𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘭𝘰𝘨 - 𝘉𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢

   Ishmael Reed's Mumbo Jumbo isn't just a load of Mumbo Jumbo       In 1972, Ishmael Reed published Mumbo Jumbo as an "epidemic" of black culture across 1920s New Orleans. He highlights Western culture and its disregard for African culture and society as a whole. Reed uses satirical and historical ideas to challenge the topics of race, religion, and culture. Through the spread of Jes Grew (a mysterious anti-plague symbolizing Black culture). Reed exposes how Western institutions attempted to suppress non-Western ideas and practices. The novel aims to embrace the roots and practices of African culture while criticizing those who seek to erase it.  The term Mumbo Jumbo is used to describe nonsense or confusion. Gibberish or Hocus - Pocus also being used in the same context. When Reed introduces Papa LaBas (a popular hoodoo priest), he mentions how figures like himself are misunderstood by the white establishment. With this he provides the definition o...