Whetted

"The great force of history comes from the fact that we carry it within us, are unconsciously controlled by it in many ways, and history is literally present in all that we do."
James Baldwin, The Price of the Ticket – Collected nonfiction 1948-1985

'Whetted' means sharpened, honed, made keen.

In Whetted, past, present and future intertwine. How the two figures in Whetted relate to one another is left open. What does become clear is that they are inextricably connected through background, recognition, expectation, and therefore perhaps fate?

The persistence and timelessness of specific emotions relating to cultural background, the need for a self-chosen 'own' identity, and the perception of one's own vision of the future in relation to the previous two, form the general context surrounding the piece. Time and place are not clearly defined, yet at the same time, all timelines seem to unfold in the here and now.

More concretely, at the core of the piece, the inner struggle between acknowledging, wanting to preserve and claiming one's 'own' background and history, versus wanting to shed it, is central to Whetted. What is our perception of things like 'foundation' and 'roots', and in what way do they influence and determine our perception of the 'here and now'?

Faja Sitong

The starting point for Whetted is the popular Surinamese children's song 'Faja Siton'. At first glance, an innocent, sweet children's song with an accompanying 'children's game' in which everyone sits in a circle and passes a stone around while singing. Whoever ends up with the stone when the song finishes is 'out' and can no longer take part.

However, the lyrics of the song tell an entirely different story than something 'sweet and fun' for the children… The lyrics 'Faja Sitong no bron mi so, no bron me so, Adyen masra Jantje kiri sima pikin', which originated during the Dutch period of slavery, translate literally as: 'Firestone, don't burn me so, don't burn me so, once again master Jantje has killed a child'.

The contrast between not wanting to be confronted with such a painful part of your own history, and at the same time the need to want to make it visible and have it acknowledged, exposes, for me, the inner struggle. The intersection where background, history and 'roots', on the one hand, determine and/or influence your foundation and (perception of) identity, and, on the other, the need to perhaps also want to leave all of this behind at the same time.

This children's song can be heard in the final part of Whetted. It was specially recorded for this piece by students of Muziekcentrum Zuidoost in Amsterdam.