The Harvest Ceremony Seú as a Case Study of the Dynamics of Power in Post-Emancipation Curaçao (1863–1915)

Abstract

IntroductionOn 8 August 1862 the so-called Emancipation law was passed in the Netherlands: the enslaved in the Dutch colonies would become free on 1 July 1863. Accordingly, the 67 government slaves and 6,958 private slaves in Cura?ao gained their freedom on the latter date (Lant?rnu 2003:17). The group of Afro -Cura?ao ans comprised approximately 85 percent of the total population, of which thirty- five percent became freed people at this time (Oostindie, 1995:158; Oostindie, 1997:56).The sociologists Harry Hoetink (1987) and Ren? R?mer (1979) who studied the post-Emancipation society of Cura?ao stated that in this society, policy and the locus of political, social and economic power continued in place after slavery. The upper class remained predominantly white and continued to lead the economic, political and cultural spheres in society, while most blacks remained subjected - even though no longer enslaved. The economic standing thus continued to follow color lines with power lying in the hands of a select few.An important element to consider is the position of the Roman Catholic Church in the daily lives of the Afro -Cura?ao ans. Before emancipation, this Church was allowed by the colonial state, Protestant Dutch Reformed oriented, to convert the Afro-Cura?aoans. The Roman Catholic Church played a very important role by way of its attempts to change the way of life of the Afro-Cura?aoans and to bring about, through Catholicism, a type of culture which it considered civilized and respectable.In this paper I focus on the post-Emancipation social life of Afro-Cura?aoans within the dynamics of culture and power. It examines the social life of Afro-Cura?aoans in the period between 1 863, the year of emancipation, and 1915, the year in which the establishment of Shell oil company on the island triggered the beginnings of an industrialized society.My concern in this paper is to explore how the state, the plantation owners and the Roman Catholic Church exercised power affecting the social life of Afro -Cura?ao ans and to explore how Afro -Cura?ao ans, within the parameters of these key power groups/institutions, were able to shape their daily life around their own expectations and aspirations. I look at how this manifested itself in the harvest ceremony named se?. This celebration originated during slavery and continued afterwards. It developed around the harvesting of millet (sorghum vulgare) ? a very important economic product both during and after slavery.The paper is based on archival sources as well as oral history, including interviews about the past conducted by Elis Juliana and Father Brenneker and also by myself with elderly Afro -Cura?ao ans.The Harvest Celebration Se?Cura?ao did not have a plantation economy as most other parts of the Caribbean did. Commerce was one of the main economic pillars. During slavery, enslaved in Cura?ao produced subsistence products and occupied roles in the small trades and crafts rather than labouring in the mass production of an export crop such as tobacco or sugar. This significantly differentiated them from the enslaved on most other Caribbean islands. More importantly for the present discussion, this trade economy shaped a different type of social system in Cura?ao than the one found in most other parts of the Caribbean.The island's strength as a commercial area was countered-balanced by the fact that subsistence was a major concern on the island. How to feed the people was a matter of greater importance than the export of a plantation crop. This affected the ways in which enslaved could live their daily life and establish their social, economic and cultural spheres. It also affected the daily lives of freed people both during and after slavery.The planting and harvesting of millet was an important aspect of daily life. During slavery, millet was an important economic product, primarily used for self-consumption for the enslaved. …