Sranan Tongo edit

Alternative forms edit

Etymology edit

Possibly from Fon jɔtɔ (personal ancestral guardian spirit) [1][2]

Pronunciation edit

  • IPA(key): /d͡ʒo.d͡ʒo/, /ɟo.ɟo/

Noun edit

dyodyo

  1. soul, guardian spirit; in the Afro-Surinamese Winti belief system, a male or female spiritual entity linked to the birthplace of an individual who, together with a counterpart of the opposite sex, acts as guardian of this or several individuals
    • c. 1957, Trefossa, gronmama [Earth mother]‎[3], quoted in Ala poewema foe Trefossa [All poems by Trefossa], Paramaribo: Bureau Volkslectuur, published 1977, page 50:
      mi a no mi / solanga m' no krari / foe kibri, foe tjari / joe gersi na ini mi djodjo.
      I am not me / as long as I'm not ready / to keep, to carry / your likeness in my soul.
    • 1962, Johanna Schouten-Elsenhout, “winti [Wind]”, in soela[4], Paramaribo: Bureau Volkslectuur, page 13:
      a mindri liba / d'e drai tron wan kolkoe / a mi ati lanpe / e broko mi djodjo / saka gi doti
      The middle of the river / which revolves into becoming a whirlpool / at my heart's landing / brings down my guardian spirit / for the earth
    • 2005, Leanda Mac-nack, Patricia Sichtman (lyrics and music), “Aisa Mama E Kong”, in Ala Sani Na Fu Wan Ting, performed by Sangrafu:
      Aisa Mama, yu na mi mama / yu bere mu kibri mi te fu kaba / Aisa, na yu na mi masanga / Aisa Mama, yu na mi dyodyo
      Mother Aisa, you are my mother / your womb should harbour me until the end / Aisa, you are my refuge / Mother Aisa, you are my guardian spirit

Usage notes edit

Is considered synonymous with kra and yeye by some Winti believers.

Related terms edit

  • kra (soul, spirit; a spiritual entity who determines an individual's life and returns to its origin upon the individual's death, ceasing interaction with the world of the living)
  • yorka (soul, spirit, ghost; a spiritual entity specific to an individual who can remain among the living upon the death of the individual, in a benign or malicious manner)
  • sili
  • yeye

References edit

  1. ^ Melville J. Herskovits and Frances S. Herskovits (1936) Suriname folk-lore[1], New York: Columbia University Press, page 745
  2. ^ Marie-Josée Jamous (1 December 1994), “Fixer le nom de l'ancêtre (Porto-Novo, Bénin)”, in Systèmes de pensée en Afrique noire[2], →ISSN, page 153