The Banya. A typical Afro-Surinamese music- and dance style performed in honour of the ancestors.

The Banya. A typical Afro-Surinamese music- and dance style performed in honour of the ancestors.

The Banya is a social dance- and music style invented by the enslaved in Suriname and performed on the plantations. The Banya is part of the immaterial cultural heritage of the Afro-Surinamese people. It contains a rich array of traditional knowledge and ritual practices. The dance and associated music started off as a social dance, and throughout the years these also became part of religious activities. Currently, NAKS aims to safeguard this traditional dance, music and associated DU theatre performance by organizing an annual Prisiri Banya dance event. This year, the Prisiri Banya has been celebrated as part of the activities to highlight the 75th anniversary of NAKS, commemoration of 150th years abolition of slavery, and the 20th anniversary of the convention for the safeguarding of the ICH. NAKS has committed to employing research and data collection in collaboration with the Afro-Surinamese community and the bearers of this ICH knowledge to secure continuation and preservation of this ICH.