Winti

Both the Surinamese spiritual tradition and the forces recognised within it.

The word winti has two meanings that exist side by side. It refers to the tradition itself, the Afro-Surinamese religion, and to the forces or spirits recognised in it. The word literally means wind: something you do not see, but do feel and which moves.

The tradition arose in Suriname among enslaved Africans, who brought forms of belief from various West and Central African peoples, combined them and passed them on in secret. For a long time practising Winti was punishable; the legal ban only disappeared in Suriname in 1971. That the tradition survived anyway is seen by many as a form of resistance and survival.

Winti knows a supreme god, Anana Keduaman Keduampon, who stands far above the world, and beneath him four pantheons or families of winti, each with its own domain: the earth (gron), the water (watra), the forest (busi) and the sky (tapu). The ancestors, the kabra and yorka, also play a large role, as does the kra, the soul of every person.

In Winti a dream is often a message. The first question with a dream is not what the image means, but who is speaking: an ancestor, a winti, your own kra, or something from outside. Clothing, colours, the place and the atmosphere help to recognise that. A woman in white, water, a forest or a particular song can give direction in this way.

The tradition is alive and differs by family, by bere and by region. What is on Dreamkin describes how practitioners often read dreams; it is not doctrine. Someone who finds a dream weighs heavily does best to discuss it with someone from their own family or an experienced practitioner.