Novel
Bruine Mina de koto-missi
Not translated into English
J. G. Spalburg · 1913
Synopsis
Mina, a Creole woman of Paramaribo who cares about honour and decency, tells the story of her life. She reluctantly agrees to live in concubinage with Ba Boetoe, whose real name is Albert, a gold prospector. No sooner has he left for the interior than his sister Lina makes advances to her, which Mina rejects with indignation. Left alone to raise the children she has had by him during his long absences, she also discovers that he mistreats her and keeps another woman.
Context
Published by J. N. Wekker in 1913, the book presented itself as devoid of literary value, a mere sketch of popular life; Mina is said to be a real figure, but the dialogues are the writer's invention. The critic Michiel van Kempen sees in it a picture of the spirit of the time, made of commands, prohibitions and taboos, served by lively figures, animated dialogues and the use of the odo, those Creole proverbs, tempered by sober observation. He also regards it as the country's first prose text to evoke love between women, the mati, described here in a disapproving manner.
Who it is for
For those interested in the daily life, beliefs and customs of the Creole people of Paramaribo around 1900.
Prizes and reception
Reprinted in an anthology in 1972, it is cited as the starting point of Surinamese prose on mati relationships.
Sources for this page 3
The pages consulted to check this page.