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Every year in the run-up to the Sinterklaas feast day on 5 December, expats join Dutch people in debating whether Zwarte Piet is a racist caricature or a loveable fairytale figure.Saint Nicholas is the Christian source for Father Christmas or Santa Claus, who comes bearing gifts for children in the early morning of 25 December. The main difference is that the enterprising Dutch hooked up with a jovial present-giver who arrives earlier in the month.
Although it seems he is also based on Saint Nicholas, this fellow goes by the name Sinterklaas. He traditionally arrives by boat in the Netherlands from Spain in the third week of November and gets the presents to children and — often to adults too — by 5 December.
He provides a good service? Yes, indeed he does, or rather the credit should go to his helpers, the Zwarte Pieten, or Black Piets.
Herein lays the crux of the problem: is Zwarte Piet his assistant, helper or slave?
And why is Zwarte Piet black with trademark dark curly hair and large gold earrings despite the fact the role is generally played by white, native Dutch people who think it is so amusing to don black face paint?
 |
A gollywog or a miniature Zwarte Piet? |
Sinterklaas, on the other hand, is based a white Christian Archbishop with flowing robes and a long white beard.
In short, why does Zwarte Piet bear a very close resemblance to the traditional gollywog doll, which has long since been consigned to the "politically incorrect" sin bin of history?
The gollywog was one of the first things to get the chop in 1987 when publishers of books by children's' author Enid Blyton agreed to expunge all "racism" from her works. Her gollywogs have now been transformed into neutral gnomes.
Who is this dark stranger?
Depending on the commentator's disposition towards the character, Zwarte Piet is either an Ethiopian orphan who was saved by slavery by Sinterklaas, a chimney sweep (who presumably hasn't had time to have a bath) or a "Moorish assistant" who really enjoys doing all the work for his white friend.
Or according to website zoz.nl, Zwarte Piet could be a modern version of a "wizard that helped the community stay in contact with the Gods".
"And like a shaman who appears as a little devil, Piet has attired himself in the clothes of the hated Spanish soldiers (who occupied the south of the Netherlands in the 16th century). An optimal contrast to the good Saint Nicholas."
Many of his supporters insist that far from being a slave to the white man, Piet was a little black devil Sinterklaas had to protect us from.
Hopefully all that unpleasantness is behind us now and it is just fun for all the family. And indeed anyone can help distribute the presents on 5 December.
The website zoz.nl explains how you too can transform yourself into a Zwarte Piet: "a real Piet can be recognised by his black make-up, red lipstick, perm curls, frilly collar, hat and tights. We refer to Piet as he or him, but Piet can also have considerable female attributes: many helper Piets have real breasts under a loose blouse and abundant, unnecessary space in their puffy pantaloons."
How very equal opportunity!
Pro-Piet
Contributors to Expatica have been divided on the issue over the years.
"It's a great tradition. Every year, children's eyes are full of fright when the old, white, bearded man comes back into the country with his black helpers," argued one Dutch Expatica columnist.
"Sinterklaas comes from Madrid, the Spanish capital, and, for all these children know, Madrid is very far away. The colour of these helpers has a lot in common with the colour of the chimneys they have to climb down in. That's why they are the colour that they are."
But then he explained that "the helpers are there to check on the behaviour of the children over the past year. If the kids have behaved badly, they are given no presents. And there is a chance that they will get slapped on their buttocks with the "roede" or, even worse, put into the helper's bag and taken back to that faraway country."
Anti-Piet
 |
Zwarte Piet remains unfazed by criticism. |
Humbug, countered fiery Canadian expat columnist Kevin Lowe.
"My first reaction to Zwarte Piet was one of absolute horror. Fresh from a politically correct university career in North America, the idea of what is essentially a black face struck me as an abhorrent anachronism, bizarre in a modern, 'progressive' country," Lowe wrote.
"The Dutch will go to great lengths to explain that Zwarte Piet is not a caricature of a black servant, that he is not a racist stereotype playing step-n-fetch-it for his master
"But that is exactly what he is. If the application of black make-up weren't enough to convince you, the "Moorish" outfit of earrings, kinky hair and pantaloons should cinch it.
"To understand the endurance of an icon like Zwarte Piet is to know the gaping divide between tolerance and acceptance, between a multi-cultural society and one which is Dutch with buitenlanders on the begrudging periphery. It is one of the subtle paradoxes of Dutch culture, but one I believe illustrates perfectly the hypocrisy and passive aggressiveness of the Dutch character. "
Over to you
Heady stuff.
Our readers have not been shy either about pronouncing judgment on these two, very different interpretations of the Dutch icon.
"I found Lowe's views in his Zwarte Piet article to be ridiculous. Sinterklaas has nothing to do with racism, or even symbols of slavery. It has to do with the same cheer as commercial X-mas. This is a festival for children, where dirty-faced helpers — and children are also dirty-faced helpers — are given candy," replied one reader last year.
Another attacked Kraal for referring to the child recipients of Zwarte Piet's largesse as "brats" and his "simplistic and ultimately nasty" analysis of the issue.
What do you think? Have your say in the Expatica Discussion Forum about Zwarte Piet.
Updated 3 December 2004
Interesting fact is that Zwarte Piet is actually of Moorish persuasion, hence the dress, afro and earrings. He has nothing to do with afro-americans, racism or any other tail. It has grown to be that Saint Nicholas has become a white person (while he is originally Turkish). Initially, they were all more or less the same 'color' although from different cultures.
What are we discussing here? This is just a very harmless fairy for children.
Chris,
We are the discussing the stereotypical images of Zwarte Piet [with big red lips, white teeth and bugged-out eyes] that are offensive to many everyday people in Amsterdam. These people probably include your friends and colleagues.
please check this link to educate yourself
http://zwartepiet2008.blogspot.com/
peace
1.prawda
And the American version of Santa's helpers are OK? Little people might feel offended as well..
It is interesting to see that these discussions only take place in English. I have yet to find a Dutch discussion on the so-called controversy of the Zwarte Pieten.
I grew up in Holland and many of my friends are not white. No Dutch child (white or not)or adult for that matter sees Zwarte Piet as a black person. The Zwarte Pieten, just as Sinterklaas are characters in a holiday story, just like Santa and his elves.
In analyzing this tradition you should not forget that everyone is culturally biased by default and what is considered politically correct in the States is not necessarily true in the rest of the world.
Living in the States I do see that people find Zwarte Piet controversial. I try to keep an open mind when I look at other people's tradition's and I wish that this Dutch tradition would be treated with the same open mind.
Don't just repeat what others have said about it but try and come to Holland around that time and experience the celebration yourself, together with a Dutch family.
I would like to hear if it changes your view on the subject!
Anouk, If you don't think that Zwarte Piet portrays a black person, [edited] have a little read about the history of Zwarte Piet (from 1850 onwards), and the things going on in your colonies about that time - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zwarte_Piet.<br /> I am in Flanders at the moment, and am completely dumbstruck by the flagrant racist imagery, which have popped up everywhere. Zwarte Piet characters are typically performed by white people dressed in a renaissance minstrel’s outfit complete with blackface, painted red lips, and an ‘afro’-wig. The characters usually speak in a ‘stupid’ or Surinamese accent, and are portrayed as childlike and mischievous when performing in public or on television programmes. There is further evidence that such characters are subjected to racist ridicule, as evidenced by the following ‘satire’ which was released onto public television as late as 2007 and is available on the following URL with almost 450,000 views: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2H6SXaWxuo<br /> P.S. I am not American, I was raised in New Zealand. It's not just the Americans that would have a reaction to Zwarte Piet, I'm sure Canadians, Australians, the English, French and other Europeans would see this as racist. In fact, the Zwarte Piet aspect is probably the most racist public celebration I can think of, its almost satirical, [edited by moderator] The problem is that this is real, this is a modern, rich, and educated Western society (the Netherlands and Flanders) and it's the 21st century. Wake up! Zwarte Piet is a racist caricature and damaging to children. The only reason you don't think the same is because of the psychological pressure caused by conforming to Dutch-speaking society is warping your view of reality - see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asch_conformity_experiments
I strongly agree with Anouk, but since I grew up in the Netherlands too you will probably extend your presumptions to me being brainwashed too. I pesonally believe the origin of Zwarte Piet is that of the Ethiopian slaveboy Piter, whom Nicholas bought free at a slavemarket somewhere along the Mediterranian who voluntarily stayed with him as a servant (presumably because he had nowhere else to go). Before WW2 therfor, Sinterklaas had only one 'Zwarte Piet', playing the part of Sinterklaas' companion At the end of the war, someone invited Canadian troops to help out with the activities, and that's how the bunch of mischievous Zwarte Pieten came to be: the combination of servant and troop of cheerful young men. As for present day: Children don't know what racism is untill you throw a fit about it. Zwarte Piet is a character, just like Sinterklaas. Piet may be mischievous, but Sinterklaas also tends to come across as a slightly senile old man. I've never heard anyone complain about that. @ King Leopold: that link is , as you mention SATIRE. It's from a show that is known to push buttons, and it's meant to stir the cringing feeling that you got. By doing so, it prooves that this is not the way Zwarte Piet is seen. That's what makes it satire. I could just easily remark that women are ridiculed in that clip, but I know what satire is. I grew up with Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet, and I assure you I don't think I've been damaged in any way. (Hint: I don't really believe all black people are like Zwarte Piet, just like I don't really believe people actually ride horses on my roof) [Edited by moderator] Stop screaming racism when there's no reason to. Doing so is more racist than you might think ;-)
Read the seminal work on the subject by Professor Dr. Allison Blakely of Boston University, "Blacks in the Dutch World." You will find that the topic is placed into context with varifiable and supporting references.
I can understand that some people find it offensive and racist. No doubt that it has some bad history. From what I've read, the Zwarte Piet is quite racist in Flanders. He speaks with a Surinamese accent and acts childish. This is very offensive, and I do think it has to change.
But Sinterklaas is different in The Netherlands. Zwarte Piet isn't just a servant, he's a friend, much like Santa's elves. And he can be a jolly kid or a professor. So I don't consider it racist. As a kid, I've always been told he's black because he climbs down chimneys. Sinterklaas does not create little racists.
BTW funny nickname, King Leopold II (of Belgium), for somebody who wants to blame a society for having a four century old cultural-fest and call that a racist thing. The fest already existed before the Netherlands acquired colonies.
King Leopold practically owned the Congo and the ruling of it was not very understanding towards the people there. But maybe that is what works best there and that is why you adopted the nick?
Most of you is why racism still lives. You can't see beyond the race issue into the absurd, humor, and the who cares. Most of my black friends see well beyond the racism. They are always picking on me with their black humor because I am white. They turn racist jokes backwards. To me they are just that, fiends. Don't care about color. Respect is earned not given.
I am not Dutch but my husband is and he loves Zwarte Piet and Sinterklaas. I am black and I find certain images offensive..... no matter how much I try to pretend it doesn't. I particularly find offensive, the images of Zwarte Piet as a short black man with ridiculously huge lips, big buggy eyes and a big afro. This is a typical, RACIST caricature of a black person that the rest of the civilised world threw out ages ago. I've allowed my kids to partake in Sinterklaas celebrations since birth but it's something I feel very unsure about. I don't understand how many Dutch people can't see how offensive this image is.... it's on wrapping paper, cds, sweets.
Having read Kiki's post 5 years after this debate started, I guess it shows that the only people who continue to claim to not see the offence in the entire "Zwarte Piet caricature" are certain white Dutch people. Thankfully, they are in the minority. I think that this can be said of all predominantly White cultures: there is a lack of empathy when people who have not historically been disadvantaged by slavery, colonialism or institutional racism and are not under or poorly represented in popular culture, sport, music and mainstream society, and the fact that we even have to explain that despite Zwarte Piet being jovial, going down a chimney does not, has not and will never give you an AFRO! [Edited by moderator] It honestly is a shame for such a seemingly tolerant and otherwise amicable society to reveal hypocritical behaviour every single year, despite the number of Dutch-born or naturalised citizens of African/other non-white heritage protesting this tasteless exercise year-in-and-year-out. Having lived here for 4 years now, (married to a Dutchman) I have tried to respect a lot of the cultural differences, but I cannot change the fact that I am black, and no matter how many times I have tried to filter it through a cultural understanding and tolerance filter, I simply still find it offensive. Zwarte Piet himself is not offensive, the CONTEXT of his character (and yes, he is fictional) is racist. The fact that Dutch people at one time in History enriched themselves at the expense of so many people of color, and that they used to hold views of "stupid" and "mischievous" and "sooty" and "labouring" black people is not peripheral to the existence of "Zwarte Piet". Is there no kinder and more dignified and respectful way of teaching children the REAL History of their country? Even if he is fictional! So what? The Dutch involvement in the Trans-Atlantic slave trade and in colonialism were not fiction. The institutional discrimination, abuse and demonization of black people today in subtle and insidious ways is not and was not fictional. Don't we owe it to all of the Black Dutch and White Dutch to celebrate progress, development and advancement in a more modern way?
Gloria, the problem with the way in which you continue this discussion is that you put your opponents in a Catch-22 situation. Either they agree with you, and then you have won the discussion. Or they continue to disagree with you, and then they prove ignorant by your standards, or even hateful and bigoted, which implies that you have also won this discussion.
This situation decreases the possibility of a sincere exchange of arguments and opinions pretty much down to zero. Just like the possibility of *mutual* understanding and respect.
Hello Im from the Netherlands and i do agree that zwarte Piet is not something from this time, Dutch people think its normal because they dont know the history of this event , and the history of this event is very hurtfull and shocking , cause you can best believe that the real black Pete had a horrible life ,and to turn that into a celebration is very shocking to the people who know the facts, and if people wanna say he have that face for climbing through a chimney ,then why his clothes are allways clean? [Edited by moderator] if the Dutch government think that zwarte Piet is correct, just invite Barack Obama over for dinner on 5 december , [edited] the original Piet is a black cervant who is not too smart and allways obeys his master and he talks with a Suriname accent , i tell you when you a young black kid sitting in class you feel very confused ,.....Im 32 years old and was born in Denhaag and i never liked Zwarte piet id rather celebrate christmas ! real talk
I lived in the Netherlands for decades and am puzzled and confused. For a country claiming to be so liberal and tolerant and then to be genuinely shocked and immediately emotionally offended when you tell them that this is one of the most insulting and racist remains of the past 500 years of slavery and colonialism.
The Netherlands needs to grow up pretty fast and de-racialize its Sinterklaas feest. The most straight forward way is to paint Piet in all colours of the rainbow and get rid of his Afro, but this is undebatable in Holland with emotions really getting sky high..
Why are the Dutch so keen to hold on to actually a very recently acquired (1850 is not that long) tradition. The whole idea that the children like it so it is good is ridiculous. Children like Tom and Jerry bashing each other up do, but that does not mean that we condone random violence or do we?
It is time this celebration is changed. Please sign the petition below to prevent our children from being taught that racial stereotyping is ok: http://www.change.org/petitions/dutch-ministry-of-education-get-zwarte-piet-as-a-blackface-tradition-out-of-dutch-schools
It is our tradition, and not yours. I tend to find many day-to-day choice English language phrase referring to Dutch as being "bad", or those typres depicted on wooden shoes with fingers in the dike, equally offensive and stereotypical.
Of course we cannot say anything about the annual "Catholic" burning fest in the Commonwealth, called Guy Fawkes Night. This is also known as November 5 bonfire night in Canada and all. I don't because im a guest, and cant challenge my hosts.
When I'm in the English speaking world, I will be sure not to celebrate "Sinterklaas", but when I'm home, I do what and however I please. Black make-up or not.
It is our tradition and we can do, and will do what we please. That is why we call it Holland, the land of Hollanders.
I'm thinking if this is the last year I'll ignore children calling me Zwarte Piet. [Edited by moderator]. Ask the black children who are being called Zwarte Piet each year if they think it's funny. The land of the Hollanders has black people too and we don't want to be called zwarte piet because you think it's so much fun to play black-face every december!
@Jennifer: You say: 'The Netherlands needs to grow up pretty fast and de-racialize its Sinterklaas feest." You are wrong. I am (Dutch and) sick and tired of Anglosaxons telling us what our culture is and isn't. Your minstrel or gollywog is not the same as Zwarte Piet. One of my colleagues is black and from Surinam. She tells me Sinterklaas is celebrated in the former colony as well, the only difference being that the Zwarte Pieten wear no make-up, while Sinterklaas is a black person wearing whiteface. [Edited by moderator]
Not too sure that's accurate Bart. http://www.rnw.nl/english/bulletin/dutch-santa-faces-ban-suriname
How I think about Zwarte Piet, and how changes should be made:
I do agree that Zwarte Piet is racist, and needs to change, the question is how. And how to make the Dutch in general understand the very necessity of this change.
What is most important to realise with how much (positive) sentiment Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet are valued by the main public. Almost everybody loves them deeply (and I do too), their roots lie so deep in Dutch culture and tradition, that every attack on them is being felt as an attack on Dutch identity and culture.
Second, one must realise that Zwarte Piet is seen as a positive figure. A role model so to speak, who is fun, and friendly. Sinterklaas is often seen as the strict, and slightly scary old man, where Zwarte Piet is much easier to associate with for kids. This makes it extremely hard for Dutch people to see the relation with racism. People who aren't (intentionally) racist, and don't see themselves as racist, and often have a positive image of black people do not like to be called racist. And rightly so, because they aren't really. They just honestly don't realise they are being racist (which is often hard to notice of yourself anyway).
There are also a lot of children who don't associate Zwarte Piet with a black person at all. I for one never did. The first time I realised there might be a connection was when I was about 12, and saw a discussion about the subject on TV, and even then I was pretty confused about why black people would feel offended, because surely Zwarte Piet wasn't a black person at all, it was just soot from the chimneys.
What I want to demonstrate with this example of my own experience is how incredibly hard it is to see how people can feel offended by something you only see (for as long as you remember) as something extremely positive, that you look up to.
However, the caricature of the 'Morish' black man with rings in his ears and big red lips IS racist. It is not intended that way, but it is. And it does hurt people, so it needs to change. Zwarte Piet cannot be banned, or completely changed at once. That's like banning Christmas trees, or replacing them with ferns or something. It's also disrespectful towards the tradition. So I think change needs to happen gradually.
Maybe we can start by replacing the entirely black faces with a lot of soot in the first year, but keeping the wigs and red lips, and a little less soot in the year after that. The next year the hair could be changed to different, fun colours as well. A year later there can be subtle experiments with other things as well. There are amazing possibilities for the make up. Piets could become more varied and fun even. But the main point is that every change has to be very subtle, cause people have to adjust to it. Also the kids shouldn't notice that Zwarte piet suddenly is completely different. Cause in the end, it is about the kids. Societies don't change overnight, and people in general don't like changes, especially to things that are Sacred to them, and Sinterklaas and Piet are sacred.
If the changes are subtle, and gradually enough, people won't even notice them, and get used to it without a feeling of loss. If the government makes sure those subtle changes are made each year during the Arrival of Sinterklaas and in schools (perhaps malls as well, although I don't know how that's organised), the rest will follow. And in 10 or 20 years the Dutch will be laughing about their silly, and bizarre racist depiction of Piet from the past.
In German, Swiss and Austrian folklore, (as well as in other European countries) Saint Nicholas's helper is called KRAMPUS. Krampus's appearance is somewhat demonic, with goat horns, a long tongue, often hoofed feet. He carries with him a basket containing fruit to give to good children, a burlap sack, and a bundle of twigs to castigate bad children with. Krampus is essentially the same figure as Zwarte Piet.
Over times, in Holland and Flanders Zwarte Piet acquired a more human form and became more humorous than fearsome. Zwarte Piet's "Moorish" appearance is undoubtedly related to the "Eighty Year's War" (Spanish occupation of what would become the Netherlands). People back then, up until a century or even 50 years ago had never even seen a black man.
I understand how some people think Zwarte Piet is racist (my US girlfriend is shocked and amused by the phenomenon), Seen through contemporary, 21st century eyes the depiction of Zwarte Piet probably is racist. One crucial factor is that there is no racist INTENT.
The Piet phenomenon is not comparable to Al Jolson blackface or minstrel shows in the US back in the 30's. It's not about ridiculing black people. The politically correct Zeitgeist of today even demands that the headwear of St. Nicholas, a BISHOP, may no longer haveh a Christian cross on ot for this for this would "offend" muslims.
Interesting fact is that Zwarte Piet is actually of Moorish persuasion, hence the dress, afro and earrings. He has nothing to do with afro-americans, racism or any other tail. It has grown to be that Saint Nicholas has become a white person (while he is originally Turkish). Initially, they were all more or less the same 'color' although from different cultures.
What are we discussing here? This is just a very harmless fairy for children.
Chris,
We are the discussing the stereotypical images of Zwarte Piet [with big red lips, white teeth and bugged-out eyes] that are offensive to many everyday people in Amsterdam. These people probably include your friends and colleagues.
please check this link to educate yourself
http://zwartepiet2008.blogspot.com/
peace
1.prawda
And the American version of Santa's helpers are OK? Little people might feel offended as well..
It is interesting to see that these discussions only take place in English. I have yet to find a Dutch discussion on the so-called controversy of the Zwarte Pieten.
I grew up in Holland and many of my friends are not white. No Dutch child (white or not)or adult for that matter sees Zwarte Piet as a black person. The Zwarte Pieten, just as Sinterklaas are characters in a holiday story, just like Santa and his elves.
In analyzing this tradition you should not forget that everyone is culturally biased by default and what is considered politically correct in the States is not necessarily true in the rest of the world.
Living in the States I do see that people find Zwarte Piet controversial. I try to keep an open mind when I look at other people's tradition's and I wish that this Dutch tradition would be treated with the same open mind.
Don't just repeat what others have said about it but try and come to Holland around that time and experience the celebration yourself, together with a Dutch family.
I would like to hear if it changes your view on the subject!
Anouk, If you don't think that Zwarte Piet portrays a black person, [edited] have a little read about the history of Zwarte Piet (from 1850 onwards), and the things going on in your colonies about that time - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zwarte_Piet.<br /> I am in Flanders at the moment, and am completely dumbstruck by the flagrant racist imagery, which have popped up everywhere. Zwarte Piet characters are typically performed by white people dressed in a renaissance minstrel’s outfit complete with blackface, painted red lips, and an ‘afro’-wig. The characters usually speak in a ‘stupid’ or Surinamese accent, and are portrayed as childlike and mischievous when performing in public or on television programmes. There is further evidence that such characters are subjected to racist ridicule, as evidenced by the following ‘satire’ which was released onto public television as late as 2007 and is available on the following URL with almost 450,000 views: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2H6SXaWxuo<br /> P.S. I am not American, I was raised in New Zealand. It's not just the Americans that would have a reaction to Zwarte Piet, I'm sure Canadians, Australians, the English, French and other Europeans would see this as racist. In fact, the Zwarte Piet aspect is probably the most racist public celebration I can think of, its almost satirical, [edited by moderator] The problem is that this is real, this is a modern, rich, and educated Western society (the Netherlands and Flanders) and it's the 21st century. Wake up! Zwarte Piet is a racist caricature and damaging to children. The only reason you don't think the same is because of the psychological pressure caused by conforming to Dutch-speaking society is warping your view of reality - see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asch_conformity_experiments
I strongly agree with Anouk, but since I grew up in the Netherlands too you will probably extend your presumptions to me being brainwashed too. I pesonally believe the origin of Zwarte Piet is that of the Ethiopian slaveboy Piter, whom Nicholas bought free at a slavemarket somewhere along the Mediterranian who voluntarily stayed with him as a servant (presumably because he had nowhere else to go). Before WW2 therfor, Sinterklaas had only one 'Zwarte Piet', playing the part of Sinterklaas' companion At the end of the war, someone invited Canadian troops to help out with the activities, and that's how the bunch of mischievous Zwarte Pieten came to be: the combination of servant and troop of cheerful young men. As for present day: Children don't know what racism is untill you throw a fit about it. Zwarte Piet is a character, just like Sinterklaas. Piet may be mischievous, but Sinterklaas also tends to come across as a slightly senile old man. I've never heard anyone complain about that. @ King Leopold: that link is , as you mention SATIRE. It's from a show that is known to push buttons, and it's meant to stir the cringing feeling that you got. By doing so, it prooves that this is not the way Zwarte Piet is seen. That's what makes it satire. I could just easily remark that women are ridiculed in that clip, but I know what satire is. I grew up with Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet, and I assure you I don't think I've been damaged in any way. (Hint: I don't really believe all black people are like Zwarte Piet, just like I don't really believe people actually ride horses on my roof) [Edited by moderator] Stop screaming racism when there's no reason to. Doing so is more racist than you might think ;-)
Read the seminal work on the subject by Professor Dr. Allison Blakely of Boston University, "Blacks in the Dutch World." You will find that the topic is placed into context with varifiable and supporting references.
I can understand that some people find it offensive and racist. No doubt that it has some bad history. From what I've read, the Zwarte Piet is quite racist in Flanders. He speaks with a Surinamese accent and acts childish. This is very offensive, and I do think it has to change.
But Sinterklaas is different in The Netherlands. Zwarte Piet isn't just a servant, he's a friend, much like Santa's elves. And he can be a jolly kid or a professor. So I don't consider it racist. As a kid, I've always been told he's black because he climbs down chimneys. Sinterklaas does not create little racists.
BTW funny nickname, King Leopold II (of Belgium), for somebody who wants to blame a society for having a four century old cultural-fest and call that a racist thing. The fest already existed before the Netherlands acquired colonies.
King Leopold practically owned the Congo and the ruling of it was not very understanding towards the people there. But maybe that is what works best there and that is why you adopted the nick?
Most of you is why racism still lives. You can't see beyond the race issue into the absurd, humor, and the who cares. Most of my black friends see well beyond the racism. They are always picking on me with their black humor because I am white. They turn racist jokes backwards. To me they are just that, fiends. Don't care about color. Respect is earned not given.
I am not Dutch but my husband is and he loves Zwarte Piet and Sinterklaas. I am black and I find certain images offensive..... no matter how much I try to pretend it doesn't. I particularly find offensive, the images of Zwarte Piet as a short black man with ridiculously huge lips, big buggy eyes and a big afro. This is a typical, RACIST caricature of a black person that the rest of the civilised world threw out ages ago. I've allowed my kids to partake in Sinterklaas celebrations since birth but it's something I feel very unsure about. I don't understand how many Dutch people can't see how offensive this image is.... it's on wrapping paper, cds, sweets.
Having read Kiki's post 5 years after this debate started, I guess it shows that the only people who continue to claim to not see the offence in the entire "Zwarte Piet caricature" are certain white Dutch people. Thankfully, they are in the minority. I think that this can be said of all predominantly White cultures: there is a lack of empathy when people who have not historically been disadvantaged by slavery, colonialism or institutional racism and are not under or poorly represented in popular culture, sport, music and mainstream society, and the fact that we even have to explain that despite Zwarte Piet being jovial, going down a chimney does not, has not and will never give you an AFRO! [Edited by moderator] It honestly is a shame for such a seemingly tolerant and otherwise amicable society to reveal hypocritical behaviour every single year, despite the number of Dutch-born or naturalised citizens of African/other non-white heritage protesting this tasteless exercise year-in-and-year-out. Having lived here for 4 years now, (married to a Dutchman) I have tried to respect a lot of the cultural differences, but I cannot change the fact that I am black, and no matter how many times I have tried to filter it through a cultural understanding and tolerance filter, I simply still find it offensive. Zwarte Piet himself is not offensive, the CONTEXT of his character (and yes, he is fictional) is racist. The fact that Dutch people at one time in History enriched themselves at the expense of so many people of color, and that they used to hold views of "stupid" and "mischievous" and "sooty" and "labouring" black people is not peripheral to the existence of "Zwarte Piet". Is there no kinder and more dignified and respectful way of teaching children the REAL History of their country? Even if he is fictional! So what? The Dutch involvement in the Trans-Atlantic slave trade and in colonialism were not fiction. The institutional discrimination, abuse and demonization of black people today in subtle and insidious ways is not and was not fictional. Don't we owe it to all of the Black Dutch and White Dutch to celebrate progress, development and advancement in a more modern way?
Gloria, the problem with the way in which you continue this discussion is that you put your opponents in a Catch-22 situation. Either they agree with you, and then you have won the discussion. Or they continue to disagree with you, and then they prove ignorant by your standards, or even hateful and bigoted, which implies that you have also won this discussion.
This situation decreases the possibility of a sincere exchange of arguments and opinions pretty much down to zero. Just like the possibility of *mutual* understanding and respect.
Hello Im from the Netherlands and i do agree that zwarte Piet is not something from this time, Dutch people think its normal because they dont know the history of this event , and the history of this event is very hurtfull and shocking , cause you can best believe that the real black Pete had a horrible life ,and to turn that into a celebration is very shocking to the people who know the facts, and if people wanna say he have that face for climbing through a chimney ,then why his clothes are allways clean? [Edited by moderator] if the Dutch government think that zwarte Piet is correct, just invite Barack Obama over for dinner on 5 december , [edited] the original Piet is a black cervant who is not too smart and allways obeys his master and he talks with a Suriname accent , i tell you when you a young black kid sitting in class you feel very confused ,.....Im 32 years old and was born in Denhaag and i never liked Zwarte piet id rather celebrate christmas ! real talk
I lived in the Netherlands for decades and am puzzled and confused. For a country claiming to be so liberal and tolerant and then to be genuinely shocked and immediately emotionally offended when you tell them that this is one of the most insulting and racist remains of the past 500 years of slavery and colonialism.
The Netherlands needs to grow up pretty fast and de-racialize its Sinterklaas feest. The most straight forward way is to paint Piet in all colours of the rainbow and get rid of his Afro, but this is undebatable in Holland with emotions really getting sky high..
Why are the Dutch so keen to hold on to actually a very recently acquired (1850 is not that long) tradition. The whole idea that the children like it so it is good is ridiculous. Children like Tom and Jerry bashing each other up do, but that does not mean that we condone random violence or do we?
It is time this celebration is changed. Please sign the petition below to prevent our children from being taught that racial stereotyping is ok: http://www.change.org/petitions/dutch-ministry-of-education-get-zwarte-piet-as-a-blackface-tradition-out-of-dutch-schools
It is our tradition, and not yours. I tend to find many day-to-day choice English language phrase referring to Dutch as being "bad", or those typres depicted on wooden shoes with fingers in the dike, equally offensive and stereotypical.
Of course we cannot say anything about the annual "Catholic" burning fest in the Commonwealth, called Guy Fawkes Night. This is also known as November 5 bonfire night in Canada and all. I don't because im a guest, and cant challenge my hosts.
When I'm in the English speaking world, I will be sure not to celebrate "Sinterklaas", but when I'm home, I do what and however I please. Black make-up or not.
It is our tradition and we can do, and will do what we please. That is why we call it Holland, the land of Hollanders.
I'm thinking if this is the last year I'll ignore children calling me Zwarte Piet. [Edited by moderator]. Ask the black children who are being called Zwarte Piet each year if they think it's funny. The land of the Hollanders has black people too and we don't want to be called zwarte piet because you think it's so much fun to play black-face every december!
@Jennifer: You say: 'The Netherlands needs to grow up pretty fast and de-racialize its Sinterklaas feest." You are wrong. I am (Dutch and) sick and tired of Anglosaxons telling us what our culture is and isn't. Your minstrel or gollywog is not the same as Zwarte Piet. One of my colleagues is black and from Surinam. She tells me Sinterklaas is celebrated in the former colony as well, the only difference being that the Zwarte Pieten wear no make-up, while Sinterklaas is a black person wearing whiteface. [Edited by moderator]
Not too sure that's accurate Bart. http://www.rnw.nl/english/bulletin/dutch-santa-faces-ban-suriname
How I think about Zwarte Piet, and how changes should be made:
I do agree that Zwarte Piet is racist, and needs to change, the question is how. And how to make the Dutch in general understand the very necessity of this change.
What is most important to realise with how much (positive) sentiment Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet are valued by the main public. Almost everybody loves them deeply (and I do too), their roots lie so deep in Dutch culture and tradition, that every attack on them is being felt as an attack on Dutch identity and culture.
Second, one must realise that Zwarte Piet is seen as a positive figure. A role model so to speak, who is fun, and friendly. Sinterklaas is often seen as the strict, and slightly scary old man, where Zwarte Piet is much easier to associate with for kids. This makes it extremely hard for Dutch people to see the relation with racism. People who aren't (intentionally) racist, and don't see themselves as racist, and often have a positive image of black people do not like to be called racist. And rightly so, because they aren't really. They just honestly don't realise they are being racist (which is often hard to notice of yourself anyway).
There are also a lot of children who don't associate Zwarte Piet with a black person at all. I for one never did. The first time I realised there might be a connection was when I was about 12, and saw a discussion about the subject on TV, and even then I was pretty confused about why black people would feel offended, because surely Zwarte Piet wasn't a black person at all, it was just soot from the chimneys.
What I want to demonstrate with this example of my own experience is how incredibly hard it is to see how people can feel offended by something you only see (for as long as you remember) as something extremely positive, that you look up to.
However, the caricature of the 'Morish' black man with rings in his ears and big red lips IS racist. It is not intended that way, but it is. And it does hurt people, so it needs to change. Zwarte Piet cannot be banned, or completely changed at once. That's like banning Christmas trees, or replacing them with ferns or something. It's also disrespectful towards the tradition. So I think change needs to happen gradually.
Maybe we can start by replacing the entirely black faces with a lot of soot in the first year, but keeping the wigs and red lips, and a little less soot in the year after that. The next year the hair could be changed to different, fun colours as well. A year later there can be subtle experiments with other things as well. There are amazing possibilities for the make up. Piets could become more varied and fun even. But the main point is that every change has to be very subtle, cause people have to adjust to it. Also the kids shouldn't notice that Zwarte piet suddenly is completely different. Cause in the end, it is about the kids. Societies don't change overnight, and people in general don't like changes, especially to things that are Sacred to them, and Sinterklaas and Piet are sacred.
If the changes are subtle, and gradually enough, people won't even notice them, and get used to it without a feeling of loss. If the government makes sure those subtle changes are made each year during the Arrival of Sinterklaas and in schools (perhaps malls as well, although I don't know how that's organised), the rest will follow. And in 10 or 20 years the Dutch will be laughing about their silly, and bizarre racist depiction of Piet from the past.
In German, Swiss and Austrian folklore, (as well as in other European countries) Saint Nicholas's helper is called KRAMPUS. Krampus's appearance is somewhat demonic, with goat horns, a long tongue, often hoofed feet. He carries with him a basket containing fruit to give to good children, a burlap sack, and a bundle of twigs to castigate bad children with. Krampus is essentially the same figure as Zwarte Piet.
Over times, in Holland and Flanders Zwarte Piet acquired a more human form and became more humorous than fearsome. Zwarte Piet's "Moorish" appearance is undoubtedly related to the "Eighty Year's War" (Spanish occupation of what would become the Netherlands). People back then, up until a century or even 50 years ago had never even seen a black man.
I understand how some people think Zwarte Piet is racist (my US girlfriend is shocked and amused by the phenomenon), Seen through contemporary, 21st century eyes the depiction of Zwarte Piet probably is racist. One crucial factor is that there is no racist INTENT.
The Piet phenomenon is not comparable to Al Jolson blackface or minstrel shows in the US back in the 30's. It's not about ridiculing black people. The politically correct Zeitgeist of today even demands that the headwear of St. Nicholas, a BISHOP, may no longer haveh a Christian cross on ot for this for this would "offend" muslims.
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