Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet (II)
Continued from Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet (I), courtesy of Jim Crow Ferris State University Who is Black Peter?
In the 19th century the black devil returns, this time re-invented as a servant of Moorish descent. He wears the costume of the child-slaves that work in Europe at that time, the pages. Carrying a large bag and his rod he threatens to take children that behaved bad. In an era of slavery and colonialism the racial ideas of that time were translated onto this figure.
The combination of the small Black Peter and horse-riding Saint Nicholas, represents the triumph of good over bad, Christian over heathen, and later; Christianity over Islam. They’re caught in a relationship of dualism. Val Plumwood describes dualism as: ‘(…) dualism (…) results from a certain kind of dependency on a subordinated other. This relationship of denied dependency determines a kind of logical structure, in which the denial and the relation of domination/subordination shape the identity of both the relata.’ (Plumwood in Gravenberch, 1998). Gravenberch points out in his article on this dualist relationship that: ‘the contrast between the Saint Nicholas and Black Peter stands in a long tradition of dichotomised representation in which Europeans portrayed themselves and Africans as essentially different: Europeans as rational responsible, civilised, mature and as masters. Africans as irrational, wild, childish and as slave’. Saint Nicholas is being portrayed as everything Black Peter is not. The Saint is an old white, wise, and articulated man. Peter is a young, black, simple, cheeky (classically followed by a reprimand from the Saint), boy.
In the 21st century the black figure is still with us, dressed in the same outfit. The role is usually played by a white woman or man who wears black or brown grease paint on their faces (Saint Nicholas is always performed by a man). He or she wears large golden earrings, a curly wig and red lipstick. Right now they wear brown grease paint more often because “the blackness frightens children”.
Once the transformation is completed, a change in voice and behavior usually follow. He or she will speak improper Dutch with a low voice and a Surinamese accent. In other words; a racial stereotype is reinforced. While the stereotype and its origin, are obvious, many people (also respectable scholars) contend that the figure has either no racial connotations, or the racial connotations should be viewed as being positive.
A very popular explanation about his color is that the blackness stems from the figure’s passage down the chimney. In the story Black Peter comes down the chimney to deliver presents and according to this explanation he’s black because of the soot. Other explanations use the figure’s origin to de-radicalise him.
While writer and historian Louis Janssen attacks the belief that Black Peter symbolises racist beliefs, he does not come up with any counterarguments as to why the figure is not racist. He states that the critics do not take the historical dimensions into account. Janssen therefore looks to Karl Meisen for historical background about the origin of Black Peter. He says that Black Peter symbolises the devil who was easily associated with people of Moorish decent. The current Black Peter is simply a variant of this devil-figure, according to Janssen. This theoretical explanation about Black Peters ‘roots’ is not an argument against but for the critics of the figure. The fact that the current Black Peter is a racialised variant of the devil figure and people (esp. children) are still being taught, through the celebrations and rituals, to “easily associate” evilness and Black Peter with people of color, is exactly the problem here.
Janssen’s ‘historical perspective’ does not address Black Peter and the historical context that made such associations and images possible. The heritage of the French revolution (freedom, equality and fraternity) did not exactly characterise the relationship between whites and Africans. The oppression of Africans was legitimised by an ideology, a discourse translated in ‘scientific’ and religious theories about blacks that ‘proved’ they were inferior, destined to work as slaves. Unfortunately Janssen is so busy proving the critics that the ‘original’ Black Peter is not a product of 19th century colonial thought, that he uses historical facts selectively and focuses on devil-versions of Black Peter one does not see anymore. Contemporary Black Peter is a caricature of a black person.
This denial of the racist component is present in most works on Saint Nicholas. Writers on Saint Nicholas often fall back on ‘historical explanations’ without analysing the claims that are being made about ‘race’ through the representation of the black servant and white saint, and the historical context that led to such images.