Magnum Blog / Saint Nicholas and Black Pete

Saint Nicholas and Black Pete

© Peter van Agtmael/Magnum Photos Several weeks ago I took part in the World Press Photo Masterclass in Holland. I stayed a few days after it ended to visit some family that lives in Holland. The class had been really intense, and before heading off to my cousin's house, I decided to spend a few hours walking around Amsterdam to sift through my thoughts. While walking around I randomly stumbled upon a parade. It was mobbed by young kids with their parents and grandparents, and the mood was deliriously festive. Curious, I approached the parade's edge, and inched in for a spot to see what was happening. A continuous line of many hundreds (thousands?) of Dutchmen dressed in blackface with afro wigs and brightly painted red lips were marching down the street and handing out candy to shrieking children. Some performed tricks on rollerblades and bikes, and they all acted like jolly buffoons, while the bearded Saint Nicholas (the Dutch Santa Claus) rode slowly by on his stately white horse. My father is Dutch, and from my childhood I vaguely remembered him telling me about 'Zwarte Pete,' (Black Pete) the helper of Saint Nicholas. When my sister and I were young we would celebrate Saint Nicholas on December 5 by putting a wooden shoe by the chimney, along with cookies for Saint Nick and carrots for his horse. In the morning we would find a big chocolate letter shaped like the first letter of our name stuffed in the wooden shoe. But Black Pete was never really much of a character in our informal celebration of the holiday, which was really just an appetizer for the 'real' Christmas. I'd largely forgotten about Black Pete many years ago. Saint Nicholas Day is celebrated in Holland on December 6 in lieu of Christmas (which is a quiet, commodity free event), and Black Pete is an integral symbol of the holiday. As Holland attracts more immigrants, Black Pete has become an increasingly controversial figure, although he is still largely embraced. Still, I only saw one family of black people attending the parade; the kids were having a blast, though the mother and father looked very disconcerted. In 2006 an effort was made for the Black Pete's to be covered in many different colors of face paint, but the effort was widely rejected. Blackface has a loaded history in the United States, originating in the hugely popular minstrel shows of the early 19th century that parodied African Americans to adoring crowds for over a hundred years. Now, it would be completely unacceptable to see blackface in any kind of mainstream use. Yet Holland, which prides itself on its tolerant and progressive politics and people, condones it despite its loaded history. I'm curious, what do you Magnum blog readers think of this tradition? It would be especially interesting to hear from those readers living in Holland.

John Vink

Ah those puritan Dutch... In Belgium Sint Niklaas is at least treated to a small glass of alcohol.

Interestingly Sint Niklaas is the only saint still celebrated in Holland after Kalvijn came along.

I myself was a Zwarte Piet once. It was terrifying to find out how I could terrify small kids dressed like that.

For those interested: the Belgian community celebrates Sint Niklaas tomorrow morning at 10:30 at Tchou Tchou kindergarten (street 21, Phnom Penh, Cambodia). There will be a real Sint Niklaas (beard imported straight from Belgium). It is not clear yet wich mode of transportation he will use. In 2007 he sat on a horse drawn cart. In 2006 he came in a sidecar and in 2005 in a tuk-tuk...

Nico van Eeden

Nice photograph and nice story, Peter, but when I read it, being Dutch and living in the Netherlands, I get a picture, that is a bit different from my own perception. For one I have never seen a parade with hundreds, let alone thousands, of Zwarte Pieten and I think neither have you, looking at your photo. Then, Saint Nicholas Day is NOT celebrated December 6, which is the Saint's official Name Day, but on the preceding evening, called Pakjesavond, boxing night, and Christmas is certainly no minor thing in our country.

Peter van Agtmael

Hi Nico,
Certainly there were at least many hundreds. That particular picture was taken at the tail end of the parade in Central Amsterdam. Since when is one picture 'the truth' of an event? I'll try to dig up exact numbers for that parade, if it's available. Also, I did mention that celebrations start the night of the 5th in the previous paragraph. And do they not continue on the 6th?
Has Christmas become a much more commercial holiday? I base these impressions on 15 years ago... Is it as important as Sinterklaas?

Liz

My mother was Dutch and this is a wonderful reminder of Dutch customs to me. We have become so politically correct that we can hardly enjoy and laugh at ourselves anymore. I would like to see in print the actual role of Black Peter and 'celebrate' his presence rather than look for things wrong with it.

bobblack

WOW!...call me the grinch, but what the fuck?.....

long time ago, i dated a girl from Amsterdam (one of my fave cities) and she used to mention this dude....but, i can't believe, tradition or no tradition, is still resonates with dutch....we should cling or hold value to customs just because they're part of a tradition?....come one people....

I remeber in the states (sadly they still exist) when lots of folk had black-faced lawn jockeys (for example, for those outside the US, http://tinyurl.com/6ohmb7 and here is a bit on it's history as used for the Underground Railroad: http://tinyurl.com/dq6t6 ) and now when i see them (in typically white, middle class surban neighborhoods), i cringe....

just because custom and tradition merit in our lives fond memories (mostly from childhood or cultural indifference), doesnt make them valid. In fact, this tradition seems to be colonialist or another way to lighten the load of cultural memories of enslavement/colonization. Why not a Yellow Pete (for asians) or a Brown Pete (for sub-continent/arabic/samerican/) or a red (indigenous americans) etc etc...would we still find it equally as merry. What we view as "innocent" with black-face, is actually quite profoundly repellent. Y'all are white folk and, I'd like to hear from a non-european, caucasian n.american, for their take on this "parade."....

interestingly, just yesterday i was talking with a young woman from Saudi Arabia who has come to Toronto to get her master's degree in communication because she is unable to become a lawyer in S.Arabia. Her hope is to return and defend the rights of women there. Her life's mission is to separate Saudi custom (as it deals with Women's rights) from Islam, arguing that many of the ways women are treated as nothing to do with Islam but with Saudi tradition/custom (one simple example she uses: women cannot try, while in the past women were able to trade, become merchants, and ride horses/camels, a form of transportation, alone and in groups with men). The problem is that we often become anaestetized to this kind of behavior because it DOESNT AFFECT US, but see it as merriment. Subjugation is subjugation not matter how it's spun. The dream of the slave owner was the happy, smiling house slave, the one with the nice house jacket, who appeared to be laughing at master's whiskey-dropped stories....

this is NOT about being politically correct, but about AWARENESS of what customs/rituals mean, from where they come. Where does one draw the line on old, ignornant, enslaving customs ('those found feet in china looks so refined and delicate")? Just because it's a custom or tradition that produces laughter doesnt mean it's morally acceptable.

too severe a reaction? hmmm, think of a custom (femal circumcision, foot binding, forced sex as an act of adulthood for young boys, young skinheads wearing swatzstika (a stolen image from buddhists) that has enslavement at it's core....should it stand?....

that such an enlightened and modern nation, one that actively promulgates ethnic diversity, kindness and acceptance (although a nation also steeped in colonism), refuses to repudiate not only an antiguated symbolism but an embarssingly boorish mentality, is an interesting insight into our human pysche.....

my dismay doesn't resonate with other members?....i'd ask you a simple question: what is the etymology of this tradition and why, ever, is it ok to characature an ethnicity....

if not lazy and paradoxically overly tolerant of human thinking, than at least just plain stupid, this kind of silliness is still a reminder of how, with all our talk of understanding and historical understanding, how much we still separate ourselves...

i aint down on the dutch folk for "creating" this, but not to feel that it isnt embarrassing and essentially racist is beyond me....but the test aint my reaction, but for those immigrants in Holland....i'd like to hear their take on it....

and im a guy with humor....but this is just ridiculous and stupid custom...

....

cheers
b

Jan

Well you know, they have black faces because they have to go down chimneys to deliver the presents! ;)

As far as I'm concerned there is no discriminatory connotation to the Sinterklaas celebration, making that claim is just being too politically correct. And think about it, this is a celebration for small children who don't even know what (racial) discrimination is yet.

You could say that The Netherlands being such a tolerant country is what makes it possible to have this celebration.

Commercially I think Christmas is catching up with Sinterklaas pretty fast, probably also because people spend more money on food with Christmas.

Rudy Umans

Hello Peter

First, I like your picture. It pretty much says it all, at least of what I remember, Fear and Happiness. Perhaps it is good to tell a little bit about the history of zwarte Piet and Sinterklaas (St. Nicolas). Sinterklaas was probably original a bishop from Spain (some say from Turkey) that lived in the, I believe, 14th century. Spain was occupied by Muslims at the time. Many without a doubt from Northern Africa and dark skinned. Therefore, the black faces have nothing to do with racial ignorance or anything like that. Wherever he was from originally, he was a missionary that was very active in northern Africa, the Middle East and Turkey. This is ironic considering the huge amount of people from Turkey and Morocco living in Holland since the seventies. The US “Santa Claus” comes from the Dutch Sinterklaas by the way (you’re welcome). Santa Claus has dwarfs or little people (as in short) as helpers. I leave it up to everybody what to think of that. Second, The Netherlands does not have the same historical problems as the US pertaining to racial or cultural differences. As long as you work hard and are honest, nobody really cares what someone looks like. The whole racial outlook and attitude is different. It is a live and let live kind of place.

Zwarte Piet has a long history and it will take at least another generation or two to change that if deemed necessary.

Pertaining to “as Holland attracts more immigrants”, you might not be aware of it, but Holland pretty much invented the concept of racial and cultural tolerance and accepting immigrants. Ever since the early 16th century, Holland took in everybody who wanted to live in the low lands. For many photographers, it is a paradise. It is never boring and you never run out of subjects. I do not think it is a coincidence that Nikon and Canon have their European HQ’s there, nor is it a coincidence that the World Press Photo is based in Holland.

I was born and raised there, but I live and work in Miami now for the last 20 years. Talking about a culture shock 

Rudy Umans

D Weber

I lived in Rotterdam for three years, and I remember my first Black Peter experience - wow did that stress our cultural differences, but then I come from WASP Canada. Anyway I remember going over to a Dutch friend's house on 6 December with an American friend of mine, Gary - who is black - and the two Dutch kids freaking out and running screaming for their rooms. Gary, nonetheless, was rather sanguine about the whole affair, but it certainly raised some eyebrows and the experience I guess connected Black Peter to our North American ideas of racism and the perception of it.

But what really threw me off was, if I remember correctly, please correct me - but don't they also come to the door and pelt the kids with those horribly tasting black salty candies?

Patricia Lay-Dorsey

As an American with southern roots, I have to admit the idea of blackface in any way shape or form in 2008 makes me cringe. I respect that Zwarte Piet is an historic & cultural icon in Holland, and I know that my country has its share of culturally insensitive holiday issues too--Thanksgiving as emblematic of our European ancestor's disastrous (for the indigenous peoples) meeting with the "Indians", for one--but somehow I wish the Dutch could find a way to celebrate Christmas without perpetrating the use of any figures that could be construed as making fun of minorities. We live in times where these longstanding insensitivities are being recognized and changed. Peter, I appreciate your willingness to bring up such a topic for discussion.

Blackface aside, that's a delightful photo!

Patricia

bobblack

don/patricia:

man, this tradition really depresses me (i guess my long, screed hasn't made it through yet)....what i CAN NOT understand is how people equate acceptance/tolerance (of ideas, ethnicity, religion, culture) with approval.....

it's just flat out wacked.....that's not an indictment on dutch folk, but about how silly we still are...particularly in our disconnect with the meaning of things....

by the way, none of my comments have any relationship to Peter (who i like very much) or dutch folk ....

first thing to dispell the past is to understand from where it comes and that see it for what it was/means...and kick it's ass ;))))

cheers
bob

bobblack

Peter/Martin:

my original post was filtered because i included links (tinyurls) to Black Lawn Jockeys....so, if you deem it appropriate, please post my original post :))

cheers
bob

PCB

How else is a white guy supposed to dress up like a black guy without painting his face?

I find nothing wrong with honoring a person or a holiday with a little (or a lot) of makeup.

It's all done in good fun... Ever see the movie White Chicks? (me neither)

We should all relax and tolerate (not necessarily agree with) harmless traditions, customs, and ways of life other than our own.

Filip

Before everybody starts crying out loud that it is discriminating to coloured people, let me tell you the whole story.

- quote from wikipedia article about "Sinterklaas": -

The Sinterklaas feast celebrates the nameday of Saint Nicholas (280-342), patron saint of children. Saint Nicholas was a Greek bishop of Myra in present-day Turkey and became the patron saint of children based on various legends that include resurrecting children from death and saving them from prostitution.

Sinterklaas has a long white beard, wears a red bishop's dress and red mitre (bishop's hat), and holds a crosier, a long gold coloured staff with a fancy curled top. Sinterklaas carries a big book with all the children's names in it, which states whether they have been naughty or nice in the past year.

...

'Zwarte Piet', Sinterklaas' helping hand Black Pete has a story found in the bishops past. Three small Moorish boys were to be sentenced to death for a crime they did not commit. Because the bishop intervened they were saved. The boys stayed with Sinterklaas to help him as show of gratitude. The Black Petes we know for Sinterklaas night are tumbling and jumping all over the roofs to deliver the presents. Their black skin color may refer either to the job of chimneysweep, which is corroborated by the clothes, that remind of an Italian chimneysweep's costume and by the tradition of climbing roofs and bringing the packages through the chimney, or to the Moorish background of Sinterklaas's helpers.

- End Quote -

So as you can see from the above explanation Black Pete has nothing to do with the discrimination of the race but is because of the Pete's going down the chimney to deliver the presents to the children which leaves a lot of fumagine (asses) on their body. As said above the Black Pete's can be compared to the christmas elves of Santa Claus.

I understand the association with African race but that's not what it is referring to and so it shouldn't matter. And for crying out loud, why does everything have to be connected to being political, it's are festivities for children and they don't care if someone is coloured or not.

Jan

Ha I just came across a picture of a coloured Piet (I never saw one before..): http://www.anp-photo.com/search.pp?page=1&ShowPicture=8783746&pos=6

Looks pretty silly if you ask me. The caption says they use colored Petes instead of black ones at this school because because it is a sensitive thing in this part of Amsterdam (the Bijlmer) where a lot of immigrants live.
But again, if you ask me, that is just created sensitivity.

Rudy

To make things clear, one of the reason we are here at this blog because we love photography and we take pictures of what we see and how we experience that. One of the great things of photography is that it has the ability to broaden our horizon and the ability to increase the communication between people and cultures. Photography is a great contributor, or tool if you like, to the establishment of global unity. I just tried to give some additional background information. Regarding Filip's comment. I completely agree with him. Although there are different stories about the origin of St Nicolas, it is unlikely he lives on the North Pole. Thanks for clearing that up Filip.

As far dweber friend's Gary is concerned, these kids were most definitely not screaming because of Gary’s skin color, but because the parents of these kids tell them that bad children are taken to Spain for who knows what and it is Zwarte Piet’s job to picks those kids up. That’s why they were screaming. They couldn’t care less what color the guy was. It was the fear to be taken to Spain that made them scream. Although I do not know these people of course, I am sure that the people you visited did not explain that because a possible racial reason did not even come up in their mind. They just do not think about somebody’s skin color.

Of course you have jerks everywhere, but in all the 35 years I lived there, racial discrimination was and is (honestly) virtually non-existence. Dutch people are for the last 4-500 years or so way beyond that.

Joost van der Borg

"Saint Nicholas Day is celebrated in Holland on December 6 in lieu of Christmas (which is a quiet, commodity free event)"

Correct, although as stated before, Christmas is becoming more and more commercial.

"Yet Holland, which prides itself on its tolerant and progressive politics and people, condones it despite its loaded history. "

First, the history of the Netherlands (not Holland, which refers to just two of the twelve provinces) is quite different from that of the US. Racial (as opposed to cultural or other ethnic) discrimination is largely a non-issue in the Netherlands. It's true that there was -some- controversy about 'Zwarte Piet' several years ago, it's not regarded as any serious issue. As said before, there are multiple explanations for the black faces of Piet, but to me that's not the issue. The simple fact that the Dutch do not even think about this is the greatest proof that there is -no- discrimination going on. It takes an outsider to even recognize other cultures might be offended by the custom. So we 'condone' nothing, we celebrate!

- a Dutch guy, with much more of a problem with the invasion of 'Santa Claus', the odd American jumbling together of several European traditions (see http://www.bearskinrug.co.uk/_articles/2007/12/06/four_clauses/ for a great explanation), including Sinterklaas, than with people putting black paint on their faces once a year.

Richard

I completely agree with Jan (above). Pausing over this situation is being too considerate of race and its history. There is no negative intention in the celebration, so there is nothing wrong. To think otherwise is to impose one's own socially ingrained attittudes about what may or may not be acceptable about race onto the situation. And, Peter, consider the films, The Savages and Tropic Thunder, which do use blackface in the mainstream setting to public acceptance.

Really interesting post though. Thanks so much!
R.

Richard

Really interesting post though. Thanks so much!
R.

dave

coming from 2 trips to the Netherlands and in the planning for a third, no doubt about it the culture of the dutch is refreshing and i love it. great people great times!

dave

Awesome picture, reminds me of the good times ive had in the netherlands. Refreshing to say the least.

Patricia Lay-Dorsey

Peter, I wonder if you imagined that this topic would elicit such passionate responses!

I've been intrigued by the different ways each of us sees the traditional use of blackface by the Zwarte Piet character in the Netherlands. I can certainly understand people who grew up with this tradition seeing it as a harmless children's holiday. And in many ways I'm sure it is. I also note that a number of readers see his black face as evidence of chimney soot instead of any ethnic identification with persons of African heritage.

I must admit when I look at the makeup and wig worn by the Zwarte Piet in Peter's photo, I see minstrel-like characteristics with the Afro wig and fat red lips, rather than the sooty appearance of a chimney sweep. And I do worry about how children then think about persons with dark skin if they grow up with a Christmas character who is black-skinned and meant to scare them. The reaction D. Weber described in his comment may be more common than we know.

Of course, the intent of this holiday is not malevolent. After all, it goes back centuries to a time when issues of racial or ethnic discrimination were not on people's minds. But times have changed and, hopefully, so has our awareness of how old ideas and traditions might negatively impact attitudes in today's world.

I guess I'd want to hear from a person of color how Zwarte Piet strikes them. Anyone want to respond?

Patricia

Rudy

Patricia, a view things,

I am a person of color!! Pinkish/white to be more precisely. You can call me dirty white if you like. I guess the concept of no racial discrimination is difficult to grasp for some people, but it is true. Millions of children grew up with a black faced character (it is not a Christmas character in the Netherlands) and they turned out just fine. Otherwise, this whole discussion would not exist , would it now? "Person of Color"? please ! Why is it so hard not to think in those terms? Tradition, I suppose. May be you have to go overthere and spend some time there (not just an afternoon) to understand. Although I tried to explain it twice before now, It seems that I and other contributors to this post are not able to.

The term "Afro wig" is discriminatory in itself I think. Wonder how Art Garfunkel thinks about that?

Also, racial or ethnic discrimination is nothing new. It did exist centuries ago. Actually much worse than now. Among other things, the improved means of communication (of which photography is a really big part) pave the way to a better understanding and the elimination of prejudicism nowadays.

By the way, donuts is another thing that originated in the Netherlands as a Christmas/new year tradition. They are called "Oliebollen" and are fried dough balls. Somebody in the US put the hole in it later because they fried better that way. Eventually, they became "the donut". So, why don't we blame the whole obesity problem on this Dutch Christmas tradition while we are at it?

Nevertheless, I do understand where you come from, but look, Holland never had a Rosa Parks nor the problems she had. There was also no Detroit in the sixties. ( I worked in the local government office of M/WBE in Palm Beach, FL for a long time and even though I am a "legal Allien" I am very well informed about the history of the subject.) As a matter of fact, once they figured out in holland that slavery was not the way to go, they turned arround 180 degrees and gave and give shelter to many people from all races (there is actually only one race, the human race) and backgrounds that were or are not welcome elsewhere.

Rudy

John Mason

Patricia, I’m an African-American, and, yes, blackface masquerades, such as Zwarte Piet, make me uncomfortable. I’ve encountered them in Europe, Cuba, and South Africa, and cannot help but react to them, initially, as racially offensive.

But I also understand that blackface can carry a variety of meanings, not all of which are racist. In fact, the blackface performers that I’ve seen in South Africa and Cuba have all been African or people of African descent. (That, in an of itself, does not remove all tinges of racism from the masquerade, of course. Anyone familiar with the history of show business in the US knows that racist stereotypes have often been enacted by performers of color.) In both countries, it seemed to me that the performances were not primarily about reinforcing ideas about black inferiority. And, yet, those ideas inevitably lurked in the background.

I think that they lurk in the background of the Zwarte Piet masquerades, as well. Hence, my discomfort, even though I know quite well that Haarlem isn’t Harlem.

Anyone interested in learning more about Zwarte Piet might want to look at Allison Blakely’s remarkable book, Blacks in the Dutch World: The Evolution of Racial Imagery in a Modern Society (Indiana University Press, 1993). Blakely points out that until well after World War II, the Netherlands was a colonial power, ruling over conquered and subjugated people of color in South America and Asia. As for Zwarte Piet (and his German, Belgian, and Swiss variants), he traces him back to the early modern period, and says that Piet was “associated with darkness and debasement in contrast to the noble, white Saint,” Sinterklaas.

Blakely acknowledges that Zwarte Piet is a complex character, full of contradictory aspects, neither wholly good nor wholly evil. With roots in both pagan and Christian traditions and in his multiple “poses as slave, servant, authority figure, teacher, and clown, Zwarte Piet... suggests the variety of roles played by blacks in the Dutch world. ...in his role as a bogeyman he embodies an ambivalence which is apparent in the attitude of the Dutch toward blacks down through the centuries.”

Rudy

Pardon me. I meant "few things" and not "view". I seems appropriate though.
Rudy

Rudy

Hello John.

It is nice that some person from the university of Indiana wrote a book about how the Dutch feel and think. Pagan traditions !?! He might want to rethink that. in short, the Dutch are direct and straight forward. As long as you work hard, don't beat around the bush and are honest, nobody cares what color you are. There is nothing ambivalence about that. This whole discussion is about prejudicism, which is the source of all evil.

As far as the colonies are concerned, yes the Dutch colonized Suriname is SA until 1972 If I remember correctly. Holland had no problem giving it up when the Suriname people asked for it. Indonesia was a little harder in 1947. The remaining Dutch Antillies are under Dutch flag voluntary. Most European countries had and have colonies. As a matter of fact, if Holland would not have lent a few million Guilders to John Adams at the time to finance the war against England, everybody in US would probaly still have cheered "Long live the Queen". None of this has anything to do with today. As said, prejudicism is an evil thing whether it is about The Dutch or because of a racial issue. I understand from your post that you are not familiar with "the attitude of the Dutch toward blacks down through the centuries" and yet you have an opinion (same as with some other contributors). I am sorry, but that's called prejudicism.

Yes, you are right ,Haarlem is not Harlem, Harlem has better jazz clubs

Rudy

Bob Black

CAN I POLITELY ASK WHY MY INITIAL POST HAS NEVER BEEN POSTED?????

It seems quite odd to write here after having written already about this tradition...

Peter, Martin???.....

bob

bobblack

ooops ;)))...sorry, i see my initial post was published....

sorry guys ;))))...it's been a long day of shooting....more later....

Bob Black

I would like to ask a question for those who (Dutch or otherwise) or are not bothered by the custom a simple question. Firstly, I'd like to apologize for my mostly inarticulate posts, including the long, ponderous one. trying to offer something cogent and coherent in between teaching and shooting and racing through a city is a feat i have not yet learned to master...forgive the sloppy prose and the tripped up syntax (especially of my 1st long post)...anyway...

my question is a simple one, which i'd still ask even if I hadnt grown up in the states and been weened upon a different cultural orientation, particularly as it deals with the treatment of african-americans or other minorities. Having grown up as a child of a family of immigrants, having worked with civil rights, as a writer, artist and a political volunteer, it's difficult to comprehend the reluctance to acknowledge the indelicate understanding of not only the symbolism of the black-face (these guys are not portrayed as chimney sweeps, to argue otherwise is to be at best, disingenuous, at worst duplicitous) but the history of the relationship from which customs are born...and in this case, it's (at least in terms of depiction) relationship to colonist behavior....anyway,

my question is a very simple one:

why is it that we, under the desire to "preserve" a tradition that clearly offends, are reluctant to admit that the seeds and the enactment of that tradition may be offensive to others, or born of ideas that are about the subjugation of others....

just to preserve good cheer?....

its seems an odd and (ironically) humor-;less position: to cling to a custom for the sake of custom's sake, regardless of the what may underlie that behavior ....

is the preservation of custom, for it's own sake, the value that tolerance is meant to achieve?...

or is it something more fundamental?...

this is not, by the way, about Holland....

this question is also at the heart of what the US and the rest of the world struggles with now, more than ever...

that is why Peter's post is an important and necessary one....

no offense meant to dutch...

Patricia Lay-Dorsey

John Mason, thank you so much for bringing your perspective as an African-American to this discussion. I'm always uneasy engaging in discussions about possibly racially offensive attitudes and/or actions unless there is a person in the room who would be directly affected by such attitudes and actions. All too often we members of the majority race or ethnicity don't even realize how certain institutions or traditions subtly, or not so subtly, put other people down.

I personally do not see this as a Dutch issue but rather one that all countries and societies struggle with. Although some societies are further along in developing tolerance and respect for differences, we all have a ways to go. Whether religious or gender-based or racial or nationalistic or physical or regarding sexual orientation, differences generally make us uncomfortable. Often our traditions rise up in order to make us feel superior to those we see as different from us. Our task as evolving individuals and societies is to first recognize these unhealthy systems, and secondly, to do what we can to change them.

As photographers, especially those engaged in photojournalism and documentary photography, we have the capacity to show the truth as we see it and, hopefully, to help wake people up so they will question old assumptions, and decide to work for change where it's needed. That's what I see Peter doing here by taking and posting this photo, and then asking the questions he asked. I know he's made me think, and I am grateful to him for that.

Patricia

stan b.

As a person whose ancestry is in the Caribbean, and whose origins are therefore many points elsewhere, I have a couple of observations. First, I cannot judge what's in the hearts of the Dutch people.

That said, unless chimney sweeps were all known for there curly black hair and prominent lips- there is clearly no doubt as to who is being caricatured here. And just because the majority race of a region proclaims a certain ritual to be harmless and non-racist, doesn't necessarily make it so... for all considered. Haven't we learned anything from recent unilateral decisions of late?

That photograph, and custom, can be nothing but uncomfortable for any person of color. Blackface has a history of proliferating a multitude of distortions and misconceptions- just as it attempts to disguise the identity of its wearer. The myth behind this particular custom may not be as malevolent in origin, but do we really need a tradition that continues to depict a particular race as jesters or fools?

david bowen

black pete.. reminds me a little of people dressing as leprechauns on st. patricks day..
i guess in the climate we live, with so many serious things happening in the world and a multi fronted war continuing, a little fun with face-paint could seem harmless enough...

i don´t think it is innocuous fun though..

at the turn of the century in England, casual racism was so deeply engrained that it was accepted without challenge..

a psychological assault on the working classes in britain began with the spread of the empire.. it made common people feel like they were part of a system which was claiming the world from lesser beings.. appeased them of any guilt.. justified actions which are indefensible, even with todays american empire making the same mistakes.
europeans liberating the majority world from people it was wasted on.

widely accepted gentle racism, based in darwinian theory, showed itself in some ways which today seem incredulous..
pears soap boxes had a face on the front.. half black half white.. the tagline was ´pears soap, makes black, white.´
bad was dark.. black was to be afraid of.. an other.. which was only safe when taimed to serve us.

this tradition, even following the origin as stated, (of three black kids being let off a crime they did not commit), slots nicely into the idea of black people as lesser people.. if i get this right, the children are so grateful at being let off the crime that they spend a life in servitude, doing the dirty work for nick?!

well..
thats a laugh isn´t it.. good, grateful, controlled..

slavery, colonial injustice, manipulation of working people.. the view that black people are either to be used, abused or laughed at.. all seems well represented in the story.

the parade is clearly loaded with tradition, although not all traditions are to be proud of.. if they were then surely pears soap could benefit from the marketing tradition they have used in the past.
after all - it was only a harmless pun.. right?

Barbara

The following news item appeared in a Dutch newspaper yesterday: schools in Amsterdam South-East have received a threat letter: an unknown anti-racism group threatens to set fire to the schools if they allow Black Petes to join the Sinterklaas celebrations.

To provide some context: many inhabitants of the South-Eastern part of Amsterdam are immigrants and/or of colour. The schools in this part of town already have an arrangement since 1999 that addresses the sensitivities around Black Pete, while still being able to celebrate Sinterklaas: they changed certain phrases in traditional Sinterklaas songs, they use coloured (i.e. red. yellow, purple) Petes, and Sinterklaas is not allowed to refer to Pete as servant in any manner. This way the schools hope to celebrate Sinterklaas without any of the racial undertones.

I guess with this example I'd like to show that there is discussion in The Netherlands about this topic and its sensitivities. In fact, there has been since the seventies, and every year in the media come October, there will be discussion pro and con Black Pete. And in true Dutch fashion people do try to address it without completely abandoning Sinterklaas. Because abandoning Sinterklaas would certainly drive this country to depression: yesterday it also became clear that Sinterklaas spent more than 600 million Euros on presents for (mostly) kids. Even 2% more than last year (crisis? what crisis?)...

Johan Kruip

The real Saint Nicholas used to free slaves on the market by buying and releasing them. Some of those slaves wanted to stay with Saint Nicholas and be his "helper" (cover word for slave).

So it's got a kind of a history, why don't black people just deal with it like people in the mid-east who are in much, MUCH more of a pain?

Sorry I am not trying to be offensive but I like my culture, and yes, Black Pete will always stay here in NL.

Suzan

Being Dutch I find it quite interesting to see how mostly people who don't live in the Netherlands are shocked by our folkloric Zwarte Piet. And I can definitely see where that comes from, yet at the same time I'm having a hard time seeing it as a big deal.

For most Dutch people Zwarte Piet doesn't dennote slavery or racial tensions, but is just the merry helper of Sinterklaas. The fact that there are several interpretations of the background of Zwarte Piet doesn't really help either to see the political incorrectness of the dude (as in: he's black because he has to go down chimneys, etc.)
I think the attempt to turn him into a colourful clown his a bit of a misstep since in my opinion you are then actual creating problems which I don't think are really there. Letting Zwart Piet be black fits much much more into the Dutch idea of "live and let live".

I don't really see the problem with Zwarte Piet, since I guess people just see it as part of Dutch folklore, taking it definitely with a grain of salt. And the fact that there were few black families at the parade... I guess it's their own choice to participate (or not) in this Dutch folkloric festivity, and I can't believe it would be because the helper is black.

I for one am much more worried about the capitalistic/ consumerism aspect of Sinterklaas (encouriging people to buy buy buy, just like with Christmas), than the racial aspect...

Sunny

well i get the reasoning behind the black faces...bit of a stretch but i will accept the chimney explanation. but why are the lips red?

Joni Karanka

You have blackfacing in Spain as well for the celebration of the Three Kings (who bring the presents to children on the 6th of January):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Wise_Men

Since the 14th century one of the three kings was always represented as a black man. I don't see much racism in this as there might be tolerance, as the three kings do not have any sort of rank order. In the parades I've seen since I was a kid, Baltasar (the black king) was usually blackfaced. I think that this was mostly due to shortage of black people around, as since about ten years ago real black kings do the role... and they seem pretty jolly while doing it!

stan b.

Just a note- the black king celebrated on Three Kings Day in Hispanic countries throughout the world is the equal of the other two kings. It's all in the details...

Joni Karanka

@stan: yes, that's what I tried to say, I just worry about absolute statements such as 'blackface' is always negative...

Akaky

So what all this boils down to is that the Dutch have to change a centuries old custom because said custom makes Americans uncomfortably aware of our ugly racial past. I'm sorry, but it seems to me that this smacks of a certain cultural arrogance on our part and one must wonder what other customs Europeans will have to abandon because they offend our tender sensibilities. I suspect, given the logic I seen here, that the confraternities in Seville will have to abandon their traditional robes for Holy Week because they make the wearers look like so many members of the Ku Klux Klan and since we all know that the Klan are all horrible racists, it naturally follows that anyone who dresses like them must be too, even if the confraternities have been dressing in this style for Holy Week for years before the Ku Klux Klan ever existed. Not everything in the world revolves around the United States, folks, and our perceptions are not the end all and be all of everyone else's existence.

Skylar

Im Digging This Pic! I Can Honestly Say This Site Held My Attention, And Kept Me Browsing!

bjørn W.

After traveling for a while i came back to The Netherlands on the elusive day of december 5th.
I saw two black petes & a sinterklaas playing Jazz in a local bakery. One of the two black petes was actually black & the other blackfaced. I refrain from trying to be politically correct and i am surely not going to tell other people how they should feel.

But,

Sinterklaas was playing saxephone & "real" black pete was playing trombone while blackfaced pete was grooving somekind of portable drumkit. These cats were surely making the freezing cold day a whole lot more interesting for most of us ordinary folks passing by. As i stood there watching this new non traditional version of something that i remembered very differently. (yes i too was afraid of black pete at the time, but that was because i knew i had been naughty on occassions and as every other kid, i did not get to exited with the idea of ending up in a linnen bag on it's way to Spain.) My smile grew and i knew i was back home. Why am i telling you this story? I guess i am trying to point out that there are too many layers here to be dissected within the proximity of racism as the main ingredient. I am dutch and "white" and my mom is dutch but "black". Our piece of the pie & dutch heritage in colonialism has therefore always been a clear and understood subject. Nonetheless my mom lets my "white" father dress up as blackpete & let my brother, whom is more like moms skintone then dads, play Santa claus. During this ritual i was afraid of the black man knocking on the door, but standing there in the cold 30 years later and seeing the same personification playing trombone as if his life was depending on it, gave me warm childhood memories.

At home mom would always make jokes (with historical references) about the relationship between santa & Black pete & often these statements where then emphisized by my father by playing the role of very humble & greatful helper.Were we ignorant ? Are these matters really this Black & white? Are we ashamed of the past and should we show our regrets with dignity,Or could we maybe mix it all up so badly that 20 years from now nobody even would understand what the F# we where talking about? Racism? What? Huh? Yes,if only the world could be like the house i grew up in & let me remember anybody reading this that when mum & me used to go shopping, racism was clearly evident in dutch society most of my early childhood days. Surely we can take this yearly charade away from the masses and pretend that we are all civilized and respectful of one another but i believe this should come from a much deeper practise of teaching that has its main core from spilling onto each individual upon individual. The first thing we should do is tell our kids how it used to be and make them aware of how stupid we have been as a human race on so many occassions. If done right learning in a playful way is often the most effective way to wisdom and no knowledge can protect the ignorant. This photograph is a fantastic start and i am happy to see that some of us are looking for solutions rather then pointing out the problems only! Just my two cents i guess.

samantha suttlung

When i was a child i remember swarte pete as a character who used to throw iced gems through the window, this character brought alot of fun to my childhood and feel this tradition should be followed for years to come!!! Long live Zwarte pete!!