Memory of the World; 2012 - unesdoc - Unesco

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Catecismo corticu pa uso
di catolicanan di Curaçao
(first catechism written in
Papiamentu language)
Inscribed 2009
What is it
The earliest surviving edition, dating from 1827, of a
catechism written in the Papiamentu language of the
islands of the former Netherlands Antilles.
Why was it inscribed
Papiamentu is a Creole that evolved in the islands from
the 16th century. The catechism, for use by local people,
is the first known book to be written and published in
Papiamentu and its publication denoted a turning point
in its transition and status from an oral to a written,
literary language.
Where is it
National Archives, Willemstad, Curaçao
Catecismo corticu pa uso di catolicanan di Curaçao or
‘Short Catechism’ to be used by the Catholics of Curaçao,
was the first book to be published in Papiamentu and has
proved to be of central importance in the survival and
evolution of the language in the Dutch Caribbean islands.
Curaçao is the largest of the Leeward Antilles off the
northern coast of Venezuela and the most populous
of the six island areas of the former Netherlands Antilles.
The islands came under the control of the Dutch West
India Company in the 17th century and were colonies at
the time the catechism was written. Dutch missionaries
came to convert the islands to Christianity and one
of these, Monsignor Martinus Joannes Niewindt, who
was to serve in the islands for 36 years, was the translator
of the catechism, which is a book of instruction in the
principles of religion. The catechism was a product
of the Catholic press on the islands in the early
19th century, when Papiamentu began appearing
in print for the first time – an important turning point
in the language’s recognition.
Papiamentu fuses several tongues, including Dutch and
Venezuelan Spanish with input from indigenous Arawaks
and Sephardic Jewish refugees from Europe. The language,
336 Catecismo corticu pa uso di catolicanan di Curaçao
� Title page of the catechism
Monsignor Niewindt, translator
of the catechism into Papiamentu �
reflecting the mixed backgrounds of the people, is part
of the cultural identity of Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao,
known as the ABC islands. It finally gained recognition as
an official language in 2007; this remained the case on the
islands after the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles
in 2010. Today there are almost a quarter of a million
Papiamentu speakers in the islands and others in the
diaspora community in the Netherlands.
The catechism played a central role in the continued
existence and progress of Papiamentu. It was one of the
books that helped keep the language alive in the late
colonial period (1850–1950s) in the face of official attempts
to marginalize it. Once published, the catechism’s
existence encouraged the printing and distribution
of other books in the language, and Arubans, Bonaireans