Tambu with Vocal Percussion

The idea is that tambu parties were against all morality and decency and were frowned upon by the elite and the Catholic church.  So you had these parties in secret, of course.  One way to keep them hidden was to use vocal percussion---imitate the drumming with non-sense words and the like.  In one of Rene Rosalia's books I read that the Jewish community held such a cappella tambu dances fairly regularly at one point.  And they would invite beautiful black women to such dances . . .

One place were wealthy Jews lived was Scharloo, and they had these parties, called "bokan"---"boka" means "mouth" in Papiamento---in the woods behind Scharloo.  The Scharloo houses were enormous and gorgeous, like this one.