Kotomisi Parade - Keti Koti Amsterdam

On the1 of July the Surinamese people celebrate the abolishment of slavery in 1863. It is called Keti Koti which means the breaking of the chains. The word Keti stems from the Dutch word 'keten' (chain) and Koti from the English word 'to cut'.
The Koto is the name of the traditional clothing for the women. The wide skirt, with a short jacket and the Agnisa which is the folded headscarf.
A Kotomisi is a woman wearing a koto.
There are different ways the Agnisa is folded and each way has a different meaning or convey a secret message. A woman could for example invite a lover or tell everyone she doesn't care they are talking about her!
On Keti Koti you can see many people displaying the year 1863 on flags and clothes, but you will also see the year 1873. The reason for this is that when in 1863 slavery was officially abolished, The Dutch government made all slaves work for free for another ten years (!!!) to pay off their debt to basically buy themselves their freedom.