{"id":92508,"date":"2018-11-29T12:20:04","date_gmt":"2018-11-29T11:20:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=92508"},"modified":"2026-01-20T10:30:17","modified_gmt":"2026-01-20T09:30:17","slug":"i-was-extremely-shocked-when-i-heard-that-blackface-was-tradition-here","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2018\/11\/29\/i-was-extremely-shocked-when-i-heard-that-blackface-was-tradition-here\/","title":{"rendered":"‘I was extremely shocked when I heard that blackface was tradition here’"},"content":{"rendered":"

By now, Dutch people are used to Zwarte Piet and the Zwarte Piet debate. But how does it feel for students who did not grow up with Sinterklaas celebrations? Four internationals talk about their first acquaintance with Zwarte Piet.<\/p>\n

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Roetveegpieten op de Erasmus Universiteit in 2014<\/span><\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMichelle Muus<\/span>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Unique tradition<\/h2>\n\t
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\n\t\t\u2018As I see it, the Piets have black faces because they enter people\u2019s houses down the chimney\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

Anna\u00a0Szekeres<\/strong>\u00a0(21) from Hungary, studying History: \u201cWhen I arrived in the Netherlands a year ago, I didn\u2019t know anything about the phenomenon of Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet. At the end of last November, I saw the first Sinterklaas items in the shops, and I asked my fellow Dutch students what this meant. They explained that it was a Dutch tradition, part of their culture. The Zwarte Piets are just Sinterklaas\u2019 helpers, who distribute sweets and gifts, they explained. As I see it, the Piets have black faces because they enter people\u2019s houses down the chimney, which makes their faces sooty. If you look at it that way, I don\u2019t really understand what\u2019s racist about it. I think it\u2019s nice that children paint their faces like Zwarte Piet, and I feel that this is a unique tradition. It unites people, and that\u2019s good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Extremely shocked<\/h2>\n\t
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\n\t\t\u2018It felt like mockery: people painting their face black, the wigs that are very similar to my hair, the earrings\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

Ayanda Ntuli<\/strong> (21) from South-Africa studies International Bachelor Communicationa and Media and recently wrote a blog about why she thinks Zwarte Piet is racist<\/a>: \u201cComing from a different background, I\u2019ve never experienced anything like blackface. I grew up in South-Africa and England with black people around me. When I first saw Zwarte Piet, I thought: \u2018Oh my god, what is this?\u2019 It seemed a little off to me. It felt like mockery: people painting their face black, the wigs that are very similar to my hair, the earrings. Dutch people kept telling me that it\u2019s a celebration for children, that it\u2019s done in schools. That made it even stranger to me. How could you introduce children to black people this way? I have friends at some student associations and they do sometimes dress up and people come in blackface. They don\u2019t understand how offensive it is. For them it\u2019s a fun dress-up gathering. I told my friends that it seems offensive to me. Their understanding is that Zwarte Piet is not racist: people have a very positive connotation with Zwarte Piet, he brings sweets and presents to children. To be honest, most of my friends disagree with me: they just don\u2019t see Zwarte Piet as racism. But it doesn\u2019t add up to me: the blackface and the wig are racial stereotypes, the golden earrings and the outfit are from colonial times and Zwarte Piet is Sinterklaas\u2019 helper. I think I could understand the character without the blackface. I don\u2019t disagree with the celebration, but I would feel more comfortable with it when the racial features are taken away.\u201d<\/p>\n

Extremely shocked<\/h2>\n\t
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\n\t\t\u2018I was extremely shocked when I heard that black face\u00a0was part of the tradition\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

Exchange student\u00a0Emma\u00a0Dailey<\/strong>\u00a0(20, United States) doesn\u2019t understand the Dutch saint at all: \u201cI first heard about the Sinterklaas tradition from a friend\u00a0in Shanghai who was asked by the Dutch expat community, together with some of his Dutch friends, to dress up as Zwarte Piet. I asked him what that involved and was extremely shocked when I heard that blackface\u00a0was part of the tradition. Because of my American background, I believe that blackface\u00a0is completely unacceptable in any circumstances. The claim that the black make up is \u2018soot from a chimney\u2019, although the costume still comes with a curly wig and gold earrings, is ridiculous. Another thing that concerned me was that my friends were surprised at my indignation. I demanded that my Shanghai friend asked his employees to use soot instead of full make up. Eventually he did ask, but they didn\u2019t do it. I also think it\u2019s a shame that there\u2019s so much violence and hate in a children\u2019s celebration. Yes, tradition is important, but such a small change shouldn\u2019t be a problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

Protests too vocal<\/h2>

First year IBCoM student\u00a0Olivier de Vries<\/strong>\u00a0(20) from Switzerland: \u201cI was quite surprised when I first heard about a character called Zwarte Piet. Initially it seems quite racist, particularly when it\u2019s used in a children\u2019s celebration.\u00a0However, my Dutch friends got quite wound up about it all, because it belonged to their childhood and they really cherished it. They told me that they\u2019d never associated the black skin colour with race and that he\u2019s a very popular figure. I saw Zwarte Piet for the first time on a pack of pepernoten<\/em>, but I discovered more about the tradition from my fellow Dutch students. Most of them agree that Zwarte Piet isn\u2019t racist. Personally, I feel that the protests are too vocal, particularly during the celebration. It\u2019s intended for children, and that\u2019s being forgotten.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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Watch the video<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t