About: Keti Koti

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. 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 June 30, 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. The former slave keepers were compensated.