Little Saramaccan Lindsay

This is my friend Zuslien:

She lives close to us but is planning on moving to Paramaribo in August. In this recent picture, she is pregnant with her sixth child. I think she's around 29 years old. A couple of months ago she informed us that if she has a boy, she will name him Ryan and if she has a girl, she will name her Lindsay. We were excited, although, I wasn't sure if she would follow through with it or if our name would be the kid's first name, or second middle name like little Rachel Josina Lindsay Smit from our homestay family (look here). 

Well, the day finally came and she had a little girl! I was in the city at the time but my friend who is the nurse called me to say that Zuslien gave birth to a little girl and she was taking my name as her first name! Here's the thing about names in Saramaaka. Everyone has a birth name that is used in school but usually no one uses that name outside of school. Everyone has one or two nicknames that they go by. In fact, I've talked to some new mothers who do not even remember their baby's real name because they don't plan on ever using it except for school. Anyways, when I came to visit little Lindsay, Zuslien and her five other children were all calling her Lindsay already, so I think they will actually use it outside of school! 

Here she is in an outfit I bought for her!

Me, Zuslien, baby Lindsay and her big sister Sepora

Zuslien, little Lindsay, Sepora and John, Zuslien husband