Mumbo jumbo, or mumbo-jumbo, is an English phrase or expression that denotes a confusing or meaningless subject. It is often used as humorous expression of criticism of middle-management and civil service non-speak, and of belief in something considered non-existent by the speaker (such as ghosts or other superstitious beliefs), or the rituals of a religion the speaker does not believe in performed in a language that the speaker does not understand.
Contents |
The phrase probably originated from the Mandingo name Maamajomboo, a masked dancer that took part in religious ceremonies. Mungo Park's travel journal, Travels in the Interior of Africa (1795) describes 'Mumbo Jumbo' as a character, complete with "masquerade habit", that Mandinka males would dress up in order to resolve domestic disputes.[1] In the 18th century mumbo jumbo referred to a West African god.
According to the Concise Oxford English Dictionary:
First published in 1899, The Story of Little Black Sambo's titular protagonist has parents named "Black Mumbo" and "Black Jumbo".[2]
In 1972, Ishmael Reed wrote a postmodern novel titled "Mumbo Jumbo" which addresses a wide array of influences on African diaspora and culture including historical realities like the Scramble for Africa and Atlantic slave trade as well as it was invented influences like the "Jes Grew" virus. The novel includes an etymology taken from the first edition of the American Heritage Dictionary that derives the phrase Mumbo Jumbo from the Mandingo mā-mā-gyo-mbō, meaning a "magician who makes the troubled spirits of ancestors go away." [3] [4] While the novel quotes this dictionary entry and includes a lengthy bibliography, the work is largely fictional and regularly blurs the line between fact and fiction. The title can also be interpreted to refer to the notion that postmodern works like Mumbo Jumbo are often dismissed as nonsensical.
Also, The Story of an African Farm, a novel by Olive Schreiner, refers to half of a "Mumboo-jumbow idol [that] leaves us utterly in the dark as to what the rest was like." [5] Its reference symbolizes the confusion and lack of descriptiveness that came from such an idol.
In Vachel Lindsay's poem The Congo, Mumbo Jumbo is used as a metaphor for the pagan religion followed by the Africans he encounters. The phrase is "Mumbo Jumbo will hoodoo you".