Keti Koti: National Historic Slavery Remembrance Day

Want to try cooking and eating traditional Surinamese food? Or learn about the history of Dutch colonial slavery in Suriname? Tonight you can do both! Join us on Saturday the 29th of June for a free cooking workshop, dinner, and lecture.

July 1st is Keti Koti, the day we commemorate the abolition of the Dutch transatlantic slave trade in July 1873. Keti Koti means ‘broken chains’ in Surinamese. In co-creation with SUBEST Delft (Surinamese association), X, and KIP Republic (founder of Free Heri Heri For All) we are hosting a festive event in the weekend prior to the official ceremonies. We invite you to learn more about the history and celebrate freedom with a special meal, good conversations and lovely company! 

In remembrance of the enslaved we connect with the present day by organising this evening open to all. In co-creation with Free Heri Heri For All you can learn to make Heri Heri, a traditional Suriname dish, in our Freetown Kitchen.

Don’t have time for the workshop? You can also join for dinner, where we will start with an introduction and short talk by SUBEST Delft about Keti Koti, the slave trade, and Suriname, the Dutch Caribbean and the Netherlands. Following this, author Tirza Drisi will give a lecture about her most recent publication, historical novel Voorouderpijn op plantage Goudmijn (in English: Intergenerational Trauma at the plantation Goudmijn) about the plantation in Suriname where her grandfather was born.  After this, you can continue the conversation over dinner with your table companions. We’ll close this special event with some drinks and music. Come celebrate with us! 

Timeline 

16:00-19:00 Workshop cooking Heri Heri
19:00-19:30 Dinner + Introduction to Keti Koti
19:30-20:30 Lecture by author Tirza Drisi
20:30-22:00 Drinks (not included!) and music

The dish Heri Heri consists of vegetables, fish, and an egg. If you want a vegan or vegetarian option, or if you have allergies, please let us know via email: hosts-x@tudelft.nl  

You can enroll for the workshop+dinner or only for the dinner. Registration is via X Delft with your NetID. If you do not own a NetID, you can visit the host desk at X to enrol for the event. REGISTER HERE.

For more info on Free Heri Heri For All, check out: www.freeheriheriforall.com  

Tirza Drisi (born September 1953, Paramaribo) moved from Paramaribo to the Hague in 1956. She attained her HBS diploma and studied at the VU for a year. In 1978 she re-immigrated to Suriname, to return to the Netherlands again in 1989. Tirza worked as departmental secretary at the TU Delft till 2004, after which she completed her training as elementary school teacher and made the switch to a career in education. Having regularly been told that her life story is quite unique, she decided to write down her story. After her retirement she found time to do this, leading to the books “De gekleurde bastaard” (2022) and “Voorouderpijn in plantage Goudmijn.” (2024)

This event is organised by SUBEST Delft (Surinaamse Bèta-Studenten Delft) in collaboration with SG and X TU Delft

Visit the location's website here.