The Dark History Behind Surinamese Food

[@danieldecorentin4100]

Not Indian, but Hindostani. And they are not all hindu. You’re mixing up religious terms with ethnic ones.

[@ThePresentPast_]

You’re right! Census data and English terms are not very clear in this regard.

[@williamadamsjap]

at the time India was called Hindustan, it was nothing to do with religion, even Pakistan was part of Hindustan at the time.........

[@-haclong2366]

Hindustan is an official alternative name of India together with India and Bharat.

[@gumnaamaadmi007]

And you are mixing up linguistic terms with ethnic ones. Never a good thing to correct someone's mistake with a mistake of your own. Hindustani(NOT Hindostani) is the term given to the language that is a mix of Hindi and Urdu. If you have reservations about calling the people who were brought over to these areas as Indian, just call them people of S Asian origin, like the many 'white media' houses of the west do.

[@danieldecorentin4100]

@@gumnaamaadmi007, what do you mean? The descendants of these migrants have merged into an ethnic category in Suriname. This has nothing to do with the way these terms are used in other parts of the world, but are specific to Suriname. So the ethnonym is Hindostani, referring to an ethnic category including religious and linguistic differences. If you are some sort of expert of this matter and know otherwise, please enlighten me.

[@Rocky-mn4eu]

This video is very well done. I was born and grew up in the United States, but the rest of my family is from Suriname. Growing up, I always had a hard time explaining Suriname to people, because I am Indian, not Native American, but people are mind blown when I tell them my family is from South America and we speak Dutch instead of Spanish. We do call ourselves Hindustani when speaking dutch. It’s how you identify yourself as Indian. Fun little fact, when I speak dutch, it has a Surinamese American blend to it.

[@apeman9238]

I see that you are hindostani like me (also from Suriname🇸🇷). I must educate you on somthing. We hindostanis here in Suriname do not call ourselfs indian. We call ourselfs Surinamese. Hindostani is the name of our etnicity, Sarnami is the name of our language.

[@mikaylavlijter7045]

Same my dads from su and decided to move to the us. Now i sound like a white mom in a taco bell to dutch people..

[@ChefMireilleGKT]

I have the same problem. I have even met other South Americans here in USA who have never heard of Suriname. When I tell them my family is Indian, Javanese and black - but all Surinamese - it just confuses them on a whole other level. My half black half Hindustani grandfather had 25 children and they intermarried into every part of Surinamese society :)

[@Chucosan]

Thanks for doing anything featuring Suriname in English! As an American with Surinamese roots it’s always a treat!

[@ThePresentPast_]

My pleasure :)

[@-haclong2366]

My issue with the term "Javanese" is that in the Netherlands it only means "Javanese-Surinamese", my step-mother is actually from Java and a Surinamese Javanese person once got angry at her because she called herself "Javanese" which the Surinamese Javanese woman got angry at her because "no, you're Indonesian, we're Javanese", meaning that the term has been completely divorced from the island itself.

[@user-vv7rr3ls9i]

Javanese Surinamese are misbehaved and disrespectful. I agree as I've had the same experience wt Javanese-Surinamese many times. I add that Javanese Surinamese are aggressive self-victimising hooligans and their 'culture' has nothing to do with Indonesia or Java.. it's sad how they call themselves Javanese in an almost Supremacist fashion. A very aggressive and rather disturbing form of Cultural appropriation. One side of my family is Hakka Chinese from Suriname, for example. They don't feel the need to emphasize on 'colonialism' or their 'suffering' in the 18th century or their cultural 'uniqueness'. In the way some Javanese-Surinamese are constantly seeking Political and Media attention with their bs. It's quite disrespectful and insane how Javanese-Surinamese behave imo.

[@NateVDZ]

I think most Dutch people including the ones of Surinamese background do understand the term _"Javanese"_ and that the Javanese Surinamese lady was just making a fool out of herself.

[@kc4276]

Imagine being from India and hearing what the natives of America are called.

[@SheldonY14]

I understand why they're doing this though. Dutch people tend to lump them with Indonesians, but they feel Surinamese inside. So they want to emphasize that they're Surinamese first or Javanese (because that term is more used to refer to the Javanese-Surinamese). However there is no reason for the woman to get mad or angry tho.

[@semdonk6593]

I'm sorry you had an experience with a woman like that I live in a Javanese-Surinamese village and these people are the nicest people I've met in my life that woman was just a crazy exception.

[@FUNNYCREW80]

i have just found this video and I am so happy. I am Indonesian, however my mothers father was the Son of a Surinamese Dutch Soldier during WW2. When the Dutch were fighting to keep ahold of the Dutch East Indies, which is now just Indonesia, my great grandfather was deployed to Indonesia, where he met my great grandma. They had a kid, my grandad, but my greatgrandad had to return to Holland after the war ended, leaving his new Indo/Surinamese son. All my grandads life he did not know his father, and my mother did not know her grandmother. Thanks for telling this story as it seems that this is hugely overlooked. U gained a new sub

[@NotJustBikes]

This video was great, and it was also a good intro for my kids to learn this history. I haven't had much Surnamese food since moving to the Netherlands. I should really have it more often. Also, I didn't realize you can get Indian naan at some Surinamese restaurants!

[@koenw]

Love this guy

[@rocketGimbal]

Whoa its you, nice!

[@traplover6357]

Everyone visiting older videos after that Johnny Harris critique. Nice

[@kykale]

When foreigners come to NL I recommend them to cuisine that isn't as globally widespread, such as Surinames and Indonesian food. And if I'm eating with them I also tell the history of the country and the cuisine.

[@ThePresentPast_]

Cool to see you found my content!

[@AverytheCubanAmerican]

The Dutch be like: Sugar Spice And everything hard labor *These were the ingredients chosen to create the perfect little colony* Also, Java isn't the most populous province. It's definitely the most populous ISLAND within Indonesia, but Java itself has four administrative provinces (Banten, West Java, East Java, and Central Java) and two special regions (Yogyakarta and Jakarta)

[@utubeistehsux]

The Netherlands paid BILLIONS in reparations to Suriname when it went independent. You should at least include that, because the British never paid anything.

[@sirihsirih4938]

They did we know. And now these Suriname try to extort the Dutch with this anticolonial mental abuse.

[@-haclong2366]

The thing is, Java during the 19th century isn't Java in the 21st century, culinary traditions may get lost and new traditions are made overtime. Both Nasi Rames in Indonesia and Hairdresser in the Netherlands are all modern inventions. Most culinary "traditions" aren't as old.

[@ZAX202]

by 'hairdresser' I think they mean kapsalon, a 'street food' dish invented by a hairdresser. I agree though, cuisine is super dynamic

[@DBT1007]

Yeah. Like Indian curry for example. It's not that ancient. Potatoes, some chili, tomato originated from the New World. America continent. Obviously from that, we know those foods are actually MODERN FOOD. Early Modern era stretches as far as in 1600s. Some ppl call it Renaissance era. Yes, if u think medieval and modern era are not close, you're kinda wrong. They're "neighbor". After medieval, comes modern era.

[@GullibleTarget]

@@ZAX202 I am proud to say that I had my hair cut by the inventor of this delicacy. When I still had hair....😅

[@namelastname9928]

I'm Trinidadian, so we learnt all about indentured servitude after slavery in primary school social studies and history, having gone through that process as well. They (being the British in our case) also promised the Indian (from the subcontinent, we tend to refer to the First Peoples by the term Amerindian as you do in the census part of the video) workers land for their work, and a guaranteed sailing back after a certain period of time. Trinidad and Tobago changed hands at least 33 times during the colonial period, which means we had quite a few influences to pull from - Spanish, French, Dutch, New Courland, British, with a lot of workers/plantation owners from all around - China, India, Portugal, Kashmir, Ireland, Venezuela, Africa, Brazil, etc. We have that similar mixed background as well here, it's incredibly diverse here, particularly with food with our own types of curry and roti (goat, duck, chicken, beef, conch, armadillo - called tattoo here - any meat can be curried, really), pelau (rice dish), crab and dumplings, blue food (provisions), fresh and salt water fish dishes, fish broth (pronounced broff for some reason), bake (which is frybread ironically enough), stew chicken, pigeon peas, black pudding, bake and shark, Chinese food (but with our own taste), KFC (believe it or not, completely different taste to the international market, KFC is an institution here in Trinidad and Tobago), oildown, callaloo, pig/oxtail, souse, cow-heel soup, macaroni pie, Syrian/Arabic food, American styled food, Latin American food, chow (which is fruit spiced and seasoned), and the list actually goes on, I'm just putting down what I remember here. I haven't even touched on seasonal food like Indian sweets (not seasonal, but I can only calorically afford to eat so much prasad during Divali!), turkey, ham, garlic pork, pastelles, chow-chow, ginger beer, ponche a creme, sorrel (yes, I'm remmbering these from the lyrics of Trini Christmas is the best, iykyk) for Christmas, Easter (watercress and salmon) and harvest food in Tobago with (if you can get it) babash that will knock you down clean, but wake you up with no hangover whatsoever. There are the street foods and sweets as well: toolum, geera pork, coconut water and jelly, corn soup, hops and pudding/cheese/ham/anything you can put in hops with a red Solo, punches, pacro water, carilie, gyros, roti, oysters with the flambeau, doubles, hot dogs, pizza, bbq pigtail, sada roti and baigan/aloo/tomato choka, aloo/beef/cheese pie, it goes on as well. Almost all of our meat is prepared halal, and we have a very respectful interreligious community here, so vegetarian/vegan food isn't too difficult to get (saheena may be vegan, but damn does it taste good, especially if you ask the doubles man to put saheena crumbs in the doubles), or fish dishes during Lent. In terms of herbs and spices, if it doesn't have chadon beni and pepper (scotch bonnet), I'm not eating it! We like to use green seasoning as well to marinate (we just say season) our meats beforehand, then cook them. All in all, we Trinis like to eat, as we say, better belly buss, than good food go to waste.

[@tahirghoerahoe8246]

You should come to suriname and try Indonesian food ,and i want to try doubles and bake n shark

[@utkarshyadav2098]

This is a really thorough list wow! Thank you for sharing.

[@ryumii1701]

China would be proud of this Great Wall of Text

[@GullibleTarget]

I was having an exchange with a trini lady on Facebook and when we mentioned our respective heritages, we started exchanging examples of dishes. It is so interesting how easy it is to bond over food. I think the lady was American. She sent me a recipe for Trini-style moksi-alesi.

[@laneythelame]

Trini here, love your summary!

[@gira4664]

I lived in Paramaribo Suriname for three years and compares to the rest of South America it feels like a slice of asia got airdropped in South America. The food was definitely a megamix of foods from all over the planet.

[@nielsmaaswinkel9940]

Insights knowledge dropping yes boy content all day. This makes me think a lot more on where the food actually came from while I’m enjoying it.

[@ThePresentPast_]

I enjoy you're enjoying it!

[@5skdm]

As a person who lives in Java, I knew theres gonna be a link with Suriname and Indonesia and some dutch rule in this video. This video is very well done for how much views it has so far, and so its definitely underrated in my book. I hope for success to the creator!

[@kykale]

Now I'm in Indonesia, when I talk about Suriname most Indonesians seem to think the whole country speaks Javanese, but it's only a minority, usually the older people. The younger people speak Dutch and Surinamese and the basics of Javanese (cmiiw).

[@singaporenoodles7189]

Finally a historian talking about Suriname , Suriname is a very underrated country full of many cultures it's like the Singapore of south America

[@user-vv7rr3ls9i]

Singapore LOL I beg you pardon. I was born in Singapore. Singapore is a top-notch modern democracy. And not a 3rd world criminal drugs state like Suriname. The authentic and nyonya fusion cuisine cannot even remotely be compared to the unhygienic rubbish that's sold in Suriname.. Stop your delusions it's an insult.

[@user-vv7rr3ls9i]

🤣😂😂 canNOT

[@user-vv7rr3ls9i]

Singapore LOL I beg you pardon. I was born in Singapore. Singapore is a top-notch modern democracy. And not a 3rd world drugs state like Suriname. The authentic and nyonya fusion cuisine cannot even remotely be compared to the unhygienic rubbish that's sold in Suriname.. Stop your delusions it's an insult.

[@djplexiglass]

Culturally, yes! Economically, sadly, not...

[@queen84sasha]

@@user-be1jx7ty7n hmm not so sure... Singapore is a Microstate whereas Latin America is a continent...Suriname sure is a lot more diverse in terms of tropical diseases and bacteria than Singapore 😬😥

[@HyphenatedHistoryUK]

I came from your Johnny Harris video and i love your content. I hope more history outside of the States makes its presence known on KZbin. You have a new subscriber, thank you for putting this together

[@benoitbvg2888]

"I met a guy called Risky on the internet and decided to invite him to the restaurant" You know how to live, sir.

[@fiornato6393]

Rezky/resky/risky (sometimes end with 'i') roughly translates to fortune or sustenance for many ethnics in indonesia and malaysia

[@SupremeLeaderKimJong-un]

Suriname fun fact: The country is the home of the famous blue poison dart frog. They are found in patches of forests surrounded by the Sipaliwini Savanna, known in Surinamese Dutch as blauwe pijlgifkikker. The frog is also known by its indigenous Tirio name, okopipi

[@Slashplite]

thanks Kim

[@thelonelyamazonian7039]

And it’s Scientific name is Dendrobates Tinctorius Azureus! 😹😹😹😹😹😹 I used to keep them in my Terrarium alongside the Phyllobates Terribilis, The Golden Poison Frog! You’d actually be pretty surprised what else there is in Suriname, as it’s 95% Rainforest! My Family are from there! 🇸🇷 Peace & Love 💙✌️🇬🇧

[@Jblah]

That frog that keeps babies in its back is also native to surinam

[@Loey89]

Great video! Love that collabed with Ky and we go to that restaurant often!

[@ThePresentPast_]

it's a nice restaurant! :)

[@Liverpoolfcfever]

What's the name of the restaurant?

[@ashieskisoensingh2599]

Pom was an old Jewish dish without meat that was perfected in Suriname by adding different kinds of (smoked) meat. The dish itself was introduced in Suriname by the Jewish people.

[@code07sam]

Indonesian in Netherland here. I came from Tiktok. Thanks for the explanation man! Looking forward for your next content. I'm subscribing 💪👍

[@kykale]

Mantap! Ini Rizky, orang Indo yang di video. Aku juga bikin video tentang sejarah Belanda dan Indonesia. Boleh ngecek channelku.

[@ThePresentPast_]

Welcome to the history club :)

[@user-vv7rr3ls9i]

Why are you in the Netherlands???? Leave our people alone!! Indonesians violently forced the Dutch to leave. Consequently all Indonesians should show decency enough to leave the Netherlands. Or do you need us to force you out like Sukarno did to our people......? Reminder : you are NOT welcome here⛔⛔⛔

[@raihansalim6039]

Correction for 0:27, Java isn't a province, it's a whole island (or an ethnic group, which is the majority of Indonesia). There are 6 provinces on the island of Java, including the capital city Jakarta. So, it is the most populous island in the world, even there are more people here than in Russia. Splendid video by the way, this is the second video I watched on your channel after your critics on Johnny, also subbing for your video quality. Greetings from Indonesia!

[@shredtilyurdead]

Heel mooi gedaan. Thanks very much. Wanneer het verhaal correct en zonder censuur of minimaal verbloeming verteld wordt is dat altijd beste.

[@limiteci8405]

Great content man, keep up the good work!

[@ThePresentPast_]

Thanks! Will do :)

[@gumnaamaadmi007]

Even the brits brought in slaves from what are the modern states of UP and Bihar in India as late as the 19th century to the Caribbean. So much for abolishing slavery. Scottish landlords, with their whips in hand, were waiting for them when they landed. The Scots were so good at ensuring that a running supply of slaves was needed, that the average expectancy of an Indian slave was 5 years - in this time, they were worked to death while their womenfolk were abused.

[@danieldecorentin4100]

None of us were ever slaves. Maybe you should get your facts straight.

[@user-vv7rr3ls9i]

Those are all hearsay bs about things that happened too long ago for anyone to remember. I don't hear any Dutch people cry about the Protestants persecutions by Roman Catholics which was a full-blown genocide. In all sincerity my family are Hakka Chinese from Suriname and also brought there as 'contract laborers' somewhere in the 19th century. But ffs none of us whines about whatever the Dutch did in the 18/19th century. Theyre more worried about the current situation. Widespread drugs and criminality. And my Chinese Peranakan family fled Indonesia after 'independence' because Indonesia became a genocidal Military Dictatorship under Sukarno and Suharto. All is in the eye of the beholder. If Javanese/Surinamese in the Netherlands feel like they are victims of history. I think they should realize everyone is. Instead they should be grateful for what they have and take every economic and educational opportunity they can get in the Netherlands and use it in a positive way. Instead of radicalising and spreading anti-dutch hate theories/ propaganda like THIS.

[@Aninkovsky]

Great content, as Javanese myself, i can relate some of Suriname cuisine. In fact I eat Soto (Saoto) this morning as a breakfast, and Pecel (petjil) yesterday also as breakfast.

[@ThePresentPast_]

sounds like a great breakfast!

[@urbnctrl]

Yes Saoto is slightly different from Soto. I like to make and eat both! Slmt makan!

[@GullibleTarget]

@@urbnctrl What is the difference? I always thought that 'Sauto' was a 'Surinamese' alternative spelling to the original word 'Soto' and that it stuck because the soup is 'salty' Zout/Sotoe/'😅

[@situationsixtynine8743]

Tell them why they went for indentured servants? It's a critical part of it, it shaped the future of the nation.

[@predunatudorgabriel6541]

Great Channel Dude! Love the editing, maybe put a gate on the audio track and watch out for reflections when recording in vlog style. Love the fact that we start to get more european creators talking about european and world stuff from an european perspective. Love from Romania

[@tomdoingfunstuff]

Dude this subject matter and the scripts keep me so engaged, you follow every lead and side story this is so sick and I am so curious I just watched every second of your content after seeing my first video

[@supersharda]

Overall a good explanation of how history played out and great use of the world map to give better visuals. I would have liked to hear more commentary from Surinamese people e.g. that Surinamese girl ... Since it's about Suriname 🇸🇷😘

[@aotoda486]

0:27 Java is the most populous island* not province. The island is composed of 4 provinces it's so populated. It's the most populated island in the world in fact, the small island alone being more populated than all of Russia :)

[@jinnilovely5573]

Bakabana or Pisang goreng + bumbu kacang is very commont every street in Indonesia ..Evey fry food usually eat with sambal and bumbu jacang

[@TheSuperkolor]

no

[@jinnilovely5573]

@@TheSuperkolor come to Indonesia 1st , you will see the fact

[@ericcarabetta1161]

Unfortunately as a typical American I had no idea Surinamese food even existed, but of course it does. All the cuisines here are just so homogenized and watered down, you have to really seek out certain neighborhoods and know what you're looking for to be able to find this kind of exotic cooking, it's all Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Indian, and the occasional Ethiopian restaurant.

[@bgsash242]

00:28 the name of Java is not refer to certain province, but an island, the most populous island in indonesia with 130 million people. It's consists of 4 provinces and 2 special regions, the province banten, west java, central java, east java, and special region of jakarta and jogjakarta.

[@sriharshacv7760]

You rock man. I came here from your video where you criticized Johnny Harris. I loved that video because you didn't express hate. You just criticized him constructively that he himself took notes. We as a society are increasingly moving away from healthy criticism. It was refreshing to watch your video. The current one is fine too. I belong to a priestly class (not really priests but where priests get picked from) and never had an experience with being exploited (though poor). I am kind of embarrassed that I am learning about the complex history of my society via foreigners. I respect you for your neutral and respectful language when describing other cultures. Wish you a good luck! Btw, is this your primary profession or a hobby?

[@mikepictor]

Very interesting. I have only barely tasted Surinamese food since moving here, but I want to try more of it.

[@eva9996]

This was very educational. I hope children in Netherlands learn this in school!!

[@ThePresentPast_]

Recently more about slavery, but contract labour not so much if I recall..

[@jantjepengel1227]

People don t know why we speak dutch

[@gabkikop6949]

One of the few Surinamese dishes? What about sopropo, pepre watra, antruwa, pastei, kwie kwie... There is so much more then Javanese and Hindustani food....

[@MartijnPennings]

Hmm, the Dutch government promised cheap workers from other countries good jobs and conditions and didn't live up to the expectations? Reminds me of something. I guess that's how the Netherlands also became a multi-cultural society.

[@ThePresentPast_]

Some things don't really change..

[@twanhams2635]

0:15 don't you throw shade against stamppot boerenkool met rookworst, with gravy it's pretty delicious.

[@brendank2197]

How interesting! When I go to Amsterdam in the summer I will try to go to one of these restaurants!

[@ThePresentPast_]

Sure do!

[@kamula992]

Just a correction to what you said 29 seconds in, Java is not a province of Indonesia but instead is an island home to 6 different provinces (Banten, DKI Jakarta, West Java, Central Java, SI Yogykarta and East Java.) You're right that its the most populated island though.

[@olivergraham3233]

Wow didn't know about the contract workers getting treated almost as badly as slaves. Thanks for the video!

[@giacomoboffi9394]

Possibly worse, 'cause you know, your slaves are capital investments.

[@joeymoeslan6256]

bakabana is fried ripe plantain coated in batter rather than fried "banana"

[@maxmaxmax616]

Wow just discovered your channel thru watching your critic of Johnny Harris's video. Nice content! bravo!

[@RichardsWorld]

I've been to Suriname a couple times. It is definitely a very interesting place, a big mix of people from Java, China, and India, and the Dutch. Everybody could speak Dutch, and I didn't find anyone that couldn't speak English. And there are so many Chinese businesses around. The people are super friendly also, and lots of choices of foods. You could find Chinese restaurants that made you feel like you are the only person that isn't Chinese. I remember hanging around the popular bar and not many people talk to you much, but once they hear you speak they know (In am American), they start giving you a lot of attention. They probably thought I was just a local. Oh, also several neighborhoods of Brazilians, but I didn't see many in the touristy areas.

[@samsfk4877]

Geweldige editing in deze video, er zit duidelijk super veel werk in en het verdient meer aandacht, zeker in Nederland.

[@ThePresentPast_]

Dank!

[@sranansani8568]

The situation of the labourers from India can not be compared to slavery, because they could go home after 5 years and if they stayed, they got a big piece of land. The black slaves were enslaved for many hundreds years, maybe 10 generations. There was nothing good a slave parent could teach a child because her or his parents and grandparents, the grandparents of the grandparents and the greatgrandparents of greatgrandparents were born in slavery, had never earned money for a living and could not teach their children how to use their money. We have not only trauma, we have important things missing that our parents should have thaught us if they weren't slave grandchildren themselves. Slaves could not marry, and men weren't the head of their family and that is why we have so many families without a father now. Parents don't know how to teach their boys that they must become the head of the family, because it was never said to them and to their parents and so on. What I mean to say is that slavery took from us the chance to learn how to use money the right way, it destabilised the family (till now). It is not only about the hard work without being paid for it, it is also about important lifeskills and the fact that the family is the bedrock of society was taken away from us. That is why we suffer till today. And please never compare the five paid years work of the Indians with the many hundred years of slavery of black people again. And we were never paid after slavery was abolished neither did we get a plot of land. Never, never compare whatever paid labour again to hundreds of years of slavery, where families were destabilised, fathers were sold, mothers were sexually abused and slaves were fucked as they do now with animals.

[@virtual30]

WOW 10 out of 10! WELL explained!! Finally I am proud about my ASIAN heritage being told VERY well!! Thank you for the vid! Its pity Dutch school don't tell this at school .

[@PockASqueeno]

Now I want to try some Surinamese food, but I’m American, and we don’t have any Surinamese restaurants here. 😢 Speaking of which, American food is also very culturally rich…our cuisine is influenced by Italian, Mexican, Chinese, and African (soul) food. I wonder whether Surinamese or American cuisine is more culturally rich…

[@Jblah]

There are some surinam restaurants in the usa

[@thelonelyamazonian7039]

The People of Surinam 🇸🇷, whether they are indo-Javanese, Hindustani, Malay, Chinese or of African Descent refer to themselves as Surinamese. Our official language is Dutch and our lingua-franca is Sranang Tongo (Taki Taki). We are a diverse culture of people. Some with mixed ethnicities, and some of which also carry Native Arawak (Amerindians) Bloodlines (depending if your forefathers/Mothers whom were migrants/slaves) whom intermarried with the Natives, such as the case with my great Grandparents. We are a One Nation people (regardless of Religion), living in Peace. People often intermarry, and genes, as a result diversify. You will find pure Native Arawaks and many other Indigenous People that live deep in the villages, (away from Paramaribo) however, they have their own languages. They have their own ‘untouched’ way of life. You have to also consider the fact, that the country is 95% Rainforest. Which is the highest in the world in regards to land vs forest ratio! Surinam/e (formerly Dutch Guyana) is the name given by the Dutch, after the trade deal with the British. The country’s original name used to be Surinan. The Surinan people are a tribe of indigenous Natives known as Arawaks. They speak Lokono and live on the mainland. Although their population was at decline at one point, their numbers are growing steadily. Alongside Arawaks, other large Tribes that also exist are the Kalinago, Tiriyo, Waraus, and the Wayana. There are numerous more tribes such as the Akurio, Apalai, Wai-Wai, Okomoyana, Maraso and more to list. However they are located closer to the Amazon Borders. There were also the Taino (speaking tribe) at one point, which also belonged to the Arawak people, but migrated to the islands. They were then eventually referred to as the Caribs, known today as the Caribbeans. This, ofcourse, going back in time….before colonisation, that is! Peace & Love 💙✌️🇬🇧

[@ZaimoZaragazzo]

Sranang Tongo is their communication language among ALL SURINAMESE BORN people. It is NOT taki taki (meaning = BABBLE which babies do). Have you noticed how Americans are (extremely) proud to be Americans?

[@ValerieTgirl]

Dude I applaud you. I can really see the time and effort. It speaks highly of the Netherlands in general and you in particular. How you own up to the dark past without self loathing and hypocritical anachronistic l double standards. When I visited Amsterdam ( to see the Museums... most of the time) I saw all of these Surinamese restaurants that puzzled me. So thank you for answering a question I never asked. Also in the Reikmuseum they had a similar tone to yours. Respect from Tel Aviv

[@saurabhupadhyay4659]

You're such an underrrated channel! kudos to you for your amazing work!

[@zala2056]

Safe to say ur my favorite youtuber 😎

[@ThePresentPast_]

😍

[@thijsbaarda]

Been living in Australia for over a decade, besides my family and being able to ride my bike everywhere, Surinamese food is one of the things I miss the most. I knew a little bit about the reason behind the diversity, but you explain it all very well. Thanks for the history lesson.

[@melissalubbe8600]

I live in South Africa and we have a similar culinary mix in the Cape-Malay food which is the result of the influence of historic Malay slaves on the food.

[@user-vv7rr3ls9i]

You mean Malay culture. There are no more Malaysian slaves in South Africa. They were freed from 'slavery'. Stop calling people slaves at random. 🤦‍♀️

[@melissalubbe8600]

@@user-vv7rr3ls9i apologies I did not mean currently, I meant historically but should have been clearer

[@kykale]

Like bobotie and sosatie? The Cape accent in Afrikaans to me sounds very interesting because it kinda reminds me of how Surinamese speak Dutch.

[@slevewslebew6491]

@@user-vv7rr3ls9i well Malay not only came from Malaysia they also in Indonesia and Indonesia is the most populated Malay people in south east asia

[@user-vv7rr3ls9i]

@@slevewslebew6491 Malay are from Sumatra, Riau, Borneo, Brunei until Southern Thailand etc... Your point being? Malay are a minority in Indonesia. The majority in Indonesia are Javanese and Sundanese..

[@Samuel33777]

The something strange going on ... And that's is they always leave the original people out of Suriname history( the aruakkas.) We could not be in slaved. That's why they brought creole and others to be a slave. We the indians helpt the slaves Escape.

[@hermbiov7396]

And also capture and return slaves to their owners

[@Samuel33777]

@@hermbiov7396 that too.. and we had slaves .. to talk about the dark parts of history .. the africans sold there own peoples. And the Africans were slaves for not .. 100 not 200 not 300 but 400 years ..and other people had to help free them. The truth is hard

[@kanufree]

First time hearing about this country

[@tieme.w]

Hey man goede video! Vooral met die kaartannimaties! Je kan misschien ook inspiratie opdoen van NOS op 3 of Geo History!

[@Enhancedlies]

Brilliant video, i learned a-lot!

[@chrisrus1965]

You keep saying "kitchen" when you mean "cuisine".

[@ferrousallotrope]

I just binged all your videos. You’re doing great keep it up!!!

[@teunvandalen7529]

super interessant, was hier laatst nog over aan het nadenken!

[@jonathanemslander6896]

Heel interessant 🧐! I like learning about the Netherlands and it’s former colonies. Dankjewel voor een goede video.

[@ThePresentPast_]

Er komt snel meer aan :)

[@m.h.a.2404]

Lol kompeni pronunciation of java is "yava" while we pronounce it jawa

[@doffgdid1151]

Well I came here for the video about johnny Harris and umm stayed for the super high quality content, super well produced and interesting as can be, so keep up the good work because your content is just on point

[@vidcreatorlondon]

I lived in Amsterdam and always wondered about exactly this issue in surinamese restaurants which were delicious. If you never looked on the map you'd think it's near Indonesia.

[@bluesbattle]

Please do a video (or a series) on the Dutch East Indies!

[@cocoaorange1]

Very informative and fun to know.

[@herurochadi494]

Mohon maaf.. Oleh PM Malaysia dikatakan bahwa diaspora Jawa yang ada di Suriname adalah bagian dari bangsa Melayu. Padahal, nenek moyang orang Jawa di Suriname adalah berasal dari Jawa Tengah, Indonesia. Mereka beretnis Jawa dan bukan etnis Melayu.

[@manusiabiasa6844]

Malaysia cuman bisa claim, cumangegeara bahasa melayu jadi lingua franca semua di calim melayu. Padahal rata rata sejarah di nusantara banyakan dari yg sekarang indonesia. Malaysianyumbang apa? Claim doang

[@sirihsirih4938]

True they're Javanese not Malay. Javanese claim everything and murderer the whole archipelago into an artificial hegemony.

[@ardd.c.8113]

Pom is Jewish in origin brought there by Jewish slave traders who fled the Spanish inquisition and found refuge in the 7 provinces(the Netherlands). The Jews were lucrative allies since they had established the necessary slavemarket contacts when living in the Spanish empire and could serve as a diplomatic middleman in a nasty business as Protestants didn't like direct involvement in human trafficking for ideological reasons. The story of the jews in Europe is that the were forbidden to enter the guilds so they could only make money with risky undertakings like banking, backbreaking labor nobody else was willing to do and Atlantic trade which was rather deadly in those days. Yet the Surinames riff on Pom has changed its ingredients to include homegrown vegetables and spices hence its distinct flavor. Ps. It feels a bit ironic that you are filming this video from what seems like a housing district in Amsterdam build in colonial times and probably done so by Jews... which I'll take as a poetic coincidence

[@ZaimoZaragazzo]

Pom WAS Jewish. Basic ingredient was potatoes but these are replaced by arrowleaf elephant ear root therefore it aint pure Jewish anymore. Dutch has potatoes as if these are origin is pure dutch, same with cucumbers and tomatoes. Italy pretends to be the inventors of tomatoes. Is their someone complaining and correct the signs near pavements of greengrocers, Dutch this Italian that as if they OWN it's origin? NO!!!

[@XsweetstarliteX]

Thanks for this video, visited in last year and was confused by so many different surinamese fusion restaurants 😅

[@bellaflor71]

I am also of surinamese descendance and that means that everyone who is from there is surinamese no matter the race,,culture ,etnicity or religion.. Its annoying to hear them say in rhe video he is from indonesian descendance and she is from surinamese descendance only because sheis black and he is asia. They are both imported from outside and then became part of Surinam thus botb of them are Surinamese, and by the. way,the natives are the original habitants from Surnam. And we have a iot of different races,cultures, religions and etnicites there and these ate not only the asian,black,,natives(yes they still have them we musnt forget them they can claim being surinamese first and fo r sure).we have aso whites,arabic people, etc etc By the way I am amixture of white, ,black and native what is very normal all over the Americas.

[@basketballerzz]

Whats the name of the restaurant? Would like to go there!

[@gandalfgreyhame3425]

Some of the best Dutch soccer players are Surinamese. Sergino Dest, born in the Netherlands of an American-Surinamese father (former serviceman) and a Dutch mother, plays for the USMNT

[@Marlontje.]

Sergino Dest is somewhere in my top 10000000 😂😂😂 lol my guy said best dutch player and then mentioned Dest 😂 come on man

[@toomuchinformation]

Ruud Gullit, Frank Rijkaard and others in the 1980s and 90s.

[@VictoriaMeira7]

3:00 ahhh so that's how "de zilvervloot" relates to get Leids ontzet. I always thought it was a weird addition to the songs we sang at school for the 3rd of October

[@dwilbank]

nice edit job!

[@abdulazizclare9545]

This took place in the Caribbean long before South America. West Indian food is rich mix we are ground zero of the Colombian exchange. Very similar food to Suriname but not Indonesian or Javan but all the others.

[@Zuryach]

0:27 to 0:29 "...Java, the most populous province of Indonesia." Well, Java is the most populous island in the world. However, Java comprises of 6 provinces.

[@ageoflove1980]

Id say the more positive message here is: No matter what happened, how you look or where you from, who was right and who was wrong, we all enjoy great food all the same together. And what better way to celebrate this to have some Indonesian, Chinese, Creole and Hindustani food in a Surinamese restaurant in Amsterdam in 2022?!

[@kilanspeaks]

Java is an island, not a province. There are six provinces in Java, not all of them are traditionally “Javanese” culture-wise. BTW a question, if you please. Since you’re speaking in English, what’s with the insistence to pronounce Indonesian names in Dutch? For example, wouldn’t it make more sense to pronounce “Java” in English or even in Indonesian rather than Dutch?

[@Cupapet93]

0:28 java is an island not a province. but anyway awesome work,,

[@Ronin969]

Never trust anyone talking about "the dark history of _____" to know anything about history. If they did they'd know it's ALL, SO dark that any luminescence deserves to be celebrated.

[@DJosAmmel]

This is impressively honest. People who've never lived in the Netherlands have no idea how controversial it can be to even talk about such things there (much like in the USA).

[@queen84sasha]

How old are you? Cause you sound so naive. Controversial is when they limit your freedom of speech and lock you up in jail for trying to address Human rights abuses. This is what happens in Indonesia in fact. I'm not sure what you find controversial but rest assured. There's very little that is controversial in the Netherlands. LOLLL

[@DragonYeng]

You deserve more views

[@ThePresentPast_]

All in due time :)

[@suzy5166]

omg... i almost cry... Never before i know about the dark history! 😭

[@63bananabread]

what is the restaurant in the video? name/location ?

[@josecarloscosta5220]

In 16th century the Ducth occupied SãoTome and Luanda in Angola, the main source of slaves for Brazil, way more than Gold Coast (Elmina). You should explore that.

[@ReepRutger]

this video made me super hungry 😅

[@ThePresentPast_]

Sponsored by the surinamese food fusion association 😄

[@SlapLegend96]

Thank you for your video! Now i now a little more of my roots. Maybe its time for me to go Java.

[@oswjim]

I'm originally from Venezuela, and you just don't imagine how "alien" are for us countries like Suriname, Guyana or French Guyana being so relatively close -- this can also be applied to Trinidad and Tobago -- whereas not such for Aruba or Curacao

[@immaculatecorrection]

this video taught me things. thanks

[@ThePresentPast_]

My pleasure ❤️

[@handsomeguy7493]

I really don’t understand why this videos called the “dark history” ……

[@JordanVanRyn]

Wow I didn’t know all of that. It’s really interesting and I’ve never tried Javanese food before. I hope I get to try some when I visit Amsterdam.

[@NateVDZ]

Kinda nitpicky, but I didn't like how you kept using a modern-day world map with modern-day borders throughout the video. For example arround 6:10 you said _"India"_ whilst highlighting the borders of modern-day India eventhough the Hindustani people at that time came from the British Raj which was much bigger before it was split up into the independent countries we now know today. But overall great video! Your Johnny Harris video brought me here and I'm looking forward for your future content since I just subbed. Ga zo door man!

[@ThePresentPast_]

Completely right. As a solo creator I’m gonna make mistakes. But trying to improve every vid!

[@IErfanCN]

Nice info

[@wenderis]

Lately (read: the past 3-5 years or so), I've seen many Dutch still trying to blur their own history. Altho most of the ones that committed the crimes are long dead. So bizzare. possession This is a video about food history! Yes, the vid is also subtly (and not too subtle in some part) owning up to his nations history, but first and foremost its about food! Those two beautiful friends of his captured it the best, SPANG!

[@user-vv7rr3ls9i]

Got a more urgent question. When can we expect the Indonesian government to come clean about their genocides and human rights abuses in recent decades? Suharto is long dead.. What's the problem? What do you have to hide..🤷‍♀️

[@aotoda486]

4:08 this number represents over five-and-a-half hundred* thousand, or over half a million

[@ayikaryoni6480]

I hope you'll make a video a bout Dutch Colonialism in the future.

[@atomananas1419]

Can someone tell me what the restaurant is called or are there any recommendations for surinamese restaurants? I'll visit Amsterdam next week.

[@Draintheswamp888]

Love Suriname miss Suriname