On the Corner: Male Social Life in a Paramaribo Creole Neighborhood (Studies of Developing Countries, 22)

This richly documented, descriptive narrative is one of the very few that deals with the male side of society--the forces pulling them together and pushing them apart; friendships and mutual aid; gossip; status and reputation building; recruitment and expulsion. The subjects--lower status Creole males in Paramaribo, Suriname--congregate at the neighborhood winkel (tavern), the neutral and accessible point where men with similar mating, residential, and occupational arrangements can interact. In addition, the wider urban community and the neighborhood are also captured in this case study.