More than Gold: Embodying the Human Cost of Mining in Maroon Popular Music

Abstract

Abstract Maroons (descendants of Africans who escaped enslavement) have long been locked in an antagonistic relationship with the Surinamese government over gold-mining legislation and its reinforcement. This contentious topic includes complex debates over land rights and conflicting economic and environmental priorities. This article considers how three contemporary Maroon popular musicians have gone beyond stock metaphors about gold to reference local engagements with gold and the gold-mining industry. I introduce the concept, performative figuring, as a strategy whereby a speaker or performer uses their embodied presence to assert their rights and/or self-worth against practices and policies that threaten to undermine them.