[Ads-l] mojo, jomo (1923)

[Barretts Mail]

The link is behind a paywall; I hope the article doesn’t discuss the possibility of “moko” or “mojuba” as an origin.

The English OLD says that “mojo” is probably of African derivation, giving Gullah “moco" as a comparison.

Stephen Goranson (http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/ads-l/2010-July/100787.html <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/ads-l/2010-July/100787.html>) gives a citation of Kongo (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kongo_language <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kongo_language>) as the origin.

1. Dictionary and Grammar of the Kongo Language: English-Kongo dictionary
Baptist missionary society
1887
https://tinyurl.com/ydcoeqek <https://tinyurl.com/ydcoeqek>

——
p. 11: arm, n. (body), koko, (pl. moko)
p. 101: hand, n. koko, 9 [(pl. moko) arm].
p. 240: Witch doctor. During sickness a doctor is called in … he is called nganga (2) a moko; to consult him, tesa o moko.
p. 371: nganga a moko, witch-doctor.
——

2. Appendix to the Dictionary and Grammar of the Kongo language, as spoken at San Salvador, the ancient capital of the old Kongo empire, West Africa
William Holman Bentley
1895
https://archive.org/details/dictionarygramma00bentuoft/page/930 <https://archive.org/details/dictionarygramma00bentuoft/page/930>
——
p. 867: Manga, 4, n. (Bako.), the fetish moko, see p. 504.
p. 885: Ngyambika (2) a moko (9), n., the laying on of hands
p. 931: When a married couple have lost several children by death, the witch doctor (nganga a mono or manga) will frequently recommend that they be brought under the spell of rumba (kota o wumba).
——

Perhaps related as well:

"A Witch's Craft Volume 1: Dictionary for a Witch's Grimoire” by Viktorija Briggs (https://tinyurl.com/ybfwkmwn <https://tinyurl.com/ybfwkmwn>) claims the West African word “mojuba” is the origin. Here are three recent citations with mojuba and mojubando.

1. The Trickster's Tongue (partial citation with unclear context). One citation is from Trinidad.
https://tinyurl.com/yak9lsr8 <https://tinyurl.com/yak9lsr8>
Mark De Brito

2. "The Blood that Runs in the Veins": Experience and Performance in Cuban-American Santería Seashell Divination
Michael Atwood Mason
https://tinyurl.com/y977xt8v <https://tinyurl.com/y977xt8v>

——
… he being to chant in Lucumí. The mojuba, as performed by José, resembles the example provided…
——

Lucumí is the liturgical language of Santería derived from Yoruba (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucum%C3%AD_language <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucum%C3%AD_language>).


3. The Secrets of Afro-Cuban Divination: How to Cast the Diloggún, the Oracle
Ócha'ni Lele
https://tinyurl.com/yb2fnpno <https://tinyurl.com/yb2fnpno>

——
… the ritual of mojubando begins….

Mojuiba Olófin. Mojuba Olorún. Mojuba Olodumare. Mojuba Olójoni.
——

Benjamin Barrett
Formerly of Seattle

> On 4 Oct 2018, at 08:27, Ben Zimmer <bgzimmer at GMAIL.COM> wrote:
> 
> We've previously discussed "mojo" ('magical charm') and its reversed form
> "jomo." OED3 has "mojo" from 1926 and mentions "jomo" in the etymology --
> Stephen Goranson found an example of the latter from 1925:
> 
> http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/ads-l/2010-July/100787.html
> 
> As I mention in my Wall St. Journal column this week (https://bit.ly/mojobz),
> both forms can be antedated to 1923, thanks to Newspapers.com. The cite for
> "jomo" is slightly earlier, though as we discussed before, "mojo" is likely
> the original form.
> 
> ---
> https://www.newspapers.com/clip/24238460/jomo/
> Anniston (Alabama) Star, Jan. 27, 1923, p. 1, col. 2
> "Jo-mo," shouted Lucille Drakes, negro woman, as the rent man approached
> her cabin.
> "Jo-mo, jo-mo," she repeated, rubbing a bundle of herbs reposing on her
> bounteous bosom.
> But the rent man paid no heed. He didn't even hesitate.
> Forward -- like the light brigade -- he advanced and demanded his rent.
> Lucile continued to should "jo-mo, jo-mo," and to massage the herbs under
> her dress; but the man didn't hypnotize -- for he even threatened to put
> her out in the street if she didn't pay.
> So Lucille paid -- and had "Dr." Matthew Taylor, negro voodoo specialist
> arrested because of the failure of his prescription to relieve her of the
> pain of paying rent. [...]
> First Lucille testified, telling how she paid the "doctor" $8 for a bundle
> of "jo-mo herbs" -- positively guaranteed to hypnotize the rent man and
> make him forget to ask payment. All you need to do is to place the herbs
> beneath your dress, wait 'till the rent man approaches, then rub the herbs
> and shout "jo-mo" three times.
> ---
> https://www.newspapers.com/clip/24187727/mojo_bag/
> St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Oct. 24, 1923, p. 28, col. 5
> William Gassway, 49 years old, a negro, was freed today when Circuit Judge
> Grimm held that he had not committed grand larceny when he sold to John
> Rogers, another negro, a Mojo bag for $85 on July 26.
> The Mojo bag was guaranteed to be a charm strong enough to soften the heart
> of John's wife, Amelia, who had fled to Wisconsin after renouncing her
> husband. John took it to Wisconsin and said, "Amelia, come back home."
> Despite the Mojo bag, Amelia shouted "No!" John testified today. The Judge
> sustained a demurrer by counsel for Gassway, who contended that he had been
> wrongfully charged. Selling Rogers a bag with a lump of coal in it was a
> business transaction of questionable nature possibly, but not grand
> larceny, it was held.
> ---


------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org