Over the last decade the term ‘mutual heritage’ is increasingly used in policy documents in the
Netherlands to describe and contextualize Dutch overseas heritage in their former colonies (Oostindie,
2008; Hefting, 2005; CIE1
; SICA2
). By using this term it implicitly assumes that more than one party is
equally involved in the ownership and interpretation of heritage resources that originated from a
colonial past. This article seeks to explore the existence of mutuality within the interpretation of built
colonial heritage in a multiethnic society. What is examined here is how colonial heritage, especially in
this case of the built environment can be considered to be mutual both between colonised and
colonizer and between different ethnic groups within Suriname. The focus in this article is on the
interpretation of the World Heritage Site of Paramaribo in relation to identity, sense of place and
nation-building. Suriname is an appropriate example of a multiethnic society that was ruled by the
Dutch for more than 300 years and the immense cultural diversity is manifested in the composition of
its population. By referring to the interpretation and use of built colonial heritage this article contributes
to a discussion about the appropriateness of the idea of ‘mutual heritage’. Through its conclusions it
aims to contribute to a further debate on the usefulness and issues raised by the concept of mutual
heritage, especially when used in a multiethnic post-colonial society.