Tambu

As contemporary Tambú music and dance evolved on the Caribbean island of Curaçao, it intertwined sacred and secular, private and public cultural practices, and many traditions from Africa and the New World. As she explores the formal contours of Tambú, Nanette de Jong discovers its roots. She finds that Tambú has become an object of fear and frustration for some, while providing a sense of community and a shared past for others. De Jong recounts the personal stories and experiences of Afro-Curaçaoans as they perform Tambú. For them, Tambú becomes a powerful tool of collective memory as well as a way to imagine the future.