dyodyo
Sranan Tongo
[edit]Alternative forms
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Possibly from Fon jɔtɔ (“personal ancestral guardian spirit”) [1][2]
Pronunciation
[edit]Noun
[edit]dyodyo
- soul, guardian spirit; in the Afro-Surinamese Winti belief system, a male or female spiritual entity linked to the birthplace of an individual who, together with a counterpart of the opposite sex, acts as guardian of this or several individuals
- c. 1957, Trefossa, gronmama [Earth mother][3], quoted in Ala poewema foe Trefossa [All poems by Trefossa], Paramaribo: Bureau Volkslectuur, published 1977, page 50:
- mi a no mi / solanga m' no krari / foe kibri, foe tjari / joe gersi na ini mi djodjo.
- I am not me / as long as I'm not ready / to keep, to carry / your likeness in my soul.
- 1962, Johanna Schouten-Elsenhout, “winti [Wind]”, in soela[4], Paramaribo: Bureau Volkslectuur, page 13:
- a mindri liba / d'e drai tron wan kolkoe / a mi ati lanpe / e broko mi djodjo / saka gi doti
- The middle of the river / which revolves into becoming a whirlpool / at my heart's landing / brings down my guardian spirit / for the earth
- 2005, Leanda Mac-nack, Patricia Sichtman (lyrics and music), “Aisa Mama E Kong”, in Ala Sani Na Fu Wan Ting, performed by Sangrafu:
- Aisa Mama, yu na mi mama / yu bere mu kibri mi te fu kaba / Aisa, na yu na mi masanga / Aisa Mama, yu na mi dyodyo
- Mother Aisa, you are my mother / your womb should harbour me until the end / Aisa, you are my refuge / Mother Aisa, you are my guardian spirit
Usage notes
[edit]Is considered synonymous with kra and yeye by some Winti believers.
Related terms
[edit]- kra (“soul, spirit; a spiritual entity who determines an individual's life and returns to its origin upon the individual's death, ceasing interaction with the world of the living”)
- yorka (“soul, spirit, ghost; a spiritual entity specific to an individual who can remain among the living upon the death of the individual, in a benign or malicious manner”)
- sili
- yeye