Talk:Montamentu

The Soboslai reference is incorrect.ObaTango 18:44, 16 September 2020 (UTC)
While Soboslai's statement that Montamentu was "introduced in the 1950s by immigrants from Santo Domingo" is a common idea it is based on very old research and a limited knowledge in the research and publishing community, due to a general lack of interest in Montamentu or knowledge of local sources. Rutten, A. M. G. (2003). Magische kruiden in de Antilliaanse folklore: Etnofarmacologie van het Caribisch gebied [Rotterdam: Erasmus] mentions a 1788 court case against religionists that already had all the drapings of Montamentu: musical instruments, ritual food, uniforms, places of gathering called "dance houses", paraphernalia used by the leaders (horsetail scepter). This case is traceable in the Dutch National Archives [Archief NWIC 212 (1788) 20 november].Paul Brenneker has published much oral history [Venlo, P. . (2017). Sambumbu: Volkskunde van Curaçao, Aruba en Bonaire] that also shows the existence of Montamentu practice before the 20th century. This book is a new edition of an old series that was published in the 1960's-1970's that already contained all this information. Unfortunately unwritten local knowledge cannot be entered into Wikipedia articles. If such were possible the experience of some current priests coming from lineages of at least four or five generations would be the best evidence. One of the oldest priests was born before 1950, and is a fourth generation practitioner.

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