Suriname - Names from the past

On Monday October 30th 2023 project 'Names from the past' was launched, in which the graves and grave monuments of Surinamese who have played an important or special role in history will be inventoried. The start of the project was during the course 'Funerary Heritage in Suriname', organized by the Built Heritage Foundation Suriname (SGES). Now that graves can be cleared from the cemeteries, graves of important Surinamese people may be in danger of disappearing. Because not all graves can be preserved due to a lack of space in the cemeteries, care must be taken to ensure that no heritage is lost.

At the invitation of SGES, two funerary specialists from the Netherlands visited Suriname for a few weeks to advise on the handling of special funerary heritage. Leon Bok of the Cultural Heritage Agency (RCE) and René ten Dam of the Dodenakkers.nl Foundation have previously been to Suriname, but are now here to conduct research and provide advice on maintenance issues on the Jodensavanne, but also on the various cemeteries in Paramaribo. Several discussions have already been held with some administrators. Ten Dam: “The Nieuwe Oranjetuin is a pearl in funerary culture, not only for Suriname. There is also a lot of symbolism in other cemeteries, in addition to special use of materials and design. The constructions with the cut bricks are truly unique and show the qualities of the earlier craftsmen. The so-called tile graves from the last century are typically Surinamese and often very special in design.”

Monument of photographer Augusta Curiel at Oud Linas Rust.
(Photo René ten Dam)With the 'Names from the Past' project, the SGES wants to draw attention to the funerary heritage in Suriname and in particular to the graves of renowned Surinamese people. For example, Sophie Redmond (1907-1955) and Johan Adolf Pengel (1916-1970) are buried at Marius' Rest of the Moravian Church. And photographer Augusta Curiel (1873-1937) is buried at Oud Lina's Rust. The Surinamese composer Johannes Nicolaas Helstone (1853-1927) was one of the permanent organists in the Lutheran church and is buried at Oud Vrede en Arbeid. Many cemeteries have Surinamese people of importance buried, some are known from the street name around the corner or because of their special role in the history of Suriname, but their final resting place is often unknown. Stephen Fokké (SGES): “The development of our country can be clearly illustrated through the graves and grave monuments. More than 200 years of history is buried at Nieuwe Oranjetuin. But let's start by taking inventory of special people from our history.”

The inventory will be managed by SGES with support from Stichting Dodenakkers.nl. Anyone can submit names to be included on the list. Send an email to info.sges1997@gmail.com with the name of the person, the cemetery and preferably a photo of the grave monument. The results of the research will be shared on the Shared Cemeteries website, which already describes part of the funerary heritage in Suriname: https://sharedcemeteries.net/nl/.