Kotomisi

A term for a woman (“misi” or Mrs.) wearing a type of traditional dress (Koto) in creole or Afro-Surinamese communities. While commonly associated with slavery, the kotomisi and angisa began to flourish immediately following general emancipation in Suriname (1863). By the late nineteenth century, the Afro-Surinamese (Creole) middle class had begun to use European-style clothing to elevate their social status, while the kotomisi became associated with the lower classes. Yet the kotomisi also became a symbol of women’s resistance and their pride in their African ancestry. The koto’s elaborate patterns and folds of the dresses display status and convey coded social messages.