black and (A)broad

Aaaahhhhh. That glorious time of year is once again upon us. Pepernoten (tiny spiced cookies) are strewn all over the place, random shoes seem to walk themselves into stores where they wait to be filled with wat lekkers (usually pepernoten or candy) or a small gift. Talk of Sinterklaas (St. Nicholas or Santa Claus, but also eponymous for the celebration itself) fills the air as do threats from parents of ne’er-do-well kiddies that old St. Nick won’t bring them anything if their misbehavior continues. Sinterklaas has just traveled by steamboat all the way from Spain with his white horse Amerigo and his helper Zwarte Piet (Black Pete). For your average Dutch person, Sinterklaas is unthinkable without Black Pete – skipping about, entertaining the little ones, and throwing out wat lekkers – dressed up in medieval Turkish or Moorish costume, black curly wig, face painted with thick black paint, and bright red lipstick.

Since I moved here nearly ten years ago, I’ve been dreading hearing the words uttered by my children: “Mama. Can I have a Black Pete costume? Can I get my face painted black?” Back then, I swore my answer would be a plain, simple “hell naw”. This is what I’ve explained to my Dutch husband, family, and friends: when I see Black Pete throwing treats around to the kiddies, adorning wrapping paper, or decorating shop windows I’m reminded of a deeply painful period in American history. For me Black Pete is little more than blackface.

Invariably, they argue that Black Pete is deeply rooted in Dutch culture and just plain fun, to which I counter that blackface minstrelsy, from where the present-day image of Black Pete, with his coal-black face, bright red lips, and wooly hair, derives is, unfortunately, a dark legacy from the US. Through blackface minstrelsy this caricature of black people was legitimated on stages all over America seeing as it reaffirmed what white society thought of blacks anyway. The shows, in which white performers donned black face paint, bright red lipstick, and the attire typical of black slaves and mimed their movements, music, and speech depicting them as child-like fools, swept across the country from 1830 and was exported to western European countries around the middle of the century.

These shows claimed to give an authentic glimpse of plantation life and were pretty convincing, especially during this time of heightened awareness of racial issues due to activity surrounding slavery and abolition. Whites embraced the stereotypes of blacks as comical characters, holding on to their belief that blacks, child-like in nature, were well suited for slavery while they were naturally the masters and superior beings. This is the cultural milieu surrounding the Dutch immortalization of blackface in the figure of Black Pete. Before Jan Schenkman’s classic children’s text, Sint Nikolaas en zijn knecht (Saint Nicholas and His Servant), published ca. 1850, St. Nicholas’s helper was described as the black slave whose freedom the saint bought. And that’s if we don’t include the pagan roots of the Sinterklaas celebration, which, in my opinion, is much more colorful, as it were.

The mythology goes something like this. Odin (or Woden in Dutch), a chief god descending from Norse mythology, was a robust figure with a long white beard sporting a mantle, a pointy cap, and brandishing a spear. As he is associated with the mythical Wild Hunt (the carrying off the dead or in pursuit of some maiden or another and is the source of thunder), he purportedly flew through the sky on an eight-legged white horse accompanied by his servant, an assistant, and two ravens (alternately two demons) who informed him about the deeds (especially the misdeeds) of mankind. In medieval celebrations of this god, offerings to him and his horse were left by the chimney, in exchange for which he would leave gifts. This pagan god was so vivid in the imaginary of the people, a day of the week became his namesake: Wednesday (or woensdag in Dutch). The advent of Christianity would displace this pagan celebration in favor of Christmas, but never replace it, as we see today in Sinterklaas.

Not to be outdone, St. Nicholas of the Christian faith contributes to this holiday. He was born to a wealthy Lycian family in the third century. His devoutness and charitable acts earned him the bishopric (his family ties probably didn’t hurt) when he was nineteen. He was beloved for his generosity (he bought and freed a slave, who in gratitude chose to serve Nicholas) and was said to have performed miracles. His memory is recalled today in the eponymous celebration that takes place on December 5th, the day before his death.

Recently in Holland, people of Surinamese and Caribbean background – and Americans - are speaking out against Black Pete because of the negative stereotypes he embodies. The Dutch response (read white people) is generally defensive. “We’re not racist; it doesn’t mean anything; it’s a part of Dutch culture; Pete’s face is black because he’s come down the dirty chimney” are some of the comments I’ve heard since I’ve been here. So, here’s the €10,000 question: is Black Pete a symbol of hidden Dutch racism? My answer is ambivalent at best.

On the one hand I have to consider how I’ve been treated in The Netherlands. Much to my surprise I was accepted into my husband’s family from day one. Even before we were married, his parents introduced me as their daughter-in-law, not, incidentally, as their son’s girlfriend. I was welcomed in his sister’s home until we found a place of our own – six months later. I was really a guest: I wasn’t asked to clean, do dishes, iron, etc. My brother-in-law cooked dinner for us every night. I remember winning tickets to Disneyland in Paris in a raffle. One of the kids yelled, “That’s my aunt!” I was accepted immediately within my husband’s social circle. As a couple, we’ve never been the target of racial slurs or attacks. In fact, I’m on guard only when we’re together in America.

I don’t believe the Dutch are parodying blacks when they smear black paint all over their faces and overdo the bright red lipstick. I’ve learned to look at the wider context and consider other images of blacks. On Dutch television, for example, I’ve seen many positive images of blacks, some things I would never see in America. Black couples are shown inquiring about a mortgage. A black father is seen having an intimate, loving moment with his black baby in a commercial for baby lotion. Many black movies are shown on Dutch prime time television. The Dutch seem to be genuinely interested in black American culture and consider it to be what makes America so appealing.

When people see my little mixed kids they only marvel at their curly hair. Instead of backhanded disapproval, usually housed in the hardships my interracial kids will suffer, the Dutch are only impressed that my husband and I are raising them to be bilingual. So, when I look at this, from such a personal perspective, I’m hard pressed to assign racist intentions in Black Pete.

On the other hand, I can’t deny Dutch history anymore than I can American. They could not colonize the East Indies nor enslave the West Indies (Suriname, Curacao, Bonaire, St. Eustatius, St. Maarten, Saba, and Aruba) without employing a hefty racist ideology to justify their presence. Of course, the Dutch are quick to deny their ancestors’ role as the oppressor. Rationalizations such as the Dutch weren’t as cruel as the Spanish, they weren’t involved with the slave trade as long as the French, or they didn’t ship as many Africans as the English abound. They also make sure I know that Surname has been offered their independence repeatedly, but they turn it down. According to the Dutch, Surinamese nationals like holding a Dutch passport, relocating to Holland for a university-level education, and they simply don’t want the responsibility that independence would bring. The Dutch education system, formal and informal, seems to have glossed over Dutch colonial history, and the gravest problem I see is that the Dutch don’t question it. Nor do they question Black Pete, even amidst the reproach he inspires.

What would make me happy around this time next year? Go easy on the black paint. If black is supposed to represent soot from the chimney, could we lightly dust our faces with a little chalk…and lose the red lipstick altogether. In fact, this is a compromise I’m willing to make when my daughter asks if she can dress up as Black Pete.

sources: www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/foster/sfeature/sf_minstrelsy.html
www.docentenplein.nl/vakinfo/sng.htm
www.geschiedenis.nl
krant.telegraaf.nl/krant/ditjaar/sint00/teksten/sint.geschiedenis.html

This entry was posted on Monday, November 24th, 2008 at 16:13 and is filed under Dutch culture. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.