Abstract
Between 1873 and 1916, more than 34,000 indentured Indian labourers arrived in Suriname of which one-third were women. Despite the shortage of Indian women, the Indian population—labelled as ‘Hindostanis’ in Suriname—increased rapidly. Because the absolute numbers of ‘Hindostanis’ were relatively small, intermarriage not only between the various castes but also between Hindus and Muslims was normal. Moreover, older men married younger women, and almost all widows and so-called destitute women who emigrated to Suriname had (new) relationships and bore children; some even having multiple partners. The shortage of ‘Hindostani’ women resulted in a better bargaining position vis-a-vis the ‘Hindostani’ men, but many were threefold overloaded. They worked on the land or had jobs to earn money; they took care of their spouse and children and also did the housework. After their labour contract ended, the adult women who settled in Suriname obtained a free from rent, allotment of 1.5–2.0 ha of cultivable land for six years. Furthermore, many acquired so-called wild (not cultivated) land for free when they agreed to cultivate it. Almost all ‘Hindostani’ families became, in due time, small farmers. ‘Hindostani’ women had agency, and many became matriarchs. But interestingly, they promoted the ‘izzat’ (honourability) of their (grand) daughters and were stringent on their behaviour in public.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
One rupee was then around 80 cents or 0.8 guilders (Dutch guilder) (Wiersma 1903).
- 2.
In terms of age group, seventy percent were between 16 and 35 years, almost two-thirds were between 20–30 years, a quarter was under 20 years. Very few labourers older than 40 years have migrated to Suriname; slightly two percent of the total. Concerning the skin color, ninety percent were brown or dark brown, the rest were light brown or (almost) black (Hira 2000, 27).
- 3.
In the photographs of single Indentured ‘Hindostani’ women we see often short and dark-skinned women. This intermingling of skin colour lead to families with children of different skin colour. Sometimes women were falsely accused of adultery because the skin colour did not match with her skin colour, while she had genetically ancestors (invisible for those who do not know it) with another skin colour.
- 4.
A remnant of this practice reflects in a saying in Sarnami-Hindostani language-while visiting somebody and enquiring if her husband is at home. “Bhurawa he ghare” (is the old man at home)?
- 5.
Janey Tetary emigrated in 1880 and arrived with the ship Ailsa II. She had the immigration number 491/I, was aged 24 with a height of 1,465 m. She had a brown skin colour and hailed from the village Moniar, near Patna (Bihar). While she was a Muslim, she had adopted a Hindu child. See for rebellious Indian women in other colonies the study of Hiralal (2014).
- 6.
The bust of the second Agent General Barnet Lyon in Suriname that was erected in 1908 by Indentured labourers was removed and Tetary’s statue was placed on the same spot. This act was motivated with the argument of ‘correcting the colonial history.’
References
Alber, J., O’Connell, D. C., & Kowal, S. (2002). Personal perspective in TV interviews. Pragmatics, 12, 257–271.
Bahadur, G. (2013). Cooliewoman: The Odyssey of indenture. London: Hurst and Company.
Bhagwanbali, R. (2011). Tetary, de koppige. Het verzet van Hindoestanen tegen het Indentured Labour Systeem in Suriname, 1873–1916. Den Haag: Amrit.
Cameron, D. (1997). Theoretical debates in feminist linguistics: Questions of sex and gender. In R. Wodak (Ed.), Gender and discourse (pp. 99–119). London: Sage Publications.
Cameron, D. (1985). Feminism and linguistic theory. New York: St. Martin’s Press.
Choenni, G. G., & Choenni, C. (2012). Sarnami Hindostani 1920–1960. Amsterdam: KIT Publishers.
Choenni, C. (2016a). Hindostanis in Suriname 1873–1920: Indenture, plantations and beyond. Nidan, 1(1), 48–84.
Choenni, C. (2016b). Hindostaanse Contractarbeiders; van India naar de plantages in Suriname. Volendam: LM Publishers.
Colonial Reports (Koloniale verslagen) 1870–1930. Den Haag.
Dabydeen, D., & Samaroo, B. (Eds.). (1996). Across the dark waters. London: Mac Millan.
Debipersad, R. (2001). Emancipatie van Hindoestaanse vrouwen. Paramaribo: CERDES.
De Klerk, C. (1953). De immigratie der Hindostanen in Suriname. Amsterdam: Urbi et Orbi.
Emmer, P. C. (1984). The great escape: The migration of female indentured servants from British India to Surinam 1873–1916. In D. Richardson (Ed.), Abolition and its aftermath: The historical context 1790–1916 (pp. 271–292). London: Frank Cass.
Emmer, P. C. (1987). The position of Indian women in Surinam. Boletin de Estudios Latinoamericanos y del Caribe 43, 115–120.
Emmer, P. C. (2000). A spirit of independence or lack of education for the market? Freedman and Asian labourers in the post-emancipation Caribbean 1834–1917. Slavery and Abolition, 21(2), 150–168.
Fokken, M. (2011). Dutch interest and South Asian lives. South Asian men and women in the Suriname Colonial Reports between 1873–1917. MA-thesis, University of Groningen.
Grierson, G. A. (1883). Report on colonial emigration from the Bengal Presidency. In L. G. Sarup (Ed.). (2011), Facts about Indian indentured labour. Kolkata: Aldrich International.
Hira, S. (2000). Terug naar Uttar Pradesh. Den Haag: Amrit.
Hiralal, K. (2014). ‘Rebellious sisters’: Indentured women and resistance in Colonial Natal, 269. In M. Hassankhan et al. (Eds.), Resistance and Indian indenture experience (pp. 241–269r). New Delhi: Manohar.
Hoefte, R. (1987). Female indentured labor in Suriname. For better or for worse? Boletin de Estudios Latinoamericano y del Caribe 42, 55–70
India Office Records (IOR). Relevant files, British library. London: British Library.
Kanhai, R. (Ed.). (1999). Matikor: The politics of identity for Indo-Caribbean women. St. Augustine: UWI.
Lalmahomed, B. (1992). Hindoestaanse vrouwen: De geschiedenis van 6 generaties. Utrecht: Van Arkel.
Lamur, H. et al. (1993). Demografische structuur en reproduktieve rituelen bij Hindostaanse contractarbeiders in Suriname (pp. 118–139). In L. Gobardhan-Rambocus & M. Hassankhan (Eds.), Immigratie en Ontwikkeling. Paramaribo: ADEK.
Mangru, B. (1986). Indian labour in British Guiana. History Today, 36(4), 43–48.
Mc Neill, J., & Lal, C. (1914). Report on the condition of Indian immigrants the four British colonies and Surinam or Dutch Guiana. Simla: Government Central Press.
Mohammed, P. (2002). Gender negotiations among Indians in Trinidad, 1917–1947. Hampshire: Palgrave.
Nationaal Archief. Gouvernementsblad van Suriname 1873–1920. Depot: V 53, Den Haag.
Pitcher, D. G. (1882). Report on colonial emigration from the North West Provinces and Oudh. In L. Gujadhur Sarup (Ed.). (2011), Facts about Indian indentured labour. Kolkata: Aldrich International.
Reddock, R. (1986). Indian women and indentureship in Trinidad and Tobago, 1845–1917: Freedom denied. Caribbean Quaterly, 20(43), 79–87.
Report from Commissioners, Inspectors and others. (1910). Emigration from India to the crown colonies and protectorates (Vol. xxvii), Part I and Part III (Appendix), Westminster. Also known as Sanderson Report
Report Minutes of Evidence. (1910). Part II, Westminster (Sanderson Report).
Sitaram, T. (2017). Hindostaanse contractarbeidsters. MA thesis. Paramaribo: ADEK.
Tinker, H. (1974). A new system of slavery: The export of Indian labour overseas 1830–1929. London: Oxford University Press.
Wiersma, P. (1903). Verslag eener zending naar Britsch-Indië. Paramaribo: Eldorado.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Choenni, C.E.S. (2020). Hindostani Women in Suriname: From Coolies to Matriarchs. In: Pande, A. (eds) Indentured and Post-Indentured Experiences of Women in the Indian Diaspora. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-1177-6_13
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-1177-6_13
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-15-1176-9
Online ISBN: 978-981-15-1177-6
eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)