Winti is an Afro-Surinamese traditional religion that originated in Suriname. It is a syncretization of the different African religious beliefs and practices brought in mainly by enslaved Akan, Fon and Kongo people during the Dutch slave trade. The religion has no written sources, nor a central authority. The term is also used for all supernatural beings or spirits (Wintis) created by Anana, the creator of the universe.
Dutch Royal Tropical Institute, Objectnumber 10019264, Portrait after a Winti-dance in a Maroon village, Suriname, 1948. The dance is called Wintidansi or wentipee in the Ndyuka language. The dancers prepared their bodies with herbs and are therefore able to dance through the fire. While making music (striking the Apinti, singing and dancing) it is possible for the dancer to go into a trance. The Winti-dance is only performed on special occasions.
Afro-Surinamese are the inhabitants of Suriname of mostly West African and Central African ancestry. They are descended from enslaved Africans brought to work on sugar plantations. Many of them escaped the plantations and formed independent settlements together, becoming known as Maroons and Bushinengue. They maintained vestiges of African culture and language. They are usually split into two ethnic subgroups.
Afro-Surinamese
Maroon group in 1930
