basya

Dutch

Alternative forms

• basja (dated)

Etymology

Borrowed from Sranan Tongo basya, from English overseer. Doublet of bastiaan and officier.

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

basya m or f (plural basya's)

1. (Suriname) Maroon or Amerindian assistant village chief; the lowest tier in the hierarchy of tribal authority
   • 2021 March 24, “Dorpen blijven in het donker door defecte generators [Villages remain in the dark due to faulty generators]”, in GFC Nieuws‎^[1], retrieved 15 June 2021:

     “We kunnen onze mobiele telefoons niet thuis chargen en [dus] moeten we dat doen bij de polikliniek van het Mungra Medisch Centrum dat zonnepanelen heeft. Want telecommunicatie is niet meer weg te denken”, zegt Oda Banda, basya van Corneliskondre.

     "We cannot charge our mobile phones at home, so we have to do it at the Mungra Medical Centre outpatient clinic, which has solar panels. Because telecommunication is here to stay," says Oda Banda, assistant village chief of Corneliskondre.

   • 2021 June 12, Samuel Wens, “Wie van de drie is granman? [Which one of the three is paramount chief?]”, in De Ware Tijd‎^[2], retrieved 17 June 2021:

     "Er is nog altijd verdeeldheid", bevestigt districtscommissaris Frits Dinge van bestuursressort Boven-Suriname. "De kapiteins en basya's ondersteunen granman Aboikoni niet."

     "There still is discord," District Commissioner Frits Dinge of the Upper Suriname administrative district confirms. "The village chiefs and assistant village chiefs do not support paramount chief Aboikoni."

2. (Suriname, historical) enslaved person charged with overseeing work at a plantation and administering corporal punishment

   Synonyms: bastiaan, bomba, negerofficier, negeropzichter, zwartofficier

   • 1987, Cynthia McLeod, Hoe duur was de suiker? [The Cost of Sugar]‎^[3], Paramaribo: Vaco N.V. Uitgeversmaatschappij, →ISBN, page 73:

     Overal waar ze langs kwamen was er een zwijgende groep hard aan het werk, en de basya stond aan de kant, met de zweep in de ene hand en een houwer in de andere hand.

     Everywhere they passed, a silent group was hard at work, and the basya stood by, whip in one hand and a hack in the other.

Sranan Tongo

Alternative forms

• basja (superseded)

Etymology

Borrowed from English overseer.

Noun

basya

1. Maroon or Amerindian assistant village chief; the lowest tier in the hierarchy of tribal authority
2. (historical) enslaved person charged with overseeing work at a plantation and administering corporal punishment
   • ca. 1765, Pieter van Dyk, Nieuwe en nooit bevoorens geziene Onderwyzinge in het Bastert, of Neeger Engels, zoo als het zelve in de Hollandsze Colonien gebruikt word [New and unprecedented instruction in Bastard or Negro English, as it is used in the Dutch colonies]‎^[4], page 107:

     Baſſia hoe fafi maſtra gi permiſſi fo pree.

     Basya, how are you? Did master give permission to play?

Descendants

• Aukan: basiya
• → Dutch: bastiaan, basya