Keti koti viering in Suriname

Keti Koti (Sranantongo: "the chain is cut" or "the chain is broken is an annual celebration on July 1 that marks Emancipation Day in Suriname. The day is also known as Maspasi orPrisiri Maspasi, meaning "Emancipation" or "Emancipation Festival". Keti Koti marks the date when slavery was abolished in Suriname and the Dutch Antilles in 1863. However, enslaved people in Suriname would not be fully free until 1873, after a mandatory 10-year transition period during which time they were required to work on the plantations for minimal pay and without state sanctioned torture. After 1873 many slaves left the plantations where they had suffered for several generations, in favor of the city of Paramaribo.