Bigiston

Bigiston
Village
School in Bigiston (1964)
Bigiston Location in Suriname
Coordinates: 5.415°N 54.126389°W / 5.415; -54.126389
Country	Suriname
District	Marowijne District
Resort	Albina
Government
• Captain	Sylvester Awatjale[1]
Population  (2020)[1]
• Total	361

Bigiston, also Bigi Ston, is a group of settlements of Ndyuka Maroons and indigenous Kalina[2] in the Albina resort of the Marowijne District of Suriname. The villages lie on Marowijne River across from Saint-Jean-du-Maroni in French Guiana.[3]

Bigiston is the name of the most northern of six small settlements. The name means big stone after a nearby rock with petroglyphs.[4] The village is a minor tourist attraction, and promoted for ecotourism.[5][6] The village has a school,[7] and a clinic operated by the Regional Health Service (RGD).[7]

The village chief as of 2017[8] is Sylvester Awatjale,[1] who lives in the southern Amerindian settlement. The Ndyuka and Kalina people peacefully coexist, but do not intermingle or intermarry.[5] Electricity is being provided by Diesel generators operating about six hours a day.[9] The most southern settlement Gronkiki contains a Winti clinic offering traditional health care.[5]

On 5 October 1986, during the Surinamese Interior War, the village was attacked by the Jungle Commando[10] and most of the villagers fled to French Guiana, however the village has been rebuilt and resettled after the war.[11][5]

References

1. "Dorpen en Dorpsbesturen". Vereniging van Inheemse Dorpshoofden (in Dutch). Retrieved 2 July 2020.
2. Groenedijk 2006, p. 15.
3. "Bigiston". Raoul Kieffer (in Dutch). Retrieved 31 May 2020.
4. "Hering, Christiaan Johan". Suriname.nu (in Dutch). Retrieved 3 July 2020.
5. Groenedijk 2006, p. 21.
6. Plan Bureau 2014, p. 127.
7. Plan Bureau 2014, p. 112.
8. "Sylvester Awaitjale nieuw dorpshoofd Bigiston". Dagblad Suriname (in Dutch). Retrieved 3 July 2020.
9. "Op weg naar 1×24 uur stroom voor dorpsgemeenschappen". United News.sr (in Dutch). 19 February 2016. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
10. "Surinaamse machtsstrijd maakt Indianen weerioos". Reformatorisch Dagblad via Digibron (in Dutch). Retrieved 3 July 2020.
11. "Gemeente Bigiston". Barend en Dinie (in Dutch). Retrieved 31 May 2020.

Bibliography

• Groenedijk, Sarah (2006). Winti Practives in Bigiston (Thesis). Utrecht: University of Utrecht.
• Plan Bureau (2014). "Planning Office Suriname - Districts 2009-2013" (PDF). Planning Office Suriname (in Dutch).

External links