Montamentu is an African Caribbean^[1] ecstatic religion found in Curaçao.^[2] Precursors or earlier forms may be seen in ancestor veneration in the 18th century^[3] and a 1788 court case in which religionists were condemned by the colonial court for practicing the religion as an act of "lying to the bystanders".^[4] In the 1950s a new wave came about, introduced by migrants from the Dominican Republic.^[5] As with most African diaspora religions from the colonial and slavery era, Montamentu is a syncretic religion. Roman Catholic, African and Native American, as well as some Asian deities are revered.^[2][6]

You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Papiamento. (March 2022) Click [show] for important translation instructions. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing Papiamento Wikipedia article at [[:pap:Montamentu]]; see its history for attribution. You should also add the template {{Translated|pap|Montamentu}} to the talk page. For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation.

Montamentu is accompanied by music. In some cases by tambú drumming,^[1] although this is a misnomer. Tambú, proper, is the drum, rhythms, music event, dancing and singing combined in a festive, non-religious setting. Also: in some ceremonies the music is provided by musical records from Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Haiti or Venezuela. Sometimes there is chanting without drums.^[7]