Suriname’s African Roots: as manifested by DNA & Language!

This year Keti Koti will be a celebration of 150 years since Dutch slavery ended! Not only in Suriname but also for other former Dutch colonies in the Caribbean: Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba, St. Eustatius, St. Maarten. Officially 1863 was the year that slavery was abolished in the Dutch Caribbean & Suriname. However many people practically remained enslaved for another ten years in order to “compensate” their former enslavers… See this website for the meaning of the year 1873. Photo credits: Hogeschool Rotterdam, Flickr1, Flickr2.

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Klik hier voor de Nederlandse versie van deze blogpost!

Keti Koti literally means “the chains are broken” in Sranan Tongo: the most spoken language of Suriname aside from Dutch. Keti Koti refers to emancipation from Dutch slavery. Annual celebrations and remembrance taking place on the first of July. Not only in Suriname itself but in the Netherlands as well. And also in the Dutch Antilles where they have several other names for the same event. This year will be a special Keti Koti because the Dutch government has declared a Slavery Memorial Year from 1 July 2023 to 1 July 2024.¹ See also:

• Dutch involvement in the transatlantic slave trade and abolition (Leiden University)
• Keti Koti Festival in Amsterdam

In honour of this fine day I thought it would be fitting to highlight some key research findings about the African roots of Surinamese Creoles & Marrons. I will just focus on what I happen to be aware of. Providing a summary of the main take-aways. But I intend to follow-up on this introductionary post.² As always it should be kept in mind that this type of research is not intended to give the final say! It will not cover all grounds and of course future efforts might bring new or additional insight 😉 But I do believe that what has been uncovered sofar is already quite valuable. Especially from a holistic perspective.

From all places across the Atlantic Afro-Diaspora African cultural retention is probably the greatest in Suriname. And therefore the outcomes discussed should not be completely surprising. Although especially for younger generations these cultural legacies might no longer be widely known. Furthermore the link with specific modernday African countries such as Benin or Liberia might not be immediately clear for many people. Also for reasons of prestige perhaps some types of African lineage have traditionally been more emphasized than others. 

In fact there are several distinct groups of Afro-descendants in Suriname. Nowadays also called Afro-Surinamese when combined. But usually the main distinction being made is between largely urbanized Creoles for whom arguably Keti Koti is most relevant. And also the various so-called Marron peoples who famously escaped from slavery, many generations before 1863/1873!

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Contents of this blog post:

1. DNA Studies
   • Genetic Consequences of the Transatlantic Slave Trade in the Americas (23andme, 2020)
   • Genome-wide Ancestry and Demographic History of African-Descendant Maroon Communities from French Guiana and Suriname (Fortes-Lima et al., 2017)
2. Linguistic Studies
   • Surviving the Middle Passage: The West Africa-Surinam Sprachbund (2015)
     • Lexical items from Kikongo (Congo/Angola) (PDF file)
     • Lexical items from Gbe languages (Benin/Togo) (PDF file)
3. Exciting new prospects to uncover African Identities for Dutch Caribbeans & Surinamese!
   • Ontrafel de ontnomen identiteit (Arwin Ralf)
   • Sign this petition! (use this link). It will enable a large-scale DNA testing project to learn more about the various types of African lineage found among Dutch Caribbeans & Surinamese.

1) DNA Studies

“Genetic Consequences of the Transatlantic Slave Trade in the Americas“ (23andme, 2020)

Link to study

Table 1.1 (click to enlarge)

This overview is showing the scaled African breakdown for a selection of the Afro-descended sample groups featured in Micheletti et al. (2020). Take note how “Ghanaian, Liberian & Sierra Leonean” is a clear stand-out category for the sample group which includes Suriname! The 23andme research team used no less than 267 samples from Suriname and its neighbouring countries Guyana and French Guyane. The largest sample size I have seen sofar for this type of autosomal DNA testing.³ 

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Table 1.2 (click to enlarge)

Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database (2023). This overview shows the estimated number of disembarked Africans arriving in the Dutch Caribbean (only Dutch Antilles) and the Dutch Guianas (which includes Suriname as well as Guyana before British take-over during 1796-1814). Hailing from a great number of places across West and Central Africa. But around 45% were shipped from the area: Liberia, Ivory Coast and Ghana. Combining the estimates for Windward Coast (= Liberia & Ivory Coast) and Gold Coast (=Ghana): 134.540/294.562 = 45,6%. Of course there are plenty of disclaimers to take into account when dealing with this kind of data (see this page). However roughly speaking this appears to be supportive of the research findings by 23andme!

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Figure 1.1 (click to enlarge)

Source: Micheletti et al. (2020). The labeling for “Coastal West African” and “Congolese” is reflecting the initial names for categories on 23andme which are now shown as resp. “Ghanaian, Liberian & Sierra Leonean” and “Angolan & Congolese”. Obviously the focus on only 4 categories represents a rather basic regional framework, but still the outcomes are conforming with historical expectations, for the most part. See also this discussion.

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In 2020 a research team from 23andme published a major landmark study titled “Genetic Consequences of the Transatlantic Slave Trade in the Americas (Micheletti et al., 2020)“. Arguably the largest DNA study to examine African ancestry in the Americas! Based on the 23andme results for over 27,000 people. Covering a wide span of the Afro-Diaspora, incl. also a sample group of 267 people from Suriname and its neighbouring countries (Guyana and French Guyane). The research approach of this study consists of combining genetic data obtained from 23andme customers with Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade patterns. Which is practically the same approach I have been using ever since I started my AncestryDNA survey in 2013. 

From my experience this provides a sufficiently robust basis to uncover preliminary yet insightful patterns! The main take-away from this study is in relation to regional admixture. Because it is clearly no coincidence that “Ghanaian, Liberian & Sierra Leonean” scores are peaking for Surinamese when being compared with other parts of the Afro-Diaspora. After all this is in line with historical expectations (see table 1.2). There is an internal coherency at play because at the same time “Senegambian” is clearly predominant for Cape Verdeans.  And “Angolan & Congolese” is appearing most convincingly as biggest component for Brazilians. While “Nigerian” is relatively prevailing for the USA and the British/French Caribbean. Most likely correlating with Bight of Biafra lineage which is more subdued for Suriname, generally speaking (again see table 1.2).

Are these estimates “100% accurate”? No of course not! But in itself this outcome is already quite meaningful. Especially when you take into account the wider context and the following disclaimers:

• “Ghanaian, Liberian & Sierra Leonean” is not just simply referring to ancestry from Ghana. Given what we know about historical slave trade by the Dutch also ancestral ties to Liberia and Ivory Coast should be significant as well! Ancestral connections to Sierra Leone are much less likely to be implied, going by Table 1.2. See also these links:
  • The Slave Trade from the Windward Coast – The Case of the Dutch, 1740–1805 (Vos, J. (2010).
  • Were the so-called Sokko from colonial Suriname originally from the Ivory Coast area? (Fonte Felipe, 2017) 

• DNA inherited from Gbe-speakers (Benin/Togo) is found under both “Nigerian” and “Ghanaian, Liberian & Sierra Leonean”. Because 23andme does not have a separate category for pinpointing DNA from Benin & Togo (unlike Ancestry).  See also this blogpost:
  • “Benin/Togo” also describes DNA from Ghana & Nigeria (Fonte Felipe, 2018)

• Central African regional admixture was greatly underestimated in this study (which is based on 23andme’s 2018 version). For the most part probably hidden under the usually considerable “Broadly” scores. In the last few years since the study appeared 23andme has been been gradually improving its inadequate detection of Central African DNA. But there are still some inherent difficulties given genetic overlap. Definitely something to be aware of for any future research attempts dealing with the African origins of Surinamese & Dutch Caribbeans!

For a much more detailed review of this study by 23andme as well as examples of actual Surinamese 23andme results see links below:

• Genetic Consequences of the Transatlantic Slave Trade in the Americas (scroll down to section 2)
• Dutch Caribbean (incl. Suriname) 23andme results

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Genome-wide Ancestry and Demographic History of African-Descendant Maroon Communities from French Guiana and Suriname (Fortes-Lima et al., 2017)

Link to article

Figure 1.2 (click to enlarge)

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“The samples from South America (n = 107) included 71 individuals from four Noir Marron communities in French Guiana and Suriname (23 Aluku, 23 Ndjuka, 19 Saramaka, and six Paramaka), 16 African-Brazilians from Rio de Janeiro, and 20 African-Colombians from the Antioquia and Chocó departments in Colombia.” (Fortes-Lima et al., 2017, p.726)

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Figure 1.3 (click to enlarge)

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” Our findings suggest different source populations for the three African-descendant populations in our dataset. The Noir Marron, with their high proportion of African ancestry (98%), have strong genetic affinities with African populations residing in the historical Bight of Benin highlighting this region as an important source population.” (Fortes-Lima et al., 2017, p.732)

” Interestingly, the admixture profile of the Noir Marron closely matches that of present-day populations living in the historical Bight of Benin. Such populations include Fon, Bariba, and Yoruba from Benin“ (Fortes-Lima et al., 2017, p.729)

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This is another highly interesting study. Especially because it is focused on the unique Marron groups of Suriname. The main outcome is that the Marron samples are clearly clustering with samples from the Benin area. As shown in figure 1.3 (C). The Fon people from Benin being singled out in particular (see also this chart). Instead the study found that for their Afro-Colombian samples it was much more the Akan from Ghana who stood out. And for their Afro-Brazilian samples the study highlights the Kimbundu from Angola. These outcomes are historically speaking quite plausible. At least when you are aware of all the relevant disclaimers. Keeping in mind that the authors are describing relative tendencies!

Follow links below to learn more about the Bight of Benin connection for Suriname:

• The Woman King: how does it feature in your DNA results & genealogy? (Fonte Felipe, 2022)
• Interview with cultural ambassador of Dahomey kingdom who visited Suriname in 2023 (he is mistakingly called a king!) (Youtube, Sunweb/English)
• Cultural ambassador of Dahomey kingdom meets Vice President of Suriname (who is of Marron (Ndyuka) descent) (Waterkant/Nederlands)
• Visit from cultural ambassador of Dahomey kingdom to Suriname (Youtube, AHOUANDJO TV/Gbe language (Fon?)
• Marron village called Dahomey in Suriname (Wikipedia)

As always you should be wary of misinterpretation and resist the temptation to jump to conclusions! This study deserves a more elaborate discussion.⁴ However for now I will just point out the following: by default practically all people from the Afro-Diaspora will have multiple origins from across West & Central Africa. As well as Southeast Africa to a minor degree, but probably least so for Suriname, see Table 1.2. Naturally this also includes the Marron people from Suriname. In fact they should also have substantial Akan lineage and Angolan lineage in addition to Benin ancestry! As well as additional ancestry from several other African groups as well. Any suggestion of “single tribe” origins is very misleading. Even when still quite widespread unfortunately. See also:

• Fictional Family Tree incl. African Born Ancestors (Fonte Felipe, 2015)
• Just Say No: African Ancestry’s DNA Tests (S. Christmas, 2019)

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“Interestingly, this result is consistent with linguistic studies based on hundreds of African words that are commonly used by Noir Marron communities today; these studies reveal striking parallels and functional similarities with the eastern Gbe language sub-family that is spoken today by the Fon and other populations residing in the Bight of Benin.” (Fortes-Lima et al., 2017, p.732)

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It cannot be repeated often enough that the African roots of Atlantic Afro-descendants will almost always be a composite. To be sure it is very valuable to be aware of whichever ancestral components might be prevailing.  And also to know the approximate extent of all the various lineages. Therefore Tracing African Roots requires dealing with many complexities and nuances should always be taken into account. Preferably by using an integral multi-disciplinary approach.

Both the 23andme study from 2020 as well as this study from 2017 start out on a promising basis. However on closer look I find that they are at times merely paying lipservice to these principles. To be fair the same goes for most genetic studies (see this overview). I often find that especially the historical/cultural context is not always properly explained. Also the genetic implications are often exaggerated or not sufficiently clarified.⁵ 

But on the other hand I am also a firm believer of “glass half-full mentality” 😉 Remaining critical but also open-minded and careful not to be dismissive when informational value can still be obtained! And to be fair this study does mention that its main outcome is supported by linguistic evidence as I will also discuss in the next section. Then again the Central African aspect is yet again underreported. Because in fact not only genetically but also linguisticaly the Marron people have been greatly influenced by especially the Bakongo people from the historical Loango coast! See also:

• Historical and ethno-linguistic maps from Central Africa.

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2) Linguistic Studies 

• Surviving the Middle Passage: The West Africa-Surinam Sprachbund (2015)
  • Lexical items from Kikongo (Congo/Angola) (PDF file)
  • Lexical items from Gbe languages (Benin/Togo) (PDF file)
• African elements in Saramaccan Maroon plant names in Suriname (2021)
  • Supplement with full overview of all words ( PDF file)
• Assessing the role of the Gbe languages in the formation of the Creoles of Suriname (2013)

Table 2.1 (click to enlarge)

The exact proportion of African words in Sranan Tongo varies according to study. Overall representing a minor share. This is due to the so-called relexification mechanism. But just the mere fact that hundreds of African words have survived is very precious! Also when compared with other mainstream Creole languages across the Atlantic Afro-Diaspora this number of African derived words is very impressive (see this chart). Even more so when reviewing the various Marron languages as well as the amazing retention of ritualized Winti languages such as Ampuku (Angola/Congo), Kromanti (Ghana/Akan) and Papa (Benin/Togo/Gbe)! Source: Surviving The Middle Passage, p.227.

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“Creole languages are expressions of resistance […] a new language will be created, not because of any wish to approximate the oppressor’s language, which they would have learned anyway for reasons of self-preservation, but for two other reasons: To mark the new “pseudo-ethnic” identity created by external forces, and to exclude the oppressor from in-group communication” (Surviving the Middle Passage, p. 81 & 90)

“The list of circa 185 Kikongo words represents the largest number of words identified so far in the Surinam Creoles, from any single African language source. However, this is partly due to the fact that Daeleman, a student of Kikongo, made an early study of the Kikongo words he found, or suspected, in the Saramaccan language (Daeleman 1972). This list was augmented for Ndyuka by Huttar (1985, 1986). As is the case with the other list given here (on the Gbe lexical contribution to the Surinam Creoles), the Kikongo list is preliminary.” (Surviving the Middle Passage, p. 417).

“The second main reason for the preservation of Gbe-derived lexicon is marronnage. So the earliest maroon groups preserve the largest number of Gbe words. In Saramaccan, the language of the Maroon tribe of the same name, we find, for instance, 115 of the total of 138 Gbe items listed here.” (Surviving the Middle Passage, p. 463).

“After 1720 or so, the Gold Coast became the principal supplier of slaves. Although the Twi/Akan language shared the fate of becoming the nucleus of a ritual language, the number of [Twi/Akan] lexical items entering the ordinary languages appears to have been much fewer in number than in the case of the Gbe and Kikongo which were present earlier” (Surviving the Middle Passage, p. 41)

“Three ritual languages continued (and continue) to be spoken in Surinam by Winti adepts: The Papá, Fodu or Aladá with a nucleus of Gbe lexical items; The Púmbu or A(m)púku with a nucleus of Kikongo lexical items; and the K(r)omanti with a nucleus of Twi/Akan lexical items. They are used to communicate with the various gods of the syncretized Winti religion,which is shared by all the creole-speaking groups in Surinam.

Although they are ritual languages, much reduced and fairly formulaic, their existence does indicate that these three African languages remained in use for some time as regular spoken languages. How many generations this situation lasted is completely unclear, although it seems credible that, in settlements called Papa Dorpen or Loangodorp, the Papá [=Gbe/Fon] or Loango languages [=Kikongo] would have been spoken.” (Surviving the Middle Passage, p. 41)

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Table 2.2 (click to enlarge)

Source: Surviving The Middle Passage, p.397. Within the Sranan Tongo and Marron languages African influence is arguably stronger in syntax, morphology, pronounciation etc.. The overview above is taken from a recent study into these aspects. Various linguists have made contributions. Focusing especially on the influence from the Gbe languages (Benin/Togo). Because this Gbe influence is most apparent due to founding effects. Even when in fact it turns out that the number of Kikongo lexical items (n=185) is greater than the number of Gbe derived words (n=138) in Surinamese Creole languages.

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“The Surinam Creoles constitute one of the richest and best-documented sources for the study of creole genesis. There are early sources available, and detailed descriptions of many aspects of their structure and development. Furthermore, there is abundant and indisputable historical, demographic, and lexical linguistic evidence that the Gbe languages, in particular the varieties spoken in Benin, as well as Kikongo, were of crucial importance in shaping the Surinam Creoles. This book deals with a number of aspects of linguistic structure, ranging from phonology to semantics, as well as with socio-historical considerations.” (Surviving the Middle Passage, p. 8)

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I do not have that much to add to the quotations and charts posted above. Linguistics is a specialized field and so this topic may appear to be overtly technical at times. Even when language in itself is also a very intimate aspect of identity. I think especially learning more about African retention in Creole languages can be very educational. Therefore much recommended to read the studies yourself by way of the links provided above!

However as always there are some caveats to keep in mind. Research is ongoing. New insights are still being generated. Within the last few decades much progress has been made. Also by involving native speakers from African countries. This includes the main 2015 study “Surviving the Middle Passage – The West Africa-Surinam Sprachbund (eds. P. Muysken & N. Smith). Which appears to be a good representation of the current state of knowledge.

Personally as a Cape Verdean Creole speaker I have always been very much intrigued by the development of Creole languages across the Afro-Diaspora. In fact the 2015 study also has very interesting chapters about cross-Diaspora connections. For example explaining the similarities in English-based creoles spoken in Jamaica, Suriname and even Sierra Leone (Krio) (pp. 67-106, see also this fascinating chart).

Then again the study of Creole languages is still far from being an exact science. Linguists often tend to disagree with each other. Competing theories might also be supported merely for chauvinistic reasons. Most importantly perhaps you should always remember that cultural transfer does not fully correlate with genetic inheritance! Each separate case to be judged on its own merits 😉

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Table 2.3 (click to enlarge)

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This overview is based on the same Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database as used for Table 1.2. There might be some slight differences because this chart is depicting the entire Dutch slave trade. Not only into the Dutch Caribbean and the Dutch Guianas therefore. But also for example the Spanish Americas and Dutch-held Brazil in the 1600’s. Possibly it is also based on the number of embarked people instead of disembarked captives. See this page for similar charts. And also scroll down this page for more details on Dutch Caribbean and Suriname.

Either way, clearly on display there is a general pattern of early predominance of arrivals from the Bight of Benin and Central Africa. Occurring within the period of 1650-1750. And this should also be very much valid for Suriname! This is not only significant for understanding how Surinamese Creole languages developed. But most likely also in particular important for learning more about the specific lineage of Surinamese Marron groups.

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“These Maroon societies differed sharply from the plantations in terms of demographic development. At the end of the 18th century, over a century after colonization, a large proportion of the plantation slaves had recently arrived from West Africa, because of the very high replacement rate of slaves in Surinam. Only 30% of the slave population was locally born at that time (Arends 1995a: 269).

Even though precise figures on population growth of Maroon societies are lacking for the 17th and 18th century, Price estimates that by the late 18th century, “well over 99% of the Saramaka population would have been Surinam-born” (1975: 471). This is in sharp contrast with the Surinamese plantations.

So while Africans outnumbered Surinam-born Creoles on the plantations throughout the 18th century, locally born Saramaccans soon formed the majority among the Saamaka population.” (Surviving the Middle Passage, p. 216)

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As a last remark I would just like to stress that learning about the approximate timeperiod of creolization is vital for understanding your African lineage. That is to say the turning point whereby a majority of the population would be locally born instead of African-born. I greatly suspect that future research will uncover insightful substructure among the various Afro-Surinamese groups, in particular when distinguishing Creoles from Marrons.

To be sure all Afro-Surinamese groups will still have an significant degree of shared African roots! But there might also be distinctive differences in their particular mix of African origins (on average!). Which is not to say that any kind of lineage will exclusive to anyone! And of course there will always be individual variation. Just speculating for now. But based on Tables 1.2 and 2.3 it could very well be that especially Benin lineage is more prevalent among the Marron. While Creoles might have a greater degree of ancestry to be linked to relative latecomers from the Windward Coast (Liberia/Ivory Coast). 

I have applied such substructure analysis in my own research efforts throughout the years. And I found it to be very illuminating. See links below for a summary of my Ancestry surveys (2013-2018) as well as my 23andme surveys (2018-2021):

• Update: Afro-Diasporan AncestryDNA Survey (part 1) (2018)
• 23andme’s African breakdown put to the test: Afro Diaspora edition! (2021)

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3) Exciting new prospects to uncover the African Roots of Dutch Caribbeans & Surinamese!

This is a picture of the National Slavery Monument in the Oosterpark of Amsterdam. The debate about the Dutch role in slavery has really only begin to take off in the last two decades or so. For now culminating in the formal apologies being offered today (01-07-2023) by the Dutch King Willem Alexander. However expectations run high about follow-up actions to address the persisting effects of Trans-Atlantic Slavery.

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“Petition for Research on African Genetic Heritage

To: The Minister of Home Affairs

Dear Minister,

We, the undersigned of this petition, request your attention to the urgency of research on African genetic heritage. The descendants of enslaved Africans from the Netherlands, Suriname, Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba, Statia, and Sint Maarten carry the burden of a history from which much of our cultural and genetic identity has been taken. Knowledge about their African roots has been completely blurred, and the results of genealogical research only extend as far as the plantations where our ancestors were treated as property. It is time to further unravel this shared history and gain a profound understanding of our genetic background.

Unfortunately, commercial DNA testing companies have so far failed to provide accurate and reliable results regarding African roots. These companies have limited reference data on African genetic variation, leading to significant variations in test results. Different test results are even observed among people of European descent, despite the availability of ample reference data for them. This is because the technology used can only read a limited number of “words” in the “book” of our DNA. To differentiate specific countries or tribes within a continent, more robust research is needed.

Therefore, we advocate for the establishment of a large-scale scientific research project on genetic variation within Africa. This research is crucial to develop a test specifically aimed at accurately determining African genetic heritage. It requires reading the entire “book” of our DNA and examining the genetic material of many Africans to adequately map the variations.

Unfortunately, there are no funds available for this type of research. However, with the announced awareness fund in the context of the government’s apology for the actions of the Dutch state during the period of slavery, there is now a unique opportunity to finance this research. We understand that scientific research is costly, but the importance of uncovering our African roots justifies this investment. Therefore, we kindly request you to include this research as part of the awareness fund.

With each passing generation, valuable genetic connections with our African ancestors are lost. Let us gather, preserve, and pass on this knowledge to future generations so that they have a solid foundation to understand and cherish their identity.

Yours sincerely,

Arwin Ralf, on behalf of the department of Genetic Identification of the Erasmus MC, Rotterdam

Sylvana Simons, Member of Parliament, BIJ1

Stephan van Baarle, Member of Parliament, DENK” (source)

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I wholeheartedly support this project! I urge everyone who feels the same way to sign this petition (via this link). 

I truly think this project has the potential to fullfill the dreams of so many people: restoring a tangible connection with one’s African Roots! In fact when implemented correctly I am also very hopeful that this could be a true gamechanger in several aspects! Also providing other Afro-descended populations in the Diaspora with a blueprint on how to Trace African Roots!

See links below for more details on this awe-inspiring initiative by Arwin Ralf, a gifted genetic researcher from Erasmus University (MC) in Rotterdam. 

• Ontrafel de ontnomen identiteit (Caribisch Netwerk)
• Door dit onderzoek kunnen nazaten achterhalen in welke Afrikaanse regio hun voorouders woonden (AD)
• Sign this petition! (use this link) It will enable a large-scale DNA testing project to learn more about the various types of African lineage found among Dutch Caribbeans & Surinamese.

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Photo credits: De ketenen zijn gebroken: vier Keti Koti met muzikale Surinaamse wortels (features a Surinamese playlist!)

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Notes

1) Keti Koti has an increasing significance for many people in the Netherlands. Not only for those of Dutch Caribbean/Surinamese descent or even other Afro-decendants from elsewhere. But generally speaking across the Dutch population the awareness of the multi-generational effects of colonization and slavery has become much greater. Triggered not only by the BLM movement from recent years. But in fact also the result of local developments which go back much longer. Especially the protests against Zwarte Piet. See also this old blog post of mine:

• ROOTS.NL (S1E3): True Colours: Dutch Race Relations (2017)

Arguably Cape Verdeans are the third biggest Afro-Diasporan group in the Netherlands. Right after the Surinamese and Dutch Antilleans. Although Brazilians and Dominicans have been growing fast in number in the last 2 decades as well (see this link). But especially Brazilian migrants willl usually not be of predominant African descent. Also the Dutch-Cape Verdean community has been established for a longer time since atleast the 1960s and 1970s. In particular in the city of Rotterdam. Although amazingly the first recorded Dutch Cape Verdeans lived in Amsterdam already during the 1600’s! See also this article:

• Een Afro-Amsterdamse gemeenschap in de zeventiende eeuw (M. Ponte, 2018) (English version)

From what I know Cape Verdean-Suriname connections have not been that frequent, historically speaking. Although actually by way of my Surinamese stepfather I myself do have Surinamese family! Going by slave trade records Senegambian ancestry is bound to be quite minimal on average for the Dutch Caribbean & Suriname (see this chart and also this one). Personal DNA test results as well as genetic studies are already confirming this. This provides a remarkable and also useful contrast when reviewing the results for Cape Verdeans. Who tend to be almost exclusively Senegambian when it comes to their African DNA. Underlining that admixture analysis, despite imperfections, is already quite insightful! See also:

• Dutch Caribbean (incl. Suriname) 23andme results
• Cape Verdean 23andme results

Interestingly however there are several significant historical links between Cape Verdeans and Dutch Antilleans (in particular the so-called ABC islands). Something which is expressed in the Upper Guinean/Portuguese Creole origins of Papiamento. This is something which I aim to blog about in more detail eventually as well. 

2) Later on this year I aim to finally publish my survey findings for several Afro-descended groups. Based on research I performed in 2020 when Ancestry deleted the smaller matches for their customers. One of the posts will feature the results of Surinamese participants: 

• African DNA matches reported for 30 West Indians on Ancestry (incl. 10 Barbadians, Trinidadians, Guyanese and Surinamese)

See also this chart a for a preview of my findings:

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Most recently in 2022 I was very proud to see one of my articles appearing in actual print! Being featured in Wi Rutu, a journal specializing in Surinamese genealogy. I was also extremely pleased with the reaction of readers who responded to my appeal for participating in my ongoing research. For those who know how to read Dutch:

• Afrikaanse DNA-matches: een veelbelovende manier om in te zoomen op Afrikaanse Roots (Wi Rutu, 2022)

3) As far as I know 23andme did not provide any further details about the 267 samples it used from Suriname, Guyana and French Guyane. I am just speculating but think it is reasonable to assume that most of 23andme’s samples might be of (mixed) Creole descent and not Marrons. Which makes it all the more interesting to compare the outcomes with the 2017 study among the Noir Marron.

I also think it’s fair to assume that most of these samples could be taken from 23andme customers residing in the United States.  According to estimates there might be around 10-15,000 migrants from Suriname living there. Even when the Suriname diaspora is much bigger in the Netherlands (around 350,000, all ethnic subgroups included)! 

23andme’s study might still also include some samples from Dutch-Surinamese. However from my observations the 23andme DNA test is not that popular in the Netherlands. MyHeritage appears to be the absolute market leader. Undeservedly so, because in my opinion 23andme has much more on offer than MyHeritage when wanting to learn about your African lineage. Especially the very dismal performance of My Heritage’s regional admixture tool may have convinced many people that DNA testing is not worth the effort. However as I always say you should judge each DNA test (as well any updates) on its own merits ;-). More discussion:

• New Update on 23andme: Ethnic Group Matches within Africa! (part 1) & (part 2) (Fonte Felipe, 2022)
• Comparing Ancestry with MyHeritage (Fonte Felipe, 2019)

4) I want to emphasize that on balance I do find the 2017 Marron study very insightful. And of course any study using such rarely found Marron samples is already phenomenal! However almost inevitably the study does show quite a few flaws. Below a summary of my main critique points regarding Fortes-Lima et al., 2017:

• Sample size appears to be quite minimal. In particular for the other sample groups from Brazil (n= 16) and Colombia (n=20). Also some of the African samplegroups are quite small. Especially when compared with the 23andme study from 2020. On the other hand from my own research efforts I have found that more is not always better! Useful results can still be obtained. The internal coherency of the reference samples as well as the overall sampling strategy to select the proper reference populations (in balanced proportions) is what make the difference! And in this regard actually the African dataset used by this study is quite good and historically relevant! Although Central Africa remains undersampled (Kongo, n=10, Ovimbundu, n=12, Kimbundu, n=14, see supplement S7). And this seems to have caused some distortions in their analysis.

• Compared with the 23andme study the regional admixture results are subpar and even misleading in some aspects. In particular the two East African components are clearly artefacts of the study’s faulty settings. You can verify this for yourself by zooming into part B of this page. The yellow and brown categories are reported all over Africa. Clearly to an exaggerated degree! Take notice especially of the results for Bight of Biafra (6) and Central Africa (7). I am pretty sure these frankly non-sensical outcomes are merely reflecting genetic overlap between Bantu speaking groups from Central Africa (undersampled) and the more numerous samples taken from Tanzania (see supplement S7). When you are aware of this circumstance it does make it more understandable. But otherwise it can be greatly deceiving! Quite comparable to what still happens on MyHeritage actually (see this post).

• The study also features results whereby they measure matching strength between the Marron samples and their African dataset. Socalled IBD analysis (Identical By Descent). Based on identical DNA segments rather than regional admixture. This is similar to what was also being done in the 23andme study. But in both cases I find that these IBD outcomes are not always robust (see also this post, section 3). Most likely due to a very low threshold being chosen (3 cM for the Marron study, see p. 727). Frankly this undermines the purpose of finding genealogically meaningful connections. The general consensus being that such segments should be atleast 7 or 8 cM, in order to avoid population matches (Identical By Population) or false matches (IBS= Identical by State). See also this link. To be sure I do find it very insightful that the Marron are matching the Fon from Benin with the greatest average amount of IBD. However when looking into this overview I do think there are some historical discrepancies. Which ought to be clarified in the text. I find that the most recent update on 23andme would be much more suitable for this purpose.

• As already mentioned in the main text I find that genetic studies often merely pay lipservice to providing a proper historical context and/or clarifing their genetic results. The main motivation of the authors usually seems to be to present their findings as a “major breakthrough”. Unfortunately this also seems to be true for the Fortes-Lima et al. study. Some examples of how the authors distort, omit or misrepresent relevant historical facts.

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” Together, the genetic and linguistic data point to the Bight of Benin as the most likely source area for the founding population of the Noir Marron.” (Fortes-Lima et al., 2017, p.732) 

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As already explained in the main text practically all people from the Afro-Diaspora will have multiple founding populations from across West & Central Africa. Regrettably this is not explicitly clarified within the study. To be sure I do agree that based on all known evidence the Bight of Benin played a pivotal role in the ethnogenesis of the Marron people. But not exclusively so! I find it especially reproachable that the additional major input of Central Africans is not mentioned.

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“For example, the Noir Marron population of Suriname and French Guiana is one of the largest Maroon populations in South America and one of the most culturally, politically, and economically independent of all Maroon peoples in the Americas.15,16 They are direct descendants of enslaved Africans who escaped from plantations in the Dutch colony of Suriname during the 16th and early 17th century.” (Fortes-Lima et al., 2017, p.726)

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Suriname was established as a plantation colony by the English (by way of Barbados) in 1650 and taken over by the Dutch in 1667. Therefore there is no way that the Marron groups were established one century prior to that! Instead the formation of one of the oldest Marron groups (Saramaka) is generally said to have started at the end of the 1600’s! See also this time line (taken from Surviving the Middle Passage: The West Africa-Surinam Sprachbund (2015)). Quite sloppy mistake and easily avoided by simply consulting Wikipedia. But apparently even peer reviewers were not able to catch up on it..

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“ Their relative isolation since the days of the transatlantic slave trade (TAST) presents a unique opportunity to study the ancestral origins of African-descendant populations;19,20 however, these populations are underrepresented in genome-wide studies. To this day, each of the Noir Marron (or Bushinengue´s, meaning people of the forest) communities preserves a remarkable African heritage in their cultural traditions, languages, and social organization.15,17 However, none of these traditions can be easily associated with a unique African source population because of inaccuracies and inconsistencies in some of the historical facts and dates and the names of African groups associated with their ancestral origin”  (Fortes-Lima et al., 2017, p.726) 

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This is simply not true! The African retention by Surinamese Marron is rightfully famous for having preserved verifiable connections with the Akan from Ghana (“Kromanti”), Bakongo from Loango  and also Gbe speakers from Benin (“Papa”). As mentioned in Surviving the Middle Passage: The West Africa-Surinam Sprachbund (2015):” “Three ritual languages continued (and continue) to be spoken in Surinam by Winti adepts: The Papá, Fodu or Aladá with a nucleus of Gbe lexical items; The Púmbu or A(m)púku with a nucleus of Kikongo lexical items; and the K(r)omanti with a nucleus of Twi/Akan lexical items. They are used to communicate with the various gods of the syncretized Winti religion,which is shared by all the creole-speaking groups in Surinam.”

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“For example, the slave trade to Spanish America began much earlier than to other European colonies in South America. Thus, ca. 85% of enslaved Africans who were transported to Cartagena in Colombia during the entire period of the TAST arrived between 1549 and 1650 (Table S1), to replace the rapidly dwindling indigenous workforce” (Fortes-Lima et al., 2017, p.733)

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This statement fails to mention the importance of Intra-American Slave Trade by especially the English (via Panama) but also the Dutch (by way of Curaçao). This took place mostly in the period 1650-1750. See also this page. Being aware of this additional import of enslaved Africans makes it easier to understand why the study identifies the Akan as most likely source population for Afro-Colombians. Slave trade with the Gold Coast was very much insignificant during the earliest Asiento (by the Portuguese, mostly sourcing enslaved Africans from Upper Guinea and Angola, see this page). But it is well known that especially the English and Dutch greatly relied on slave trade from the Gold Coast during the 1700’s. It is too bad that the authors did not pick up on this essential circumstance. Because it would have given their research outcomes more supportive context.

5) There are actually a few other studies dealing with the genetics of Marron people. However in these older studies they only focus on haplogroups. And their overall methodology appears to be quite outdated already. Which is why I find them to be of limited informational value. 

• The genetic diversity of three peculiar populations descending from the slave trade: Gm study of Noir Marron from French Guiana, Brucato et al. (2009).
• The imprint of the Slave Trade in an African American population: mitochondrial DNA, Y chromosome and HTLV-1 analysis in the Noir Marron of French Guiana, Brucato et al. (2010).