My Little Dutch ABC Book
Z
Zwarte ~
Black
Well, being
that this is the last letter of the alphabet and my last letter of My Little
Dutch ABC Book, I will end this part of my blog with a controversial subject in
The Netherlands. Zwarte Piet or Black Pete.
In The Netherlands in November, Sinterklaas (Saint
Nicholas, Santa Claus) makes his way to The Netherlands. Traveling all the way
from Spain on his steamboat he docks with his trusty steed Amerigo at a
designated port and is greeted by thousands of adoring fans. But the wee little
tots are not there to only see Sinterklaas, they are also there to see Zwarte
Piet, Sinterklaas’ trusty friend who has come along to help Sinterklaas pass
out candy, kruidnoten or pepernoten (little round gingerbread cookies), do
funny tricks and help Sinterklaas decide who has been naughty or nice.
As innocent
as this sounds, I would have to say this was my first truly shocking thing
about The Netherlands. It truly taught me that there are very different
cultural differences around the world. Zwarte Piet or Black Pete, makes his
first appearance in history in a book as the nameless servant of Sinterklaas.
The book, Sint-Nikolaas en zijn knecht or St. Nicholas and His Servant/apprentice,
was written in 1850 by a school teacher named Jan Schenkman, a school teacher
from Amsterdam.
Usually the
Zwarte Piet’s are white people but Blackfaced to appear like a Blackamoor from Spain.
Zwarte Piet arrives dressed in Blackface makeup, colorful outfit from the 17th
century, curly wig and over emphasized red lips, lace collar and a feather in
his cap.
Judy Garland
Blackface is a term that became popular in the
1800’s where white people would appear on stage in minstrel shows with burnt
cork or shoe polish grease covering their faces to appear as if they were a
black person. Usually the person’s facial features were dramatically
exaggerated to try to be even more comical emphasizing super red big lips, big
eyes, and curly wig and overstated baggy outfits. This continuation of
Blackface in minstrel shows in the United States and also Britain helped to
multiply the spread of racial stereotypes of black people from the days of
slavery of being happy go lucky darkies off a plantation.
In recent
years Zwarte Piet has come under public controversy. One side saying that his
character is dated and racist and offending to people of color.
The other side
saying that it’s just an innocent childhood character who brings such joy to
children during the Christmas season.
I totally
can see both sides as I actually have seen both sides with my very eyes. When
you witness innocent children filled with joy with the prospect of seeing not
only Sinterklaas, but also Zwarte Piet, the child can barely contain their joy.
Jumping up and down, promising to be good and go to bed early.... right after
they’ve laid out their shoes for Sinterklaas to put little treats in. The
children don’t get the controversy no should they. That innocence is part of
the joy of being a child. But the adults in their lives have a choice to make.
In today’s contentious times, I feel the Dutch should start phasing out Zwarte
Piet’s Blackface color and his over emphasized hair and lips. They have tried.
One year there were rainbow Piets, but I think that was too fast for the little
ones. They missed Zwarte Piet. I feel Piet should just go a little shady like
Dick van Dyke in the classic musical movie Mary Poppins.
After all,
the Dutch in recent years have said Zwarte Piet is so black because he came
through the chimney. Bert, the beloved character as the Chimney Sweep in Mary
Poppins, is charred black from cleaning the city of London’s chimneys. Maybe
all the Piets can be more like Bert.
But the
children all need to be kept in mind. I’ve heard the Dutch say, if you don’t
like the tradition, then go home. I don’t think that is the answer. The Dutch
are known for being progressive, liberal thinkers. But this tradition is right
there in front of their faces. With today’s times, I think it’s safe to say it’s
a good thing not to offend other people.
People have said they feel offended so
we as the adults should take notice and see if there is a way we can change
traditions so that no one will be hurt and so that our children can grow up
without feeling they were part of a race controversy. Sinterklaas and Zwarte
Piet are fabulous endearing traditions. It would just be nice to people around
the world if Piet could tone down a bit. Keep the black but ditch the racially
offensive Blackface.
Aerial view of the Gardens of Versailles
