Subject: [History-Present] The Maroons
Article:

The English word Maroon is derived from Spanish 'cimarron'. It has Arawakan roots and since 1500 came down to Suriname and was later used to describe slaves who escaped succesfully from the plantations. There are six groups of Maroons: (1) Saramaka (2) Ndjuka (3) Malawai (4) Paramaka (5) Kwinti (6) Aluku Some of the groups live both in French Guiana and Suriname. In 1760 and 1762 the two largest groups of the Maroons (Saramaka and Ndjuka) had won their independence by treaty. In 1765 a 35 year old 'Boni' and an older Aluku became joint leaders of a new rebel group. The 'Bonis' were defeated and most of them fled to French Guiana. The, some 2000, Bonis (a French name for Aluku) became French citizen in 1970 and subject to compulsory schooling and social security. [quoted from: Jean Hurault,'Analyse comparative (1980)] ---------


Met dank aan Albert Buys