It originated in the last decades of the 19th century under the influence of the music and dance forms banya, laku and tuka.

[1] The genre shares its name with the river Commewijne and the district with the same name: both are called kauna in Sranan Tongo.

According to one theory, kawina was created on the Upper Commewijne by Maroons influenced by indigenous Surinamese.

This shift was mainly from the influence of Fransje Gomes, as she introduced a fuller sound with wind instruments and electric guitars.

[5] René Waal of the theater troupe De Vrolijke Jeugd also wrote songs in the genres of kaseko, winti and kawina.

[7][8][9] Soon afterwards, the singer Sisa Agi emerged on the kawina scene with her group Ai Sa Si.

[10] With the departure of Surinamese musicians to the Netherlands, kawina and the related style kaskawi were introduced there as well.

Similar to other styles that have come forth from African music, kawina incorporates call and response singing: a cantor starts a dialogue and the choir responds with the same sentence or an answer.