Throughout the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth century the economy of Curaçao thrived mainly on commerce. The soil was too dry and there was very little rainfall to develop agricultural activities of importance on the island. Curaçao possessed a few small plantations where agriculture was mainly for own consumption.

The workers sung African chants while working in the fields. At night, they would gather in small groups to compose new work songs. They produced the rhythm for the songs by stroking on a large dried calabash shell with their finger tops. The calabash was positioned upside down in a wooden tub filled with water. The water muted the sound in order not to disturb the landowners who were not very fond of the music.

At harvest time the landowners were more lenient and permitted the workers to play on drums, made from barrels with goatskin stretched over the top, iron parts of their working tools, cow-horns and conch-shelves (which were also used to send messages), while they carried the harvest to the depositories. The men and women formed parades, sang and developed dance steps while carrying out this activity.

After the harvest, the landowners permitted the workers organize festivities and celebrate as an expression of gratitude. The type of music, songs and dance produced during those festivities were all entitled Seú.

During the last decades, a group of volunteers has undertaken much effort to preserve this unique cultural manifestation, despite the fact that there is very little left of former agriculture activities on the island. Because of their vision and perseverance, the annual parade on the second day of Easter grew into one of the biggest cultural events on the island’s activities calendar with even more participants than Carnival.

Text and photos by Farley Lourens for Datasoft Management.

Pictures of Seú 2002 and 2003 can also be viewed on this site.