Henri Frans de Ziel

Trefossa
Trefossa
Born	Henri Frans de Ziel; 15 January 1916; Paramaribo, Suriname
Died	3 February 1975 (aged 59); Haarlem, Netherlands
Nationality	Dutch
Occupation	writer, poet, teacher
Notable work	God zij met ons Suriname; (Suriname's National Anthem)

Trefossa, pen name of Henri Frans de Ziel (15 January 1916 – 3 February 1975), was a neoromantic writer in Dutch and Sranan Tongo from Suriname. He is best known for the Sranan Tongo stanzas of Suriname's National Anthem.[1]

Biography

He was an educator and lived in the Netherlands from 1953 to 1956.[2] Upon his return to Suriname he was part of the editorial staff of the magazines Tongoni (1958-1959) and Soela (1962-1964).[3] He also served briefly as the director-librarian of Suriname's Cultural Centre (Cultureel Centrum Suriname (CCS)).[2] He subsequently returned to the Netherlands to work on the publication of Johannes King's memoirs.[3]

Trefossa wrote primarily about the beauty of his native country, Suriname, especially as a source of peace to the restless mind. He influenced many writers in Suriname, including Corly Verlooghen, Eugène Rellum, Johanna Schouten-Elsenhout and Michaël Slory, but the depth and subtlety of his verse remain almost unique.[4]

Trefossa was annoyed about the negative nuance in the National Anthem at time, and started to transform the second stanza into a positive message. Trefossa combined this with a poem he wrote in Sranan Tongo on the death of Ronald Elwin Kappel.[5] His anthem was unanimously approved by the Government of Suriname on 7 December 1959.[1]

In 1969, his health started to deteriorate, and he was admitted to the sanatorium Zonneduin in Bloemendaal. Here he met his wife, Hulda Walser, whom he married in 1970. On 3 Februari 1975, de Ziel died in Haarlem.[4]

On 21 November 2005, a monument was dedicated in his honour on the Sophie Redmondstraat in Paramaribo. His ashes and the ashes of his wife, Hulda Walser, were also placed at the monument.[4] A documentary film, Trefossa: I Am Not I (Trefossa: Mi a no mi), by filmmaker Ida Does, was produced in 2008.[6]

Poem

The poem by Trefossa, referenced in the external link about the mural at the bottom, is translated from Sranan into English below:

Gronmama	Earthmother
Mi a no mi solanga mi brudu fu yu a n'e trubu na ini den dusun titei fu mi	I am not myself until my blood is infused with you in all of my veins
Mi a no mi solang mi lutu n'e saka, n'e sutu mi gronmama	I am not myself until my roots sink down, shoot into you, my earthmother
Mi a no mi solang m'no krari fu kibri, fu tyari yu gersi na ini mi dyodyo.	I am not myself until I manage to keep, to carry your image in my soul
Mi a no mi solanga y' n'e bari f' prisir' ofu pen na ini mi sten.	I am not myself until you cry out with pleasure, or pain in my voice

References

"Trefossa en het volkslied van Suriname". Star Nieuws (in Dutch). Retrieved 19 May 2020.
H.F. de Ziel, Digital Library for Dutch Literature. "Ala poewema foe Trefossa". Retrieved 19 May 2020.
Shrinivási, Digital Library for Dutch Literature. "Wortoe d'e tan abra". Retrieved 19 May 2020.
"Herdenking 40ste sterfdag van Trefossa". Dagblad De West (in Dutch). Retrieved 19 May 2020.
"ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 163559". Aviation Safety. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
Romero, Ivette (2016). "Does, Ida (1955– ), film director and journalist". In Knight, Franklin W.; Gates, Jr., Henry Louis (eds.). Dictionary of Caribbean and Afro–Latin American Biography. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-199-93580-2. – via Oxford University Press's Reference Online (subscription required)

Sources

Michiel van Kempen: Een geschiedenis van de Surinaamse literatuur. De Geus, Breda 2003, ISBN 90-445-0277-8.
According to the Dutch page of this article, Michiel van Kempen has given Wikipedia permission to use the above mentioned work.

External links

H.F. de Ziel at Digital Library for Dutch Literature (Ala poewema foe Trefossa, a biography in Dutch, is available as free download)
Trefossa at Werkgroup Caraïbische Letteren
(in Dutch) Mural in Leiden

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[anthem-1] "Trefossa en het volkslied van Suriname". Star Nieuws (in Dutch). Retrieved 19 May 2020.

[trefossa-2] H.F. de Ziel, Digital Library for Dutch Literature. "Ala poewema foe Trefossa". Retrieved 19 May 2020.

[shrinivasi-3] Shrinivási, Digital Library for Dutch Literature. "Wortoe d'e tan abra". Retrieved 19 May 2020.

[de_west-4] "Herdenking 40ste sterfdag van Trefossa". Dagblad De West (in Dutch). Retrieved 19 May 2020.

[5] "ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 163559". Aviation Safety. Retrieved 19 May 2020.

[6] Romero, Ivette (2016). "Does, Ida (1955– ), film director and journalist". In Knight, Franklin W.; Gates, Jr., Henry Louis (eds.). Dictionary of Caribbean and Afro–Latin American Biography. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-199-93580-2. – via Oxford University Press's Reference Online (subscription required)