Religion is an integral part of Mumbo Jumbo by Ishmael Reed, specifically with Jes Grew. The anti-plague runs on the culture that originated from Haiti and spread to Louisiana, which is Voodoo. The religion includes many forms of ‘magic’, such as loas. Throughout the novel, it is interesting to see that Voodoo is not portrayed as a form of religion that is taken seriously. The Atonists think of it as ridiculous, and Papa La Bas even names his religious center the Mumbo Jumbo Cathedral as people think of Voodoo as a bunch of ‘mumbo jumbo’. Reed’s portrayal of Voodoo in the novel aligns with how the religion has been viewed throughout history. By bringing to light the Voodoo’s influence on black culture, as something that is more serious than what history has told us, he succeeds in debunking the idea that it as an unreal practice.
In addition to Voodoo, another religion we see in the novel is Islam. The character Abdul Hamid is the only Muslim character in the novel, and though he only appears a couple times, his presence brings to light the religion and its relation to the black community. Hamid seems to be against Jes Grew, or rather thinks that the religion is primitive. His view on Jes Grew, which tie in to his views on Voodoo as both are directly associated, are not positive on the surface, but as the story goes on we learn that he is willing to help Papa La Bas and Black Herman as he does in fact respect Jes Grew. Reed’s portrayal of Hamid I think puts Islam in a more positive light than not. Especially when looking at the time Reed wrote Mumbo Jumbo, which was not too long after the Civil Rights Movement, I think it the portrayal of Islam sort of relates to the Nation of Islam and how it had a considerable role in the movement.
Perhaps the most interesting religion we see in Mumbo Jumbo is Christianity. We do not meet any characters in the novel who are Christian but only hear about the religion through the remarks of characters. We also see Reed writing Judeo-Christian past featuring Osiris, Set, Isis, etc. but it is safe to say this does not correlate directly to the characters comments. In one scene of the novel, Black Herman tells Hamid he is “intolerant as the Christians are”, as they both view Christianity in the same light (35). Later when we see the statues on Papa La Bas’s desk, we see that “under Christianity, many of them had been reduced to glumness, depression, surliness, cynicism…” (96). The way Reed writes about Christianity leads me to believe that he looks down upon the religion, which is interesting considering Christianity is a large part of the black community. I think the idea against Christianity goes back to how it was a religion that was forced upon black people, as opposed to Voodoo which was a black religion to begin with. Jes Grew goes back to black roots and and culture, and Christianity sort of undermines that.
Interesting post! I would be interested in hearing Reed's opinion about Christianity in African American communities. There's this criticism by some that black Christians are practicing the religion of their oppressors, while others say that their version of Christianity has been made to resist their oppressors. There's this stereotype that isn't necessarily false that black churches are more soulful and less stiff than white churches. So even if black people are Christian, they might be incorporating Jes Grew into their religion.
ReplyDeleteThe one example of Christian characters we see in the novel (apart from your run-of-the-mill Atonists, who are all Christian at least in name, although faith doesn't ever seem like a big part of their lives) would be Woodrow Wilson Jefferson's father and his gang of deacons. Their appearance is brief, and comedic, but the comedy very much satirizes and caricatures the southern Baptist preacher and his fears about the sins and damnation of the big, Northern city. I don't know if the Reverend Jefferson is an "Atonist" or not--and he literally kicks the ass off a few key Atonists in this scene--but in other passing comments on Christianity and African American culture throughout the novel, it does seem that Reed would associate him with repression and the general anti-Jes Grew point of view. Jes Grew is manifesting itself as modern and urban, the polar opposite of "Re-mote Mississippi" from which WW tries to escape.
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