Amatopo or Amotopo is a Tiriyó village on the Courentyne River in the

Sipaliwini District Sipaliwini is the largest district of Suriname, located in the south. Sipaliwini is the only district that does not have a regional capital, as it is directly administered by the national government in Paramaribo. History Sipaliwini was created i ...

Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...

. The village lies next to the Amatopo Airstrip and about upstream from the village of

Lucie Lucie is the French and Czech form of the female name Lucia. Notable people with the name include: Given name * Lucie Ahl, British tennis player * Lucie Arnaz, American actress * Lucie Aubrac, member of the French Resistance * Lucie Balthaz ...

. The Frederik Willem IV Falls and Arapahu Island are located near the village.

Overview

The residents of the village consider themselves Okomoyana, which means "wasp people." The Okomoyana category can be seen as a subdivision of the Tiriyó people, and the Okomoyana indeed speak the Tiriyó language. The villagers who settled in the village came from Kwamalasamutu. The airstrip was constructed during

Operation Grasshopper Operation Grasshopper was a project to look for natural resources in Suriname from the air. For this project, seven airstrips were constructed in the interior of Suriname from 1959 onward. The project was the brainchild of the Minister of Develo ...

. In the

West Suriname Plan The ''West Suriname Plan'' was an economic development plan for the western part of Suriname. As originally conceived, it consists among others of the mining of bauxite in the Bakhuis Mountains, the building of a hydroelectric power plant on the ...

, Amatopo was to play an important role in the mining of bauxite in the area. Even a road was constructed from Amatopo to Paramaribo, but this road was deserted after the

Surinamese Interior War The Surinamese Interior War ( nl, Binnenlandse Oorlog) was a civil war waged in the Sipaliwini District of Suriname between 1986 and 1992. It was fought by the Tucayana Amazonas led by Thomas Sabajo and the Jungle Commando led by Ronnie Brunswij ...

. The first two settlers moved into the unused buildings near the airstrip. Later a pilot chased them away.

Asongo Alalaparu Asongo Alalaparu also Ashongo Alalaparoe (1941-42 – 21 November 2021) was a Granman (paramount leader) of the indigenous Tiriyó people in Suriname. He led the Tiriyó from 1997 to 2021 from his residence in Kwamalasamutu. During his rule, th ...

, the

granman Granman (Ndyuka language: ''gaanman'') is the title of the paramount chief of a Maroon (people), Maroon nation in Suriname and French Guiana. The Ndyuka people, Ndyuka, Saramaka, Matawai people, Matawai, Aluku, Paramaccan people, Paramaka and Kwint ...

(paramount chief) told them to return, and built their houses next to the facilities which were already present. The settlement started in 2001.

Frederik Willem IV Falls

The Frederik Willem IV Falls also Anora Falls are located in the Courentyne River near Amatopo. In 1871, Charles Barrington Brown discovered that the river above the waterfalls splits into two rivers giving rise to the

Tigri Area The Tigri Area ( nl, Tigri-gebied) is a wooded area that has been disputed by Guyana and Suriname since around 1840. It involves the area between the Upper Corentyne River (also called the New River), the Coeroeni River, and the Kutari River ...

dispute between Suriname and Guyana. Arapahu Island is a river island located below the waterfalls.

Tourism

An eco-lodge at Arapahu Island is situated half an hour upstream from Amatopo. The visitors of the eco-lodge make use of Amatopo Airstrip to reach their destination.

Notes

References

* * * * {{Surinamese District Sipaliwini Indigenous villages in Suriname Populated places in Sipaliwini District Squatting in Suriname