Pikin Santi, sometimes spelt as Pikien Santi, is a Ndyuka village on the Cottica River in

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 ...

inhabited by the Pinasi and Piika ''lo''. Pikin Santi is situated upstream from

Pinatjaimi Pinatjaimi, also spelled as Pinatyaimi, is a Ndyuka Maroon village on the Cottica River in Suriname. Geography Pinatjaimi lies opposite the village of Lantiwei, from where it was once founded. The people of Pinatyaimi are of the Pinas and Dyu cl ...

and

Lantiwei Lantiwei, also spelled as Lantiwee and Lantiwé, is a Ndyuka Maroon village on the Cottica River in Suriname. Lantiwei lies opposite the village of Pinatjaimi, with Lantiwei being the village the people of Pinatjaimi originated from. During the ...

, and downstream from Tamarin. It lies in the vicinity of the Buku creek and should therefore be close to the ruins , which as of yet have not been identified.

History

Like all Ndyuka villages in the Cottica River area, Pikin Santi was settled somewhere in the early 19th century, when the peace treaty concluded between the Ndyuka and the Dutch colonial authorities in 1760 allowed Maroons to move to the plantation colony without running the risk of being caught by colonial military forces. The Ndyuka settled logging camps in the Cottica area, and lived off the profits of selling wood. The people of Pikin Santi belong to the matrilineal clans or ''lo'' of Pinasi and Piika, which are both members of the Miáfiyabakaa federation, and originally stem from the Aduwataa area on the Tapanahony River. The Dutch anthropologist André Köbben conducted anthropological field work in the Cottica area in the 1960s. He was based in the village of Langa Uku further upstream. 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 ...

, Pikin Santi was attacked by the Suriname National Army. Subsequently, the village was almost completely abandoned, with most of its residents fleeing to either

French Guiana French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic ...

or the Surinamese capital of

Paramaribo Paramaribo (; ; nicknamed Par'bo) is the capital and largest city of Suriname, located on the banks of the Suriname River in the Paramaribo District. Paramaribo has a population of roughly 241,000 people (2012 census), almost half of Suriname's ...

. A few families under the leadership of Captain Kodyo remained in bush camps near the Buku creek until the end of the war.

Education

Pikin Santi does not have a school of its own, and all school-going children are transported daily by river canoe to the primary school in the former Catholic mission station of Tamarin.

Transportation

Transport is provided by boat taxis operated by the Nationaal Vervoerbedrijf (NVB) and Scheepvaartmaatschappij Suriname (SMS) at regular intervals, departing from

Moengo Moengo () is a town in Suriname, located in the Marowijne district, between Paramaribo and the border town Albina on the Cottica River. Moengo is also a resort (municipality) in the district of Marowijne. Moengo was the capital of Marowijne Distr ...

Archaeology

Pikin Santi lies in the vicinity of the ruins of Fort Buku, a famous

Aluku The Aluku are a Bushinengue ethnic group living mainly on the riverbank in Maripasoula in southwest French Guiana. The group are sometimes called Boni, referring to the 18th-century leader, Bokilifu Boni. History The Aluku are an ethnic gro ...

Maroon fort of the Boni War that fell in 1772. Archaeologists have tried to locate the fort in 1997, 2002, 2004, and 2011. So far, no expedition has been able to locate the ruins of the fort, although an elevation consistent with a military report was found, as well as fragments of metal, pottery and glass.

Notes

References

* * * * * * {{Surinamese District Marowijne Ndyuka settlements Populated places in Marowijne District