MUMBO JUMBO • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of Mumbo Jumbo

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noun

Mumbo Jumbo n.

Among the Mandingos of the western Sudan, a bugbear by means of which the women are terrified and disciplined by societies of the men, one of whom assumes a masquerade for the purpose; hence, loosely, any Negro idol, fetish, or bugaboo. "The miserable Mumbo Jumbo they paraded."

An object of superstitious homage and fear.

Incomprehensible or senseless language, usually intended to avoid answering plainly, confuse a listener, or obscure an issue.

Language so arcane or obscure as to be unintelligible to the listener.

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Etymology of 'Mumbo Jumbo'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Mumbo Jumbo" Quotes from Famous Books

... the direct interposition of malevolent and benevolent spirits. Their gods are numerous as in Greek religion, and likewise one of them is usually set up as the superior deity, to be the Tirawa of the Indian, the greater Atua of Polynesia, and the Mumbo Jumbo of a West African negro. There is no centralization of the supernatural powers, as in the Jehovah of Judaism and the still subtler Brahma of the Asian. Then, too, the gods must be concretely materialized for purposes of worship and sacrifice; consequently idols are made, to be regarded ...

— The Doctrine of Evolution - Its Basis and Its Scope • Henry Edward Crampton

... face seemed to darken. "Ten years," he said in a low voice. "Ten years that inhuman monster has been loose on Earth. He's become a legend. He's replaced Satan, the Bogeyman, Frankenstein's monster, and Mumbo Jumbo, Lord of the Congo, in the public mind. Read the newsfacs, watch the newscasts. Take a look at popular fiction. He's everywhere at once. He can do anything. He's taken on the attributes of the djinn, the vampire, the ghoul, the werewolf, and every other horror and hobgoblin that the mind ...

— Anything You Can Do ... • Gordon Randall Garrett

Words linked to "Mumbo Jumbo" : gibberish, gibber