Kawina (music)

Kawina is a musical genre from Suriname. It originated around the 1860s, after the abolition of slavery.[1] The vocals are typically call-and-response, and it is accompanied by all kinds of typical Surinamese percussion, such as the skratji.[2]

Like many South American music genres, the rhythm of the kawina originates in Africa. African slaves took their religions, such as Winti, and music with them to Suriname. To dissipate the time, the slaves sung during the work on the plantations, often in a typical pattern of one voice that asks for, and is answered in unison ("call-and-response"). The music was performed so rhythmically that it became a dance. In the beginning, the lyrics were religious.[2][3]

After abolition of slavery, it became entertainment music, with lyrics that are more socially critical in tone. From then on, kawina is performed by orchestras containing about ten band members, on various Surinamese percussion instruments. Typical instruments are the double-skinned drums, the zigzag or shaker and the kwa-kwa bangi (idiophone). The vocals have always remained in the call-and-response pattern. If a drum kit forms part of the occupation, it is called kaskawi - a subgenre that arises in the 1970s. In the following years, kawina also mixed with other musical genres such as kaseko and rhythm and blues.[4][2]

Kawina became known in the Netherlands by bands like Sukru Sani, Ai Sa Si, Explosion, La Rouge and La Caz.[1][2]