The Inventory Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) in the Netherlands contains ICH of which the communities, groups or individuals involved have written a safeguarding plan. Those plans are reviewed by an independent review committee. Every three years an evaluation of the safeguarding takes place.

Description

The Afro-Surinamese laying out rituals are performed by the intercessors/servants of the twenty or so Afro-Surinamese last offices associations in the Netherlands. The rituals consist of providing the last care and washing of the deceased and creating a comforting atmosphere with singing, dancing, and libations. There are public rituals and rituals that are only shared with initiates, the layers-out or servants. 

From the moment last offices association receives notification of a death, a home visit is made by a minimum of three servants. If the death did not take place at home, the servants go to that location. Before starting the final care, the servants meet the family, introduce themselves and sing and pray with the family. There is singing in both Dutch and Sranan Tongo. In some cases the deceased is washed at home, this is called 'preliminary work'. There are female servants who wash women and male servants who wash men. The sisters always wear a special white headscarf, angisa, and the men are dressed in white with a medal pinned to their clothes.

In consultation with the funeral director is determined on which day the formal washing takes place. The Afro-Surinamese formal washing differs from the Dutch one, as it is accompanied by farewell rituals and therefore takes longer. 

The evening before the funeral, there is a mourning meeting at the home of the next of kin, also with singing, prayer, and rituals, such as making an altar for the deceased and the spirits present. During the farewell service the next day, the servants are also present and usually walk along the route to the grave. There is dancing and singing, accompanied by an external marching band. After the funeral, there are mourning meetings on the eighth day, the fortieth day and one year after the death. 

Community

In the Netherlands, there are approximately 350 layers-out or servants, spread across more than 20 last offices associations. The boards and layers-out do their work voluntarily. There are large and small associations, varying between 5 and 24 servants per association. There is a lot of coordination with the chosen funeral home. 

The servants pass on their knowledge through initiation rituals and a period of coming along and watching. After the initiation, there is a duty of secrecy for life; the exact nature of the rituals is not revealed to others. 

Of course, the next of kin, with whom the servants maintain intensive contact before, during and after the funeral, are involved in this heritage as well. The servants of the Afro-Surinamese last offices associations accompany next of kin from all population groups. The ethnicity or cultural background of the deceased plays no role. If the servants are asked to adapt to customs or rituals from the religious or cultural background of the deceased, the Afro-Surinamese laying out rituals are 'mixed' with other mourning and comfort rituals.   

History

In the 1970s and 1980s, Afro-Surinamese people who settled in the Netherlands took the knowledge and customs surrounding the laying out rituals with them to the Netherlands. In 1981, the first Afro-Surinamese last offices association was founded in the Netherlands, with the name 'Sakafasi', which means 'humility' in Sranang Tongo. 

In recent decades, various Surinamese last offices associations in the Netherlands have developed from their own identity. For example, from a certain family originating from Suriname or from a certain plantation or ethnic group. Other associations have developed from a church denomination and/or doctrine, such as the Afro-Surinamese 'winti' spirituality, an African nature religion that was taken to Suriname by the enslaved. Today, some 80-85% of the Afro-Surinamese last offices associations in the Netherlands work from Christian convictions. 

The laying-out rituals are also still practised in Suriname, although there are some differences between the Dutch and Surinamese interpretation of the tradition. In Suriname, for instance, the tropical climate makes it necessary that the deceased is handled differently, and the technological developments surrounding last offices are also different. In addition, in Suriname the mourning meetings have a different character because funerals often take place in the open air and because there is time for longer meetings. In Suriname, a mourning meeting can take up to a week. 

In 2021, the Afro-Surinamese ritual washing will have been actively practised daily in the Netherlands for 40 years. 

Safeguarding

2020-2023

  • There will be more open communication about the rituals, including the use of social media. Certain aspects of the rituals are accessible to everyone on Facebook, newsletters and on the website.
  • TV broadcasts will be joined to make the tradition better known to other ethnic groups and citizens.
  • To increase awareness, educational workshops are organised; for example, a plan is being worked on to organise several themed lessons about death with schools, to break the taboo on death. In this respect cooperation is being sought with other countries, so that pupils can gain different perspectives on death and funeral care from different cultures.
  • Information and workshops are given to large funeral organisations in the Netherlands to explain the heritage. This will also be done with other ethnic funeral homes.
  • A quality and ethics committee has been included in the policy plan. On behalf of the Federation, this committee is responsible for offering various workshops on heritage, hygiene, and ethics to the last offices associations.
  • The Federation offers training to the last offices associations by hiring various external experts in the various fields of after death care and the funeral as a whole.
  • A thorough documentation (digital) system will be set up. The aim is to implement good archiving both at the Federation and at the affiliated associations.
  • There will be more cooperation with other ethnic cultural groups in the intangible cultural heritage area than before.
  • A good sponsorship policy will be set up to generate funds to cover the costs of the Federation and its affiliated associations.
  • In view of the ageing group of servants, it is necessary to work on attracting new target groups. A rejuvenation committee has been set up with the aim of promoting the influx of new servants, both at administrative and servant level.
  • To recruit new members of the associations, open days will be organised in cooperation with other social and cultural foundations/associations/organisations.

Contact

Federatie Surinaamse aflegverenigingen Nederland
Kraaienhofstraat
2515 RD
Den Haag
Zuid Holland
Website