'The Ashanti Tales' aims for more understanding towards each other, by Audrey Wajwakana
(The True Time)

PARAMARIBO — Descendants of African slaves have become absorbed in the cultures and customs of their overlords after their forced exodus. From a historical cultural perspective they have 'forgotten' themselves. How they feel and how they think can no longer be traced back to 'the character' of their ancestors.
In the new trilogy 'Back to Ashanti', Sunil Siwpersad describes that 'whoever opens his soul can hear the voices of his ancestors'. In the three-part series of short stories, the author describes the search of an Afro-Surinamese man in the African continent. Although the first part of the trilogy titled "The Return of the Lion" will not be released until August 2019, the author has posted some pieces from the story on the website of the same name. “With this I wanted to explain the intention of the trilogy, to which I also linked the Profen project,” says Siwpersad. Project Profen, according to the author, stands for the progenitor, the founder of a 'bere' (family connection). “The intention of this project is that two identical works of art will be set up in both the Netherlands and Suriname. This is to commemorate the people who suffered during the slavery and colonial period.” Support is needed for this project and that is why he links the trilogy 'Back to Ashanti' to this project. The author believes that slavery and colonial history are only discussed from one side. There is a reason that various groups in the world are opposed to each other, which must first be clearly understood. With the novella series, Siwpersad wants to contribute to a mutual understanding of the groups that are now opposing each other. “There is a great need to improve historical education when it comes to our colonial past. The reasons for this are explained in detail in the prologue to my short story series on the website.”

STORY

The series concerns the fictional story about Waka Nikomo, an Afro-Surinamese man who, after many hardships in the Netherlands, the country where he grew up, goes in search of the reasons for his personal suffering. He finds direction in the advice of two Wintime Masters. They tell him that his life is in the grip of a wisi (curse) that was once pronounced on him in a past life. To lift the curse, Waka Nikomo must search for the remains of the body he had in that past life. For this, according to the winter priests, he has to return to the continent where his ancestors once lived, Africa. An arduous quest ensues that takes in the locations where the greatest injustice in human history has occurred over the span of more than four hundred years. The Age of Slavery and Colonialism. This period has had enormous consequences in areas such as demography and the global economy and should be discussed within contemporary education, says Siwpersad.

TORIMAN

Siwpersad has lived in the Netherlands since he was two years old. Despite having lived there all his life, he still feels connected to his native country, Suriname. In the Netherlands he studied International Business and Languages ​​and has worked in the corporate world as an account manager. He was also a columnist for the Ware Tijd of the Dutch edition for a certain period. He is currently working on two projects. As a narrator he operates under the pseudonym `Toriman'. in 2019 the author will open a you tube channel under the name 'Toriman drai baka'. On this channel he will, among other things, present the trilogy 'Back to Ashanti' and perform several pieces. the paper version of the first part of the trilogy entitled 'The Return of the Lion' will be released on August 17, 2019*. Part two 'The Quest of a People / Taming the Serpent' is scheduled for 2020 and the last part 'Redemptie' will be released the following year.

*The trilogy will be released in a bundled version in the summer of 2022