Lagun – Rais.cw

What is unique about Lagun is that it lies on the coast, between two bays, namely Playa Jeremi and Playa Lagun. The name Lagun possibly refers to the small hidden lagoon that lies one and a half kilometres south of the neighbourhood and is connected to the sea via the bay of Santa Cruz.

Part of Kenepa

Lagun was formerly a parcel of plantation Kenepa / Zevenbergen. Caspar Lodewijk van Uytrecht was owner of Kenepa around 1795. After the death of his daughter and heiress Jannetje van der Meulen, her daughters Poulina Robertson and Dorothea Elisabeth van der Meulen inherited the estate and divided it in two: Dorothea Elisabeth received Lagun alias Zevenbergen and Poulina received Kenepa. The next owner, Heldewier Vignon, merged the plantations again after 1863: it was then customary that on inventory, death or sale, plantations were often divided or, conversely, merged. Because of the merger, landhuis Zevenbergen was demolished and/or neglected, so that only remains of it can now be seen in the hills of the present Christoffelpark. Zevenbergen was in the course of the years added to Lagun again, and so the appraised value of the two estates together in 1902 was still 16,000 guilders.

Fishing village

The village of Lagun was founded around 1850 by free people — some 135 men — who were mostly fishermen and had settled around the bay. The parcel Lagun was furthermore intended as a breeding ground for the livestock of Kenepa, one of the largest on Bándabou; at one time 1,490 sheep, 500 goats, 400 cattle (cows and bulls) and 70 donkeys of Kenepa were housed here. Everywhere in Lagun water tanks can still be found that the owners of Kenepa laid out for the livestock. Besides Savonet, Wacawa and Hieronimus, Kenepa was one of the plantations with the largest herds in the west of Curaçao, and the herdsmen of Kenepa stayed on living here after the abolition of slavery in 1863.

Independent neighbourhood

Around that time a large group of formerly enslaved people from the nearby large plantations Kenepa and Santa Cruz also settled here. At emancipation they received names such as Meulens, Calmes, Raap/Raper, Monte, Roch, Kook, Sambre, Dall, Muzo and Stroop, names that still occur in Lagun. Around 1900 the means of subsistence in Lagun were mainly agriculture, livestock farming and fishing. On a smaller scale also the picking of dividivi pods, the cutting of aloe, the burning of charcoal, as well as home crafts such as the plaiting of hats and baskets. Because of its remote location the residents, like those of Westpunt, had to fend for themselves, which they also managed: over the years Lagun grew into an independent neighbourhood that could provide for its own needs. There were no roads in the neighbourhood, only a network of little paths (patruli) that was intensively used by residents. The present main road was only built around 1960. In 1962 this road also got its own church. This was on the initiative of pastor Wolters of Westpunt, designed by the Austrian architect Vetter and dedicated to San Juan. The barren coastal strip remained uninhabited for a long time. People feared possible flooding during hurricanes, but it is now built up with weekend houses.

Amador Maduro

In 1944 Amador Enrique Maduro bought Lagun, including Jeremi, which is part of it, from the owner of plantation Kenepa, Richard Muskus. Maduro's mother came from Lagun and his Jewish father from the city, where he also grew up. Through the purchase Maduro came to live in the village. In 1952 he sold the southern part of Lagun (where the village now stands) to the government, which leased it out in the years 1971–1975. The remaining northern part, 293 hectares in size, with a coastline one kilometre long, is known as Jeremi, named after the nearby bay. The ruin of Amador Maduro's house still stands in the mondi of Lagun, where according to residents piano music can still often be heard……

Playa di Lagun

The name change of the bays of Lagun and Jeremi is remarkable. The bay of Jeremi was first called the bay of Lagun, and that of Lagun was designated on old maps and documents as Krappebaai (narrow bay) and later also as Krabbebaai (crab bay). Krappebaai because such a narrow bay was unsuitable for sailing ships to enter; Krabbebaai because the rooien flowing towards the bay were a paradise for crabs. The hill between Santa Cruz and Lagun, Seru Kòmandant, is the official name for Seru di Krabaai (130 m). The area north of Santa Cruz is also called Krabaai. On Seru Kòmandant / Seru di Krabaai stood a small lookout post of which nothing is left now. At the foot, at the bay of Santa Cruz, a little fort stood of which the foundations are still visible. The commandant lived below and demonstrated with torches (flambeeuwen) what was to be copied on the top of the hill. There were, however, often false alarms: crabs were in fact caught with the help of torches! And so in 1875 it was forbidden to use torches any longer when catching crabs…..

Burial vaults and tourists

The name Krabaai lives on in a spot on the rocks on the left side of Playa di Lagun: for years it was the burial ground for the bario. The shon of plantation Knip, Richard Muskus, did not tolerate the dead being transported across his land to Westpunt — where there was a cemetery. Only when the dead were later transported over the sea did he consent. For a long time burial vaults were still visible at Krabaai, but the spot, like the right-hand side of the bay, is now largely built up with tourist accommodation and other buildings. Between the bays of Lagun and Santa Cruz lies Joujou, a fish-rich location that is popular with fishermen from the area. Playa di Lagun has been known for decades as the place par excellence for giving swimming lessons, and when hauling in the nets the fishermen of Lagun still sing a centuries-old work song. From the bay you also have the best view of the unique and spectacular sunrise from behind the seven hills.

Shirisé

Zevenbergen was one of the few plantations that took their name from the landscape itself. The author M.D. Teenstra described it as: "…the mountain range and valleys that present a striking Swiss view." According to Brenneker, Zevenbergen was also called Shete Seru, Sherisé, Shirisé, Shitisé, and the landhuis consisted of two large two-storey houses built close together. Behind the second house was a punishment cell, a separate little building with walls 35 cm thick, 2.15 by 1.50 m inside. It was only 1.65 m high. In it stood a stone bench and in the walls holes in which chains were fastened. It had a narrow door and no windows. Above it was another storey, and the walls of the whole, up to the saddle roof, were 3 m high. In 1967 a 93-year-old woman told Brenneker: "When I was seven, the buildings were already abandoned and in decay." She was thus speaking of the year 1881.

Consolidation

According to the Werkgroep Archeologie, the landhuis consisted of one large two-storey house with a lower-built house beside it. At a good distance from the landhuis stands the ruin of the mangasina of Zevenbergen, of which most walls are still fairly intact. Under the direction of restoration architect Michael Newton, the remains of the landhuis, the mangasina and the lower-lying indigo vats from the 17th and 18th centuries are being consolidated. Consolidation is not restoration, but necessary maintenance so that the structure does not fall apart.

Zevenbergen

The mountain range of Zevenbergen defines the landscape in Jeremi and Lagun, and some of the hills are very popular with hill climbers. The best known are Seru Pieter, or Seru Kòrá (115 m), so called because of its red-brown colour, and Seru di Pasku, which lies right behind it, is 173 metres high and lies behind the Newtown* complex. There is also an easily passable path to the top of Seru Kòrá, where you have a fine view from the little terrace with benches near the transmission mast. Also very popular with hikers is the Seru di Makaku or Seru di Gorila — so called because of the summit, which resembles a sitting monkey — which offers a fine view of the nearby Sint Hieronimus and Ser'i Bientu.** On this last hill, on the border between Lagun and Kenepa, the rare Sabal palm can be seen, which is extremely resistant to drought and strong wind and from which baskets, furniture and hats were formerly made. The former plantation Zevenbergen is nowadays part of the Christoffelpark, which is managed by Carmabi***. The mangasina is the part that is easiest to reach, namely via one of the routes laid out in this nature park. Watercourses, or rooien, in Shitisé are Roi di Santu, Roi di Piedra Blancu, Roi di Toni Kolícu, Roi di Juana and Roi di Tecu Kimá.

*see Jeremi **Not to be confused with Ser'i Bientu, a small neighbourhood between Flip and Leliënberg. ***Carmabi: Caribbean Research and Management of Biodiversity

Sources

Ministerie SOAW: Buurtprofiel Lagun
Werkgroep Archeologie: various reports
Paul Brenneker: Sambumbu, various editions

With thanks to: Elfried Koots, Morela de la Cruz, Nataly Jamanika, Eddy Baetens, Haidelin Lovert, Christel Monsanto, François van der Hoeven, Jeroen Heuvel and Unidat di Bario.