Nanette De Jong TAMBU ´ :COMMEMORATING THE PAST,RECASTING THE PRESENT If societies remember, it is only insofar as their institutions and rituals organize, shape, even inspire their constituents’ memories. FJames Young Tambu´ evolved on Curac¸ao (largest of the Nether- lands Antilles) 1 when members from divergent African nations found themselves together through auspices of slavery. Forced thus to expand and redefine their cultural boundaries, transplanted Blacks were obliged to realign their individual cultural pasts to fit a much more comprehensive contextFone necessitated by the parallel needs to coexist and to survive. Through varying dynamics of cultural exchange, they created Tambu´, a creole ritual representing the convergence of varied African philosophies, used to remember, recall, and celebrate variegated African pasts, while enabling claim to the New World. I arrived on Curac¸ao with enthusiasm, eager to discover and document Tambu´. Anticipating straightforward results, I was impatient to begin: to scout out a few Tambu´ events; to set up some inter- views with ritual leaders. Yet, initial expectations give way quickly to subsequent realizations, and not long into my stay, I found out many Afro-Curac¸ aoans steer away from expressing any open identification with Africa; in fact, few maintain prevailing cultural links to the continent with regularity. Among Curac¸aoan youth in particular, the wide- spread tendency is to regard Africa as eccentric and even backward, relegating African-based music and dance activitiesFlike Tambu´ Fto lowly consequence, and bestowing perceptions of irratio- nality and untrustworthiness on those who take part. Shedding light on why African culture is not readily embraced is Curac¸ao’s unique political situ- ation. Never gaining independence, Curac¸ao has remained closely tied economically, politically, and socially to the Netherlands. Dutch is the ‘‘official’’ language of the island, and Curac¸aoans hold Dutch passports. The Netherlands education system is en- forced: classroom instruction is conducted solely in Dutch, despite the fact that most Curac¸ aoan children enter schools not yet knowing how to speak or read Dutch (the creole Papiamento is the language spoken in the Afro-Curac¸aoan community); and classroom lectures concentrate on the stories and traditions of Europe and Holland, with limited mention of Africa and the Caribbean. Through the years, Curac¸aoan accounts of Africa have faded further and further into the background. The Tambu´ Fderived from remembered and imagined African antecedentsFoffers claim to that past; endowing it with meaningfulness and continu- ity. At the same time, thanks to continued legal and religious sanctions, Tambu´ has undergone multiple transformations that in the end not only transcended but eclipsed its African-centered archetype. As gradually happened, Afro-Curac¸ aoans adopted the negative reactions of Church and State, with many now complaining, ‘‘Tambu´ is evil,’’ ‘‘Tambu´ is low- class,’’ ‘‘Decent women do not participate in Tambu´ .’’ Adding to the complexities, Tambu´ performances have been restricted to the months of November, December, and January, with youngsters commonly associating the ritual with Christmas music and teenagers reveling in what they now consider as party music. To what extent do cultural rituals strengthen and help maintain a cultural community’s bond to its perceived past? Moreover, what happens to such communities when their rituals for remem- bering assume different subtexts? This paper exam- ines Tambu´ through the current stories and recounted experiences of modern Afro-Curac¸ aoans, hoping that these selective accounts of Curac¸ao’s past will articulate specific life lessons germane to the presentFand futureFof Afro-Curac¸ao. It points to memory as a contentious process, arguing that we seldom view history in exact form. Rather, the human tendency is to adjust and change details to suit immediate or long-term perceived personal and social needs. Rituals likewise are altered, changed in large part by the way that community chooses to remember (or forget) its collective past. Transforming Anthropology, Vol. 16, Number 1, pp. 32–41, ISSN 1051-0559, electronic ISSN 1548-7466. & 2008 by the American Anthropological Association. All rights reserved. DOI: 10.1111/j.1548-7466.2008.00004.x. 32