Kulumuli

Kulumuli
Twenkë
Kulumuli
Location in French Guiana
Coordinates: 3°23′01″N 54°03′16″W / 3.38361°N 54.05444°W / 3.38361; -54.05444
Country France
Overseas region French Guiana
Arrondissement Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni
Commune Maripasoula
Government
 • Granman Amaipotï
Population (2009)
 • Total 90[1]

Kulumuli, also known by the name Twenkë, is a Wayana village situated on an island in the Lawa River in French Guiana.[2] Kulumuli is the residence of the granman of the Wayana in French Guiana.

Name

The indigenous name for the village is Kulumuli, which means reed. The alternative name Twenkë refers to the late chief of the village, who was installed as granman of the Wayana in French Guiana by the French authorities.[2]

History

Halfway through the twentieth century, Surinamese and French authorities tried to gain a firmer grip on the interior of Suriname and French Guiana, respectively. The indigenous inhabitants of the interior were registered in the civil registry of both colonies, and the Wayana, as inhabitants of the border between Suriname and French Guiana, were given the choice to register as either a Dutch or as a French subject. Twenkë chose the French side and founded a village on the right riverbank of the Lawa River. Twenkë was recognised by the French as the granman of the Lawa River.[3] After his death, he was succeeded by his son Amaipotï.[4][5]

In 1973, the Alsatian Jean-Paul Klingelhofer was sent by the French authorities to Kulumuli to establish a school and to work as a teacher. His wife Françoise would later start a nursery in the village.[6]

Geography

Kulumuli lies opposite the villages of Taluwen on the French east river bank and Pïleike on the Surinamese west river bank. Taluwen itself is conjoined with the village of Epoja.[7]

Kulimuli lies about 10 km (6.2 mi) downstream the Lawa River from the village of Antecume Pata and 4.5 km (2.8 mi) upstream the Lawa River from the village of Kawemhakan in Suriname.

Notes

  1. ↑ Duin 2009, p. 138.
  2. 1 2 Boven 2006, p. 4.
  3. ↑ Boven 2006, pp. 95-99.
  4. ↑ Duin 2009, p. 135.
  5. ↑ Boven 2006, p. 238.
  6. ↑ Boven 2006, pp. 115-116.
  7. ↑ Boven 2006, pp. 233-234.

References

  • Boven, Karin M. (2006). Overleven in een Grensgebied: Veranderingsprocessen bij de Wayana in Suriname en Frans-Guyana (PDF). Amsterdam: Rozenberg Publishers.
  • Duin, Renzo Sebastiaan (2009). Wayana Socio-political Landscapes: Multi-scalar Regionality and Temporality in Guiana (PDF). University of Florida.
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