Suriname Pavilion at Expo 2020: Did you know? Indians are the majority in this tiny South American country

A cook-slash-tour guide back home, Heuwell Barker is more than happy to receive curious visitors at the Suriname Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai. Barker’s colourful and easy-going personality is perhaps a product of the ethnically diverse social fabric of the South American country. The guide ticks them off on his fingers as he takes Gulf News on an exclusive tour of the Expo-leased pavilion in the Sustainability District: “Every Surinamese person can make Indian, Chinese, Javanese and Creole food – that’s the beauty of Suriname”.

With a coastline hugging the Atlantic Ocean, tropical Suriname sits just north of Brazil, housing a modest population of over half a million. Three-centuries-long colonial rule by the Dutch amassed people from the Indian subcontinent, Indonesia, China and wider Africa, who joined the indigenous tribes of Suriname to form five major ethnic groups in the country today – a fact proudly depicted on the Surinamese national flag inside the pavilion.

“The second-largest celebration in Suriname is actually Holi after New Year’s. The entire country comes together to celebrate the festival of colours, not just Indians. On the day, you usually head over to an Indian family or friend’s house, feast, sprinkle each other with colours then make your way to festivals,” Barker said of the largest ethnic group in the country. This is punctuated with an excited mention of the 2002 Hindi movie ‘Devdas’ that Barker shares everyone is a fan of. “Bollywood is big in Suriname,” he added.

A cosy kitchenette past the entrance, which Barker refers to as “grandma’s kitchen”, is decked with spices one would find in a typical Surinamese home. The spice set naturally hails from three different continents, but in the oven you find the end result in the form of a popular Surinamese festive dish, ‘pom’, made of shredded American taro. The country is a delightful sum of cultures and traditions.

Traces of the Dutch rule live on in the official language spoken and the white wooden buildings of capital city Paramaribo. A city cam of the Dutch town plays on loop on one wall, and scarce few visitors will know that the red bricks lining the base of every building were initially ballast in the 18th century. “The Dutch couldn’t sail in empty cargo boats, so they loaded the vessels with red bricks, which are abundant in Holland, before coming to Suriname,” said Barker. Excess bricks then became part of Surinamese homes.

About 94 per cent of Suriname is actually vast expanses of rainforest. Visitors learn this when they step into a green narrow pathway flanked by screens on either side. Species endemic to the jungles make an appearance here. Among these, the blue poison dart frog stands out. Barker said that the native tribes in southern Suriname would coat their blow darts with the frogs’ poison to fish and hunt.

African palaver stools carved out of wood are on display up ahead. The Ndyuka tribe of African descent is known for their mastery over wood, especially when the practice was to hollow out tree trunks to build korjalen or small canoes. Used to cross rapids in streams, the boat rides are incredibly popular with tourists.

In the last room, another wooden sculpture made of different types of wood sees visitors out. Layered with various shades, from light oak to mahogany, the handmade artwork of a tribesperson is a frequent sight in Surinamese homes as well.