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3 Communicating with Our Gods The Language of Winti PETRONELLA BREINBURG Until recent years, the language that Catholics (including a non-Latin-speaking community in the Caribbean) used to communicate with their God was Latin. It was the language used for Mass and chants. There never was any suggestion that the people in the Catholic churches were talking “in tongues,” talking “gibberish ,” talking nonsense. In contrast, there is the common reaction of outsiders to Winti, a religion bearing a striking similarity to the Catholic religion. Outsiders to the Winti community of the Surinamese people refer to Winti variously as nonsense, evil, or “witchcraft,” and the image is that of “cute, harmless blacks” dancing, chanting, and talking “in tongues.” To look at the language for communicating with the Winti gods, demi-gods, and ancestral spirits, I have briefly examined the various Creole sub-cultural groups, such as the Banja and the Lakoe players, that are associated with the Winti community. I have looked at Winti as seen by the Creoles (now referred to as Afro-Surinamese) and not as seen by non-Creoles, including anthropologists . I have examined the varieties of Sranan with special reference to lexical items and style as used in relation to religion. Though my emphasis is on the language of Winti, in order to clarify matters I have included a report on a short investigation, with comments on the fusion of deities. Westerners, whether anthropologists, book writers, or film makers, often depend on sensationalism to promote their work on the religion or the belief systems of non-Western and black people. There are those who, for whatever reason , are intent on degrading or trivializing the system of beliefs of groups such as the followers of the Winti culture. There are sensationalized reports of what are referred to as “cult groups” talking “in tongues.” By talking “in tongues,” they mean that the people are talking nonsense. The various black groups (here I am using the term black to mean specifically people of African descent but Caribbean origin)1 also refer to talking “in tongues.” However, this group uses the term differently from how it is used by the white “experts” on blacks. The Caribbean people of African descent who respect the cultural factors brought in from Africa by their ancestors refer to talking “in tongues” with pride, even when they may be aware that a watereddown version or fusion of cultural heritage is involved. One must not indulge in the kind of criticism that can be mistaken for an attack on white researchers, because those researchers only report what they were told and/or have had especially performed for their benefit, or worse, what 33 Communicating with Our Gods they have interpreted a ceremony to mean. Interpretation of meaning is a key factor in the study of a culture other than one’s own. What we think we are seeing is not necessarily what is in fact taking place. Box-office sensationalism and the need for it is the other factor which is at the root of the deliberate misrepresentation of what are, for the people themselves, strictly religious ceremonies. In films showing “Voodoo” ceremonies we have the stereotypical chicken thrown up in the air, its neck broken by a “Voodoo” priest who chants “in tongues” and dances. All of this makes good box-office material but is not necessarily a true representation of what takes place. A good example of misinterpretation is seen in a recent event within the Surinamese Creole community in Amsterdam. To outsiders this was simply a twentieth birthday party for a young Creole woman, but to the insider it was also a religious ceremony. The telltale sign was the color scheme of blue and the dress of the birthday girl. She was dressed in Koto Jaky2 made of the same blue fabric that decorated the community center, including the table on which the “birthday cake” stood. Key African-Caribbean guests were presented with a glass bowl and saucer decorated with blue ribbons. The guests at the party included some white friends. One white guest was very pleased and said that it was nice to see a challenge to the gender stereotype: “blue is for boys and pink for girls but this birthday girl is obviously a feminist and deliberately chose to use blue” (or words to that effect). But to any insider, this was a ceremony in praise of Mama Aisa, who is the mother of earth and...

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