The ‘Botanical Gardens of the Dispossessed’ revisited: richness and significance of Old World crops grown by Suriname Maroons

Abstract

Old World crops entered the Americas as provision on slave ships and were planted by enslaved Africans in their home gardens, known as the 'Botanical Gardens of the Dispossessed'. Escaped slaves who settled in Maroon communities in Suriname's forested interior practiced shifting cultivation for centuries with seeds they brought from their home gardens. After the abolishment of slavery, Creoles largely abandoned agriculture and farming became the activity of Asian wage laborers. Maroon agriculture has never been studied in detail. The recent discovery of African rice (Oryza glaberrima) in a Maroon garden initiated this ethnobotanical study on Old World crops grown by Maroons, and their motivations for maintaining this agrodiversity. In 2013, we collected crop cultivars and landraces and interviewed 16 Aucan and Saramaccan Maroon farmers. The greatest richness was encountered in bananas, taro, okra and rice. Most crops were used for food, but sesame, melegueta pepper and African rice largely lost their food function and served mainly for rituals. Farmers exchanged seeds and tubers with family members and other ethnicities in both urban and forest communities. Spending time in the capital during childbirth or illness resulted in the loss of typical Maroon crops (e.g., Bambara groundnut), as seeds lost viability during the farmer's absence. Motivation to grow specific crops and cultivars varied from tradition, food preference, seasonal spreading, rituals and traditional medicine. Documentation of specific landrace properties, storage of seeds in germplasm centers and in situ conservation are urgently needed to safeguard these previously undocumented Maroon landraces.

Tracing ancestor rice of Suriname Maroons back to its African origin

“…However, the level of impact of African rice practices is difficult to establish because of limited written or botanical records 2,3 . Recent findings of O. glaberrima in rice fields of Suriname Maroons bear evidence of the high level of knowledge about rice among African slaves and their descendants, who consecrate it in ancestor rituals 4,5 . Here we establish the strong similarity, and hence likely origin, of the first extant New World landrace of O. glaberrima to landraces from the Upper Guinean forests in West Africa.…”

“…After slavery was abolished in 1863, Creoles largely abandoned agriculture. Crop cultivars once commonly grown by people of African descent on plantations are now only encountered in Maroon fields 5 .…”

“…Flowering and fruiting individuals of African rice and additional seeds were collected afterwards in several Maroon villages 4,5 . Maroons distinguish just one landrace of O. glaberrima, which they occasionally consume, but mostly use unprocessed in herbal baths and food offerings to the ancestors.…”

“…Maroons distinguish just one landrace of O. glaberrima, which they occasionally consume, but mostly use unprocessed in herbal baths and food offerings to the ancestors. Unmilled seeds are also sprinkled on newly cut fields before burning to ensure a better harvest 4,5 . During funerals, bowls of cooked rice from diverse landraces are placed near the graves of the deceased 20 .…”

“…Maroon agriculture is threatened by large-scale gold mining, migration to the capital and the import of cheap rice. Such developments could lead to the abandonment of labour-intensive crops like rice, and the loss of traditional culture and religion may cause the disappearance of landraces grown for ritual purposes 5 . Modern genomics research on the unique landraces cultivated exclusively by these isolated diaspora communities can reveal the unwritten history of crop movement during one of the largest migrations in human history and offer new insights into African contributions to Atlantic history.…”