He begins his pantomime at the approach of night and as soon as it is dark, he enters the town, and proceeds to the Bentung or market-place, at which all the inhabitants immediately assemble.the ceremony commences with songs and dances, which continue till midnight, about which time Mumbo fixes on the offender. This strange minister of justice, who is either the husband himself, or some person instructed by him, disguised in a sort of masquerade habit, made of the bark of trees, and armed with the rod of public authority, announces his coming by loud and dismal screams in the woods near the town. On these occasions, the interposition of Mumbo Jumbo is called in and it is always decisive. Polygamy being allowed among these people, every man marries as many wives as he can conveniently maintain and the consequence is, that family quarrels sometimes rise to such a height, that the husband's authority is not sufficient to restore peace among the ladies. Mumbo Jumbo: A strange bugbear employed by the Pagan Mandingos for the purpose of keeping their women in subjection. In its figurative sense, Mumbo Jumbo is an object of senseless veneration or a meaningless ritual.Īccording to the 1803 Supplement to Encyclopædia Britannica Third Edition: Mumbo Jumbo is a noun and is the name of a grotesque idol said to have been worshipped by some tribes. Īccording to the Concise Oxford English Dictionary: Mungo Park's travel journal Travels in the Interior of Africa (1795) describes 'Mumbo Jumbo' as a character, complete with "masquerade habit", whom Mandinka males would dress up as in order to resolve domestic disputes. In the 18th century Mumbo Jumbo referred to a West African god. Mumbo Jumbo is a West African word often cited by historians and etymologists as deriving from the Mandinka word "Maamajomboo", which refers to a masked male dancer who takes part in religious ceremonies. It may also refer to practices based on superstition, rituals intended to cause confusion, or languages that the speaker does not understand. For example, "I don't understand all that legal mumbo jumbo in the fine print." The phrase is often used to express humorous criticism of middle-management, and specialty jargon, such as legalese, that non-specialists have difficulty in understanding. Mumbo jumbo, or mumbo-jumbo, is confusing or meaningless language. It does not store any personal data.Believers in the "heathen" god Mumbo Jumbo are contrasted favorably with World War I-era Christendom in this March 1915 cartoon from The National Rip-Saw, a socialist monthly. The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly.
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