Keti Koti — What do we celebrate on 1 July?
Short introductory lesson for grades 5–6 about Keti Koti, the end of slavery and what freedom means.
Introduction
On 1 July 1863 slavery was abolished in Suriname and the other former Dutch territories. On that day people who did not own their own lives — who were only the property of someone else — finally became free. In Sranantongo (a language of Suriname) that day is called Keti Koti, meaning 'broken chains'.
Behind that single day, however, lies a story of hundreds of years: from Africa across the ocean to Suriname, of plantations, resistance, freedom and remembrance.
Exercises
-
1.What does "Keti Koti" mean in Sranantongo?
Show answer / suggestion
Broken chains — a symbol of freedom.
-
2.In what year was slavery abolished in Suriname?
Show answer / suggestion
1863 — but many people were forced to keep working another 10 years under "state supervision".
-
3.From which continent were most people shipped to Suriname?
Show answer / suggestion
Africa — mainly West Africa (today's Ghana, Benin, Nigeria, Angola).
-
4.Write down one thing you find important about freedom.
Show answer / suggestion
Own answer. Discuss in class.
-
5.On surinameglobalgroup.com you can find 477 plantations. Discuss together: why does it matter that we know their names?
Show answer / suggestion
Own answer. Suggestion: people worked and died on those plantations, and their descendants still carry those family names today.
⭐ Follow-up activity
Activity: with the class make a 'chain-breaker' poster. Every child writes on a paper link something they do not wish ever to exist again (for example 'bullying', 'war', 'discrimination'). Glue all links into a chain and symbolically break it on 1 July.