Bigiston, also Bigi Ston, is a group of settlements of
Ndyuka Maroons and indigenous
Kalina in the
Albina resort of the
Marowijne District of
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 villages lie on
Marowijne River across from
Saint-Jean-du-Maroni
Saint-Jean-du-Maroni is a village in French Guiana, in the commune of Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni on the river Maroni. The village is mainly inhabited by Ndyuka Maroons.
History
Saint-Jean-du-Maroni was established in 1857 as a sub camp of the penal ...
in
French Guiana.
Bigiston is the name of the most northern of six small settlements. The name means big stone after a nearby rock with
petroglyphs. The village is a minor tourist attraction, and promoted for
ecotourism. The village has a school, and a clinic operated by the Regional Health Service (RGD).
The village chief as of 2017 is Sylvester Awatjale,
who lives in the southern Amerindian settlement. The Ndyuka and Kalina people peacefully coexist, but do not intermingle or intermarriage. Electricity is being provided by Diesel generators operating about six hours a day. The most southern settlement ''Gronkiki'' contains a
Winti clinic offering traditional health care.
On 5 October 1986, during 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 village was attacked by the
Jungle Commando and most of the villagers fled to French Guiana, however the village has been rebuilt and resettled after the war.
References
Bibliography
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External links
Indigenous villages in Suriname
Ndyuka settlements
Populated places in Marowijne District
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