the post-WWII period. The influence of
Roman Catholic social thought has continued to affect Surinamese political life until the
present, mainly through church-run primary and secondary schools.
The Protestant Movement. The Protestant movement in Suriname is composed of about 20
denominations, the oldest of which is the Dutch Reformed Church, founded in 1668, now
called the Reformed Church in Suriname. At the beginning it was a church for the Dutch
colonists and most church activities took place in Paramaribo and around the various
plantations in the countryside. Until the 1850s, Surinam (Dutch Guiana) was a Dutch-
speaking state church, with the state paying for pastors and church upkeep, and existed almost
exclusively for the elite class. After the 1850s this denomination opened itself to the lower
classes and to the African slaves; the latter used a Pidgin English in worship services. The
central church building in the capital city still serves as the auditorium of the University of
Suriname, and it was there that the first president of the country took the oath of office when
Suriname became an independent state in 1975.
The German Moravian Brethren (Unitas Fratrum) arrived in 1735 to conduct missionary
work among the Arawak Indians near Saron on the lower Saramacca River. Between 1762
and 1813, they also engaged in missionary work among the Maroons (Saramakas) in the
headwaters of the Gran Rio; and, after 1830, among African plantation slaves, with whom
they previously were prohibited from evangelizing. In 1851, they abandoned their work
among the Saramakas due to the unhealthy climate and few conversions; then they turned their
attention to another Maroon group, the Ndjukas, who were living near Koffiekamp on Sara
Creek in the interior.
The Moravian missionaries received only enough money from the mother church in
Germany to take them to their port of departure in Europe, and had to work for their ocean
passage. After arriving in Suriname, they worked at whatever occupation would provide
their necessary food and clothing: picking coffee, repairing shoes, dressmaking, gardening,
working in construction, etc. These lay missionaries were successful in establishing many
local congregations among the lower classes and the slave population. Today, the Moravian
Church is the largest Protestant denomination in Suriname in terms of adherents.
The Dutch Evangelical Lutherans arrived in 1741, mainly to serve the small white
population of plantation owners, administrative officials and merchants. The Anglican Church
arrived during the British occupation of 1799-1816 to serve English colonists and other
international residents.
All of the other Protestant groups present today arrived after World War II, mainly from
the USA, to serve the general population: Pilgrim Holiness Church (now, Wesleyan Church)
in 1945; the Seventh-day Adventists, 1945 (increased from 14 to 17 churches between 1997
and 2007; and from 2,677 to 3,616 members); West Indies Mission, 1954 (now WorldTeam);
the Assemblies of God, 1959; International Missions (1961), Independent Faith Mission
(1967, Baptist), the Southern Baptists, 1971 (United Baptist Church, formed in 1991);
Fellowship International Mission (1972, independent), the Church of God (Cleveland, TN),
1982; the Church of the Nazarene, 1984; the Mennonite Board of Missions, 1985; the
Orthodox Presbyterian Church, 1987; the Christian and Missionary Alliance, 1987; the Church
of God of Prophecy, 1992; and the United Pentecostal Church, 2003.
Other Protestant and Free Church denominations are also present (founding dates
unknown): Evangelical Methodist Church, African Methodist Episcopal Church, Evangelical
Congregational Church, Church of Christian Liberty (“reformed fundamentalist”), Association
of Baptist Churches, and the Pentecostal Mission Church.
In 2000, according to Brierly (1997), the largest Protestant denominations in Suriname
were estimated to be the following: the Moravian Church (46 churches and 29,000 members),
the Seventh-day Adventists (18 churches and 3,400 members), the Dutch Reformed Church (6
churches and 3,100 members), the Lutheran Church (6 churches and 2,050 members), the
Evangelical Church of the West Indies (20 churches and 1,600 members), all Pentecostal
denominations (18 churches and 1,330 members), and all other Protestant denominations
(about 70 churches and 3,770 members). The total Protestant membership in Suriname was
estimated to be less than 50,000 among fewer than 200 congregations.
Other Religions
After World War II, several marginal Christian groups arrived: Jehovah’s Witnesses (45
churches with 2,317 members in 2007) and Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
(Mormons, founded in 1988; 7 churches with 1,057 members in 2008).
Islam. In the 1890s, Javanese Muslim immigrants began to arrive in Suriname from the
Dutch East Indies (Indonesia), where they were recruited as indentured laborers to work on
sugar plantations in Suriname as replacement labor for the freed slaves and to complement the
Chinese and Hindustani laborers. Between 1890 and 1940 about 33,000 Javanese immigrants
arrived in Suriname. After the closure of many of the sugar plantations, the Javanese began to
establish themselves as small-scale farmers as did the Chinese and Hindustanis. Most
Javanese preferred to live close together in family units or villages in rural areas, where they
maintained their culture, language and religious practices.
Islamic mosques in Suriname are led by the “Maulana” or Muslim priest, who also functions
as a traditional healer. Most Javanese villages have two mosques, which represent two groups
within the Islamic community: the East prayers and the West prayers. The latter also believe
in Agama Djawa, in which ghosts and their ancestors play an important role. When important
events happen, there is always a sacrificial meal in which only the men take part. The
“Dukun” is also a traditional healer in Javanese communities, and her principal task is to serve
as a midwife and to prepare natural medicines from a variety of herbs, leaves, rhizomes,
flowers and fruits.
Most people of Javanese ancestry in Suriname are Muslims today, and very few have
converted to other religions. About 20 percent of the Surinamese population is culturally
Javanese and religiously Muslim. The majority of the Javanese are Sunni Muslims of the
Shafiite School, whereas there are a small numbers of other Islamic groups. The Ahmadiyya
Islamic Movement (founded by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad in the 1890s in the Punjab of India),
which was declared apostate and non-Muslim by orthodox Muslims in India and Pakistan
during the 1980s, has a small following in Suriname, as does the Bazuin of God Movement.
The World Islamic Call Society (WICS, founded in 1972, with headquarters in Tripoli, Libya)
has an office in Paramaribo.
Hinduism. About 80 percent of the Hindustani immigrants were Hindus. Some of them
eventually returned to India, but those who remained in Suriname and their descendants
constitute a “diasporic community” that, in 2004, constituted approximately 27 percent of the
total population. However, far fewer claim to be adherents of Hinduism.
Hindus have remain faithful to their ancient traditions, language and beliefs, which sets
them apart in this multi-cultural society. Hinduism is a family and home religion that is
characterized by many rituals and religious festivals, which can be performed at home or in
community halls rather than in the Hindu temples. Within their own community, Hindustani
music, dance, art, images and literature are very important for maintaining cultural cohesion.
There are five known Hindu groupings in Surinam today: Shri Sanatan Dharma Mahasabha
(the “eternal religion” of orthodox believers, the majority group), Arya Samaj (a 19th
century
liberal reform movement from north India, known as the “society of nobles,” with about 16
percent of the Hindu population, which arrived in Suriname in 1928), Bhagawan Sri Sathya
Sai Baba International (followers of Sathya Sai Baba), Transendental Meditation or TM
(followers of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi), and the International Society for Krishna Conscious-
ness (known as ISKCON, followers of A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada). Although
Hinduism is limited largely to the East Indian immigrant population and their descendents in
Suriname, where it provides social cohesion, some of the Hindu-based religious groups
mentioned above to seek to gain followers among the non-Hindu population.
Judaism. The Jewish community dates to the arrival of Sephardic Jews in the mid-1600s.
Presumably some Ashkenazi Jews arrived from England a short time later. A Portuguese
Jewish Congregation of Suriname was founded in 1661/1662, and a first synagogue was
completed in 1667 at Jodensavanna. The congregation followed the practice of the Congre-
gation of Amsterdam. Today, there are two synagogues in Paramaribo, both Sephardic, which
serve an ethnic community of about 700 people.
Buddhism. There are a small number of Chinese, whose ancestors, unlike the East Indians
and Javanese, began arriving in Suriname prior to the abolition of slavery; the first shipload of
Chinese contract-laborers arrived in 1853. Some of their descendents have retained their
Buddhist faith (or folk religions), while others have converted to Christianity.
Other religious groups
Indigenous religions are practiced by the Amerindian and Afro-descendant Maroon
populations. The surviving Amerindian groups (Akuriyo, Arawak, Carib-Kaliña-Galibi, Trío
and Wayana), are concentrated principally in the interior and to a lesser extent in coastal
areas. Most Amerindians adhere to traditional animistic beliefs and practices such as magic
(white and black, good and evil), witchcraft (bujería), herbal healing (curanderismo) and
shamanism (the shaman is an intermediary with the spirit world). Those of Amerindian,
Creole or Maroon origin who identify themselves as Christian often simultaneously observe
animistic religious traditions.
The Bush Negroes (Maroons) of the interior region practice an animistic religion that has
been labeled by anthropologists as the “most African of all religions in the Americas.”
However, the Maroon religion is similar in some ways to the Winti religion that is practiced
by the Creoles.
The Afro-Surinamese Creole population (not to be confused with the Maroons) of the
northern coast practices the Winti religion, brought to the Americas by their African ancestors,
which developed among the slaves during the colonial period. Winti (meaning “wind”) is
derived from a traditional African polytheistic belief system of West African origin. It
acknowledges many gods and ghosts with each one having their own myths, rites, offerings,
taboos and magical forces.
Myalism and Obeah is reportedly practiced in secret by some Creoles, even among
adherents of Christian churches. Myalism is an African-derived belief system (from Central
and West Africa) that development among blacks in the British West Indies during the slavery
period. Obeah is the specific practice of “black magic” or witchcraft by priests, known as
“obeah-men” or “obeah-women,” although most sorcerers are male and most folk healers are
female.
After World War I, a new wave of Chinese (largely Buddhist), Lebanese and Syrian
(Muslim and Eastern Orthodox Christians), and Portuguese (mainly Madeira islanders who
were Roman Catholic) immigrants arrived in Suriname, as well as Portuguese-speaking
migrants (Roman Catholic) from neighboring Brazil.
There are also small groups of Baha’i, the United Ancient Order of Druids (1996-1998, two
lodges established), Freemasons (Provincial Grand Master of the Regular Freemasons in
Suriname), the Ancient and Mystical Order of the Rosacruz (AMORC), and the Worldwide
Extraterrestrial Phoenix Movement of Surinam (which calls itself, “Ambassador of the Golden
Age and the Second Coming of Christ to the World”).
Brazilian anthropologist Livio Sansone reports that large numbers of Surinamese in The
Netherlands (mainly in Amsterdam) have adopted the beliefs, practices, music and dress of the
Rastafarians by contact with Jamaicans. More recently, Rastafarians have established
themselves in Suriname.
Compiled and Edited by Clifton L. Holland
Last updated on 8 December 2010
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