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Indigenous Surinamese Foodways

Indigenous

The LOKONO (Arawak) and KARI’NA (Carib) of the coastal savanna and lower rivers; the TRIO (Tiriyó), WAYANA and AKURIO of the deep south. Bitter cassava and its full technology — the matapi press, cassava bread, KWAK (the toasted meal, Suriname’s farine), and the fermented drinks; river fish; hunted game; peppers and the PEPRE WATRA pepper-water; forest fruit and palm. ⚠ THE TRIO AND WAYANA LIVE ON BOTH SIDES OF THE BRAZILIAN AND FRENCH GUIANESE BORDERS and their food system does not stop at them. ⚠ MERCURY FROM SMALL-SCALE GOLD MINING IN THE INTERIOR RIVERS is documented in fish and in the people who eat them, and falls on Indigenous and Maroon communities hardest.

Atlas — where and when

Where in the world

Communities and languages

  • Lokono community documented
  • Kari’ña community documented
  • Trio community documented
  • Wayana community documented
  • Akurio community documented

Languages: Lokono, Galibi Carib, Wayana, Akurio

What is recorded

  • Mercury from small-scale gold mining is documented in fish in interior rivers of both Suriname and Guyana and in the people who consume them, with the burden falling disproportionately on Indigenous and Maroon communities. Trio and Wayana communities live across the Brazilian and French Guianese borders. documented

Related foodways

This foodway relates to

Recipes

No recipes are filed under this cuisine yet.