Ketikoti
Ketikoti, sometimes spelled as Keti Koti, or officially Dag der Vrijheden, is an annual celebration on 1 July that marks Emancipation Day in Suriname. The day is also known as Manspasi Dei or Prisiri Manspasi, meaning "Emancipation" or "Emancipation Festival", or Kettingsnijden.
History
Ketikoti marks the date when slavery was abolished in Surinam in 1863. However, enslaved people in Surinam 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 with state-sanctioned force: if they were discovered outside without a pass, they could be jailed. On 1 July 1955, Ketikoti officially became a public holiday in Suriname. On 30 June 1963, the statue of Kwakoe was unveiled in Paramaribo, Suriname's capital city to commemorate the abolition of slavery.After 1873 many slaves left the plantations where they had worked for several generations, in favor of the city of Paramaribo. Former slave owners were compensated. For the 32,911 released people that were kept as slaves in Suriname, an amount of ƒ 9,867,780.00 was paid to slave owners.