Zwarte Piet

Zwarte Piet (pronounced [ˈzʋɑrtə ˈpit], Dutch for "Black Pete"; Luxembourgish: Schwaarze Péiter, Indonesian: Pit Hitam, Frisian: Swarte Pyt) is the friend of Saint Nicholas (Dutch: Sinterklaas, Frisian: Sinteklaas, Luxembourgish: Kleeschen, Indonesian: Sinterklas) in the folklore of the Low Countries.

The character first appeared in an 1850 book by Amsterdam schoolteacher Jan Schenkman.

Zwarte Piet is black because he is a Moor from Spain.^[1] People playing Zwarte Piet usually put on blackface and colourful suits along with curly wigs and bright red lipstick.^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]

Recently, the character has become controversial with many saying it was racist towards people of African descent.^[7]

Zwarte Piet Media

A person in a traditional Zwarte Piet costume
A person in a modernized Sooty Pete costume
Strooigoed and kruidnoten mix for scattering
Illustration from Jan Schenkman's 1850 book Saint Nicholas and his servant
Comparison of Schenkman's first (1845) and second (1850) edition depictions of Zwarte Piet
A children's book from 1915, titled "In the Bag: the grave fate of naughty Grietje and Pietje"
Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet visiting the fishing village of Volendam and giving candy to kids, 1938
Josephine Baker meeting Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet (V&D Amsterdam, 22 November 1957)
Several performers in Sooty Piet costumes during a 2016 celebration in Amsterdam
Advertisement from the early 1960s featuring Zwarte Piet

References

↑ Forbes, Bruce David (2007). Christmas: A Candid History. University of California Press. pp. 54.
↑ Carleton, Marie-Helene. "Zwarte Piet: Black Pete is 'Dutch racism in full display'". www.aljazeera.com. Protesters have rallied against the Dutch blackface tradition
↑ Welle (www.dw.com), Deutsche. "Dutch Zwarte Piet reignites blackface debate | DW | 16.11.2019". DW.COM. Zwarte Pieten ... who are played by white people in full blackface
↑ "This notorious Christmas character is dividing a country". National Geographic News. 6 December 2018. Zwarte Piet ... who usually appears as a blackface character
↑ Henley, Jon (18 September 2019). "Dutch Saint Nicholas parade to replace blackface with 'sooty faces'" – via www.theguardian.com. Zwarte Piet, Sinterklaas's helper, has traditionally been portrayed by adults wearing gaudy costumes, large gold earrings, afro-style wigs, red lipstick and full blackface makeup
↑ "So Long, Black Pete : Rough Translation". NPR.org.
↑ Leopold, Todd (30 November 2015). "'Blackface': Dutch holiday tradition or racism?". CNN. Black Peter, a goofy, singing, candy-giving Renaissance-clad figure in blackface

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[BDF-1] Forbes, Bruce David (2007). Christmas: A Candid History. University of California Press. pp. 54.

[2] Carleton, Marie-Helene. "Zwarte Piet: Black Pete is 'Dutch racism in full display'". www.aljazeera.com. Protesters have rallied against the Dutch blackface tradition

[3] Welle (www.dw.com), Deutsche. "Dutch Zwarte Piet reignites blackface debate | DW | 16.11.2019". DW.COM. Zwarte Pieten ... who are played by white people in full blackface

[4] "This notorious Christmas character is dividing a country". National Geographic News. 6 December 2018. Zwarte Piet ... who usually appears as a blackface character

[5] Henley, Jon (18 September 2019). "Dutch Saint Nicholas parade to replace blackface with 'sooty faces'" – via www.theguardian.com. Zwarte Piet, Sinterklaas's helper, has traditionally been portrayed by adults wearing gaudy costumes, large gold earrings, afro-style wigs, red lipstick and full blackface makeup

[6] "So Long, Black Pete : Rough Translation". NPR.org.

[7] Leopold, Todd (30 November 2015). "'Blackface': Dutch holiday tradition or racism?". CNN. Black Peter, a goofy, singing, candy-giving Renaissance-clad figure in blackface

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