Kawemhakan, formerly also known as Anapaikë, is a
Wayana
The Wayana (alternate names: Ajana, Uaiana, Alucuyana, Guaque, Ojana, Oyana, Orcocoyana, Pirixi, Urukuena, Waiano etc.) are a Carib-speaking people located in the southeastern part of the Guiana highlands, a region divided between Brazil, Surin ...
village 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 ...
of
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 ...
. The village lies on the banks of the
Lawa River, which forms the border with
French Guiana
French Guiana, or Guyane in French, is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France located on the northern coast of South America in the Guianas and the West Indies. Bordered by Suriname to the west ...
.
Name
The indigenous name of the village is Kawemhakan, which translates to "high riverbank" in the
Wayana language
Wayana (also referred to as Ojana, Ajana, Aiana, Ouyana, Uajana, Upurui, Oepoeroei, Roucouyen, Oreocoyana, Orkokoyana, Urucuiana, Urukuyana, and Alucuyana in the literature) is a language of the Cariban family, spoken by the Wayana people, who ...
. The village is also known by the name Anapaikë, which is the name of the late
granman
Granman (Ndyuka language: ''gaanman'') is the title of the paramount chief of a Maroon (people), Maroon nation in Suriname and French Guiana. The Ndyuka people, Ndyuka, Saramaka, Matawai people, Matawai, Aluku, Paramaccan people, Paramaka and Kwin ...
of the Wayana in Suriname, who died end july 2002. The Baptist missionaries called the village Lawa Station, and many Wayana still refer to the village as "Lawa".
History
Kawemhakan was founded in 1958, primarily by people who lived in the village of the local chief Janomalë, which was situated further upstream the Lawa River. It was common practice by Wayana to relocate to another village after the death of a chief, but Janomalë's death coincided with the arrival of
Baptist
Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...
missionaries
A missionary is a member of a religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Miss ...
to the area. Both the American missionaries and the Surinamese government wanted to concentrate the Wayana in a central location, as that would make their missionary and development efforts easier. At the instigation of the Baptist missionaries, Anapaikë was installed by the Surinamese government as the first
granman
Granman (Ndyuka language: ''gaanman'') is the title of the paramount chief of a Maroon (people), Maroon nation in Suriname and French Guiana. The Ndyuka people, Ndyuka, Saramaka, Matawai people, Matawai, Aluku, Paramaccan people, Paramaka and Kwin ...
of the Wayana.
Kawemhakan soon flourished as the main Wayana village in Suriname. The Surinamese government built a modern prefabricated Bruynzeel house for Anapaikë, with amenities such as a toilet, a shower and a kitchen, which were considered very modern by the Wayana in the 1960s. An airstrip was built to provide transport to
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 ...
and a clinic was established to provide basic healthcare.
During the
COVID-19 pandemic in Suriname, the border to
French Guiana
French Guiana, or Guyane in French, is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France located on the northern coast of South America in the Guianas and the West Indies. Bordered by Suriname to the west ...
was closed. The locally-based Mulokot Foundation under
Jupta Itoewaki organised supply flights from other parts of Suriname instead.
Education
In the early 1970s, a primary school was built in Kawemhakan. This school closed its doors at the start of the
Surinamese Interior War
The Surinamese Interior War () was a civil war fought in eastern Suriname between 1986 and 1992. The conflict primarily involved the Jungle Commando, a rebel group composed largely of Saramaka (Maroon) fighters and led by former soldier Ronnie ...
, and was only temporarily reopened in the early 1990s as part of an international emergency aid package. After the emergency aid expired, the teachers left Kawemhakan again, and children from Kawemhakan have been going to the French school in
Talhuwen ever since. Schoolchildren of Kawemhakan and
Kumakahpan are transported to Talhuwen every school day by boat.
Healthcare
Kawemhakan is home to a
Medische Zending healthcare centre, which in 1968 took over the provision of basic healthcare services from the Baptist missionaries. The clinic was funded by
Dutch NGO Simavi and Surinamese businesses.
Geography
Kawemhakan lies about downstream the Lawa River from the villages of
Kulumuli,
Taluwen,
Epoja and
Alawataimë enï, and upstream the Lawa River from the village of
Élahé, which both lie on the east bank of the river and hence are in
French Guiana
French Guiana, or Guyane in French, is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France located on the northern coast of South America in the Guianas and the West Indies. Bordered by Suriname to the west ...
.
Transport
By air
Kawemhakan is served by
Lawa Anapaike Airstrip
Lawa Anapaike Airstrip is an airstrip serving the Wayana village of Kawemhakan on the Lawa River in Suriname
Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, also considered as part of the Caribbean ...
, offering scheduled services to and 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 ...
.
Communications
Since August 2016, a telecommunications and broadcasting tower is operational in Kawemhakan, offering
ATSC broadcasts of
STVS and
ATV television networks, as well as
GSM
The Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) is a family of standards to describe the protocols for second-generation (2G) digital cellular networks, as used by mobile devices such as mobile phones and Mobile broadband modem, mobile broadba ...
coverage on the Telesur network.
Notable people
*
Jupta Itoewaki (1988), Wayana activist and politician.
Notes
References
*
*
{{Surinamese District Sipaliwini
Indigenous villages in Suriname
Populated places in Sipaliwini District