The Saramaka are one of six Maroon peoples (formerly called “Bush Negroes”) in the Republic of Suriname. The word “Maroon” comes from the Spanish cimarrón, itself derived from an Arawakan root; by the early 1500s it was used throughout the Americas to designate slaves who successfully escaped from slavery. Setting and Language Suriname, formerly called Dutch Guiana, has been independent from the Netherlands since 1975. The 55,000 Saramakas (some of whom live in ne… (More on Saramaka)