Escaped slaves built a secret jungle society — and filmed it in 1933.
This Traveltalk entry visits a Djuka tribal village in Dutch Guiana, which would later be called Suriname. The Djuka are descendants of west Africans who escaped from ships that were taking them to slave markets in America in the 16th century.
Production
Rare surviving footage of 1930s Maroon village life.
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The Djuka (Ndyuka) are one of six Maroon nations in Suriname, recognized by peace treaties with Dutch colonizers as early as 1760 — one of the only times escaped slaves won formal autonomy.
Traveltalks were MGM's glossy shorts meant to lure tourists; this one accidentally documents something far more radical than vacation bait.
No ratings yet
Sign in to join the discussion — comments are spoiler-gated to your watch progress.
Discussion starters
US
