The village was home to Maroons of the Saramaka tribe, and located on the Suriname River.

From 1765 onwards, the Moravian Church embarked on missionary activities among the maroons.

[2] In 1919, the village had a population of about 500 people and was the capital of the Upper Suriname district.

[4] In 1958, plans were developed to create the Afobaka Dam in order to provide electricity for the aluminium industry.

The damming of the Suriname River would lead to the Brokopondo Reservoir, and flood the village of Ganzee.