ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the story of five generations of the Raghoebarsing family since the arrival of the ancestors as British Indian immigrants in 1873. Part of the story is embedded in genealogical information: the family structure is supportive of the rendering of personal life into understanding a family’s public life. The factual information concerning an individual, his family tree, his family history and that of his ancestors' means to provide illustrative material for this story, led by specific questions. On 6 September 1924, on the plantation La Prevoyance—Parnjis-in Saramacca, Nandoe Raghoebarsing was born. His grandparents had emigrated from British India to Suriname as indentured labourers. Nandoe’s parents, Sewnarain and Chowhania, were second-generation Surinamese. The Raghoebarsings belonged to a large and prosperous farming family. Those who lived on Parnjasis were related to each other, sometimes by blood but certainly by land—gaon ke nata. Relations were important, and children were informed about their connection to the other residents.
