Each year, a grand procession bearing Sinterklaas, the Dutch saint on whom Santa Claus is said to be based, sails through the canals of Amsterdam to the Maritime Museum, where the mayor of the city greets him and his helpers. This parade is replicated in cities and towns across the Netherlands and Belgium.
For Dutch and Belgian expatriates in Mumbai who cannot return home for the Sinterklaasfeest, which falls on December 5 or December 6 depending on the country you are from, Sinterklaas has been alighting from a ferry at the Gateway of India since at least 1962.
However, this might be the last year that Dutch and Belgian expatriates in Mumbai celebrate the feast of Sinterklaas with his traditional associates: the controversial figures of Zwarte Pieten, or Black Petes, who are the saint’s helpers of apparently Moorish origin.
“We have to slowly phase out references to black helpers,” said Els Reynaers Kini, a Belgian expatriate associated with the Dutch-Belgian Club that organises Sinterklaas in Mumbai. “It is not essential that the helpers are black. Doing this would be a healthy approach to the tradition.”
Santa Claus, as depicted in much of the world, travels a dizzying distance around the globe distributing gifts to children from a flying reindeer-driven sleigh. Sinterklaas is a rather less ambitious figure. He actually sails to the Netherlands and Belgium in a steamer from Spain, accompanied by the Black Petes, who help him distribute gifts.
The helpers are usually portrayed by white people in blackface with exaggeratedly large red lips and wigs with black curled hair, a clear reference to people of African origin. They are meant to be cheerful and lively figures who engage children who might be afraid of the forbidding bearded Sinterklaas.
Defenders of the tradition say that Pieten are not meant to be Sinterklaas’ slaves, but his helpers. The black skin, they claim, is a mark of the soot helpers acquire as they tumble down chimneys while distributing gifts.
While most do not object to the role Piet plays in Sinterklaas celebrations, they think that his blackface is offensive, to say the least. In July, an Amsterdam court ruled that Zwarte Piet could be thought offensive and discriminatory by black people.
Changes in Mumbai
Preparations for Sinterklaas celebrations begin months in advance in Mumbai because many of the materials, including costumes and traditional biscuits, are procured in parts by people travelling back home. Dutch and Belgian expatriates in Mumbai are now planning to make Sinterklaas’ helpers multi-coloured.
“We were working with limited materials this year so we just went with what we had in the Consulate,” Kini said. “We just have not had enough time or makeup. As we organise it a few months before, we were not geared up towards a change.”
The Petes are meant to interact with children in languages they understand, they have to be people who can speak Dutch or Flemish, said Kini. The community is small, with only around 40 Belgians and 100 Dutch people. The size of the group means that Sinterklaas can have personalised interactions with each child, but children can also easily identify adults who do not have adequate disguises.
But Kini says the group acknowledges the importance of moving with the times.
“We have to reflect contemporary concerns and discussions,” said Kini. “But particularly because history is moving forward, you should also move forward with your traditions. These are not supposed to be historical celebrations, but contemporary ones. The rainbow approach is a way forward.”
No more sea travel
Sinterklaas has been breaking traditions in other ways in Mumbai. This year instead of a boat, he travelled to a hotel in Powai in a painted autorickshaw.
“We normally try to have Santa to arrive at the Gateway of India by boat because our tradition is to greet him at the port,” said Kini. “Last year, what happened was that people mistook him for someone from a congregation and asked him for his blessings. So he had to deal with an Indian crowd who believed he was a Christian saint.”
The children, she said, seemed to accept autorickshaws as the regular mode of travel in India.
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For Dutch and Belgian expatriates in Mumbai who cannot return home for the Sinterklaasfeest, which falls on December 5 or December 6 depending on the country you are from, Sinterklaas has been alighting from a ferry at the Gateway of India since at least 1962.
Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet on a boat off Mumbai's Gateway of India in 1962. Photo courtesy: Els Reynaers Kini.
However, this might be the last year that Dutch and Belgian expatriates in Mumbai celebrate the feast of Sinterklaas with his traditional associates: the controversial figures of Zwarte Pieten, or Black Petes, who are the saint’s helpers of apparently Moorish origin.
“We have to slowly phase out references to black helpers,” said Els Reynaers Kini, a Belgian expatriate associated with the Dutch-Belgian Club that organises Sinterklaas in Mumbai. “It is not essential that the helpers are black. Doing this would be a healthy approach to the tradition.”
Santa Claus, as depicted in much of the world, travels a dizzying distance around the globe distributing gifts to children from a flying reindeer-driven sleigh. Sinterklaas is a rather less ambitious figure. He actually sails to the Netherlands and Belgium in a steamer from Spain, accompanied by the Black Petes, who help him distribute gifts.
The helpers are usually portrayed by white people in blackface with exaggeratedly large red lips and wigs with black curled hair, a clear reference to people of African origin. They are meant to be cheerful and lively figures who engage children who might be afraid of the forbidding bearded Sinterklaas.
Sinterklaasfeest in Mumbai, 2010. Photo credit: Lisa op Curacao.
Defenders of the tradition say that Pieten are not meant to be Sinterklaas’ slaves, but his helpers. The black skin, they claim, is a mark of the soot helpers acquire as they tumble down chimneys while distributing gifts.
While most do not object to the role Piet plays in Sinterklaas celebrations, they think that his blackface is offensive, to say the least. In July, an Amsterdam court ruled that Zwarte Piet could be thought offensive and discriminatory by black people.
Changes in Mumbai
Preparations for Sinterklaas celebrations begin months in advance in Mumbai because many of the materials, including costumes and traditional biscuits, are procured in parts by people travelling back home. Dutch and Belgian expatriates in Mumbai are now planning to make Sinterklaas’ helpers multi-coloured.
“We were working with limited materials this year so we just went with what we had in the Consulate,” Kini said. “We just have not had enough time or makeup. As we organise it a few months before, we were not geared up towards a change.”
The Petes are meant to interact with children in languages they understand, they have to be people who can speak Dutch or Flemish, said Kini. The community is small, with only around 40 Belgians and 100 Dutch people. The size of the group means that Sinterklaas can have personalised interactions with each child, but children can also easily identify adults who do not have adequate disguises.
But Kini says the group acknowledges the importance of moving with the times.
“We have to reflect contemporary concerns and discussions,” said Kini. “But particularly because history is moving forward, you should also move forward with your traditions. These are not supposed to be historical celebrations, but contemporary ones. The rainbow approach is a way forward.”
No more sea travel
Sinterklaas heading to the celebration venue in an autorickshaw in Powai, Mumbai. Photo credit: Els Reynaers Kini.
Sinterklaas has been breaking traditions in other ways in Mumbai. This year instead of a boat, he travelled to a hotel in Powai in a painted autorickshaw.
“We normally try to have Santa to arrive at the Gateway of India by boat because our tradition is to greet him at the port,” said Kini. “Last year, what happened was that people mistook him for someone from a congregation and asked him for his blessings. So he had to deal with an Indian crowd who believed he was a Christian saint.”
The children, she said, seemed to accept autorickshaws as the regular mode of travel in India.