Creole Jews : : negotiating community in colonial Suriname / / Wieke Vink.

• Superior document: Caribbean series ; 28
• Author: Vink, Wieke.
• Year of Publication: 2010
• Language: English
• Series: Caribbean series (Koninklijk Instituut voor Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde (Netherlands)) ; 28.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (320 p.)
• Notes: Description based upon print version of record.

This study presents a refined analysis of Surinames-Jewish identifications. The story of the Surinamese Jews is one of a colonial Jewish community that became ever more interwoven with the local environment of Suriname. Ever since their first settlement, Jewish migrants from diverse backgrounds, each with their own narrative of migration and settlement, were faced with challenges brought about by this new environment; a colonial order and, in essence, a race-based slave society. A place, furthermore, that was constantly changing: economically, socially, demographically, politically and culturally. Against this background, the Jewish community transformed from a migrant community into a settlers’ community. Both the Portuguese and High German Jews adopted Paramaribo as their principal place of residence from the late eighteenth century onwards. Radical economic changes—most notably the decline of the Portuguese-Jewish planters’ class—not only influenced the economic wealth of the Surinamese Jews as a group, but also had considerable impact on their social status in Suriname’s society. The story of the Surinamese Jews is a prime example of the many ways in which a colonial environment and diasporic connections put their stamp on everyday life and affected the demarcation of community boundaries and group identifications. The Surinamese-Jewish community debated, contested and negotiated the pillars of a Surinamese-Jewish group identity not only among themselves but also with the colonial authorities. This book is based on the author’s dissertation.

Table of Contents

Preliminary Material -- I: Introducing Jewishness, creolization and the colonial domain -- II: A colonial Jewish community in the making: Patterns of migration and places of settlement -- III: Making a living in the colony: Social context, economic activities and cultural life -- IV: Colonial configurations and diasporic connections: Patterns of rule, civil status and religious authority -- V: Echoes of the other: Locating Jews and imagining Jewish difference in Suriname -- VI: Spaces of death, mirror of the living: The cemetery as a site of creolization -- VII: New World identifications, Old World sensibilities: On eliteness, religiosity and social status -- VIII: Black, white, Jewish?: Colour, Halakha and the limits of Jewishness -- IX: Conclusion: The Creole, the colonial and the metropole -- Bibliography -- Index.