Surinam Meets Ghana, Kromanti Part 2

When they started speaking in their language and the Ghanaian realized they could still understand each other, i all of bust out crying. To think after all these centuries, there are still pockets of people who are almost exclusively one and still were able to maintain their language and ways because of it, it’s a dream!

Thanks for watching everyone. I'm from Surinam myself, currently living in USA. When I grew up all of this was common knowledge, that honestly I took for granted. A few of our elders made trips to Africa throughout the years. It hit me however how little is known about our heritage, outside of Surinam, which I believe is a shared heritage throughout the Caribbean & USA diaspora. This is why I made this video with English subs. One of the reasons this heritage was preserved so well is that in Surinam is that Slaves successfully revolted, formed groups and ultimately won autonomy as early as 1762. So in essence they are a country within a country. There are three main groups, Ndyuka, Saamaka & Aluku (Which have migrated to French Guyana for the most part). They basically live according to the way their ancestors lived, with some added modern conveniences. I may make a follow up video about the culture as it exists today. 

I am from Cote d'Ivoire and I am Akan. This story breaks my heart.  Surinam Jamaica Guyana need to be taught in deep  to young african generations. Thanks so much for this video. 

The Ghanaian was so moved he had to sit down. I think the enormity of what happened to the slaves just hit him .We black people must never let this happen to us again.Every black man in the west should watch this video.

The Akan brother's shock sums up the loss and the shame. No book on slavery or poem, and not even words, can express what the eyes of the Maroon elder expressed. A deep, noble compassion- maybe something profounder, and closer to a tender dignity, touched with irony, that his people fought and survived against the cruelest of odds.

I'm crying looking at this story, because I'm a desendant of Ghanaian

My grandfather was a Maroon from Jamaica. I have always felt so connected to Africa and have a deep longing to come home.  

As a Senegalese this made me cry, its sooo amazing how they kept on their language and culture

"Life was hard. But thanks to our forefathers, we overcame."

It's amazing how the language has been preserved all those years and that our African brother from Ghana can speak his kromanti language and be responded to and understood my our Surinamese Marroons

I'm here after a mention by the Youtube channel "Geography Now", the history is sad but the reunion part was wonderful. Amazing how they can understand each other.

that Ghanaian brother was truly. moved, you could tell, what a moment.

Wow, powerful!!!  Most often it's the diaspora visiting the motherland.  This time an individual from Ghana visits and becomes emotionally moved from this exchange.

This is so deep, it made me very emotional, it's a beautiful thing to see the departed reunite, as a Ghanaian, I feel a connection with our brothers and sisters who were unfortunately torn from us.

Wauw! My mom told me about this year ago. Now today a finally found this. So greatfull. Thank you!

I am from Suriname from the same area and the name of this village is not ADAMPAY, but ADAWAI, which means IT GIVES HAPPINESS. The language he speaks with the Ghanian is known by the Saramaccaners (maroons) as the Komanti language. he dead years back. May his soul rest in peace.

Thanks for uploading this! It's incredible that even after all these years of being separated, they could still communicate in their own language. That's a privilege many people of the diaspora don't have. Great video!

I showed this to my African friend who said we are not Africans. After watching this he cried and changed his mind.

i am a grown man , but I was moved at the end, We are strong people. No matter where slavery took us to,, our culture and humanity never deserted us, Only Africans could have survived slavery and triumphed.

Thank you for sharing this really moving and inspiring video with its somewhat bittersweet flavour. I am Ghanaian and understand Fante reasonably well, and I think that at the end, it was more a mutual understanding of the ebb-and-flow of customary welcoming and greeting of a visitor, rather than literally understanding each other’s language. In my eyes, that makes it even more of an incredible encounter.