Boslanti is a village of

Matawai Matawai can refer to: *Matawai people, an ethnic group of Suriname *Matawai language Saramaccan () is a creole language spoken by about 58,000 people of West African descent near the Saramacca and the upper Suriname River, as well as in Paramar ...

Maroons Maroons are descendants of Africans in the Americas and islands of the Indian Ocean who escaped from slavery, through flight or manumission, and formed their own settlements. They often mixed with Indigenous peoples, eventually evolving into ...

in the

resort A resort (North American English) is a self-contained commercial establishment that aims to provide most of a vacationer's needs. This includes food, drink, swimming, accommodation, sports, entertainment and shopping, on the premises. A hotel ...

Boven Saramacca Boven Saramacca is a resort in Suriname, located in the Sipaliwini District. Its population at the 2012 census was 1,427. The dominant geographical feature of this resort is the Saramacca River. The resort is mainly inhabited by Maroons of the M ...

in the

Sipaliwini District Sipaliwini is the largest Districts of Suriname, district of Suriname, located in the south. Sipaliwini is the only district that does not have a regional capital, as it is directly administered by the national government in Paramaribo. Sipaliwini ...

Suriname Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, also considered as part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. It is a developing country with a Human Development Index, high level of human development; i ...

. Boslanti is located on the

Saramacca River Saramacca River is a river in Suriname. The Arawaks named this river "Surama", and today's name "Saramacca" is probably derived from it. It originates in the Wilhelmina Mountains and flows northwards and enters the Atlantic Ocean together with t ...

Overview

Boslanti which translates to Forest Land is located in the

Central Suriname Nature Reserve The Central Suriname Nature Reserve () is a conservation unit in Suriname. It preserves an area of tropical rainforest. The reserve is in pristine condition. History The Central Suriname Nature Reserve was created in 1998 by Conservation Intern ...

. The village was founded in the 19th century, and consists of a cluster of settlements each inhabited by a different maternal lineage. In 1919, the

Moravian Church The Moravian Church, or the Moravian Brethren ( or ), formally the (Latin: "Unity of the Brethren"), is one of the oldest Protestant denominations in Christianity, dating back to the Bohemian Reformation of the 15th century and the original ...

started missionary activities in the village. From the 1960s onwards, a migration towards the urban area started. The village has a school and a health care clinic is located in neighbouring

Poesoegroenoe Poesoegroenoe or Pusugrunu or Psugrunu is a Matawai village in Boven Saramacca, Sipaliwini District, central Suriname. The village lies along the Saramacca River and is the residence of the gaanman of the Matawai maroons. Healthcare Poesoegroe ...

. In 2020, clean drinking water was provided for the village.

Transport

Boslanti used to accessible by boat only. In the early 20th century, a journey from

Paramaribo Paramaribo ( , , ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of Suriname, located on the banks of the Suriname River in the Paramaribo District. Paramaribo has a population of roughly 241,000 people (2012 census), almost half of Suriname's p ...

would take about a week. The village later became accessible by air from the Poesoegroenoe Airstrip. In 2017, a road opened connecting Boslanti to the rest of Suriname.

References

Bibliography

* Matawai settlements Populated places in Sipaliwini District {{Suriname-geo-stub