Mumbo Jumbo

Only a quarter-page in length, Chapter 2 is one of many very short chapters in the book. It explains that Jes Grew is spreading rapidly across the country, with outbreaks occurring in Nashville, Knoxville, and St. Louis. Jes Grew overtakes all who encounter it.

The Teutonic Knights, the Wallflower Order’s primary competitor in the expansion and preservation of European culture, are in disarray. Thus, it is the Atonists of the Wallflower Order who must eradicate Jes Grew and preserve the domination of Western traditions.

The Atonists are also concerned that Mu’tafikah have begun breaking into Western museums—referred to as Centers for Art Detention—to take artworks and return them to their countries of origin. Atonists worry that if these artworks are returned to their native lands (in Africa, South America, and Asia), there will be renewed cultural pride amongst people from these regions.

The year is 1920. The author explains that the carriers of Jes Grew came to America because of cotton. He compares America’s bizarre obsession with cotton to American Indians’ efficient use of the buffalo and Ancient Egyptians’ reliance on the olive tree, concluding that Americans perhaps got an “unusual thrill at seeing the black hands come in contact with the white crop” (16). Furthering his criticism of America’s development, he calls out interventions in the Philippines and South America. He refers to America as “a smart-aleck adolescent” (16).

The Wallflower Order installs Warren Harding, who is anti-Jes Grew, as president. Harding promises to implement harsh measures to ensure the eradication of Jes Grew.

The Wallflower Order is also trying to locate a Black candidate to groom as a “Talking Android.” The Android will be used within Black circles to prop up Eurocentric culture and drive out Jes Grew.

The Jes Grew outbreak in New Orleans has subsided but could return at any time. Now it is crossing state lines and moving toward Chicago. Shadowy members of the Wallflower Order enter Harry’s hospital room and begin an inquiry. They want to know how a person of European blood, one who is also a Mason, could possibly lose their resistance and become infected by Jes Grew. They decide that no word of this can get out. The mayor offers to sacrifice himself in the name of the Atonist path. He is killed with a dagger, and then the members of the Wallflower Order depart.

Black mobster Buddy Jackson is at the center of a New York gang war. His exploits are legendary, such as when he knocked out a police captain for not paying his protection tax. Schlitz, known as the Sarge of Yorktown, is a rival white gangster who is out making his collections at Harlem speakeasys. The streets are surprisingly empty. The Sarge feels something cold pressing against the back of his neck; he turns around to see Buddy Jackson. The Sarge’s men try to assist, but they are forced to back off because Buddy’s men open fire from nearby rooftops. Buddy tells the Sarge to leave Harlem and never return, and then marches him to the subway.

Drag races and dog shows are used as metaphors to illustrate the contradictory auras of the 1920s. It is the era of Harding, a seemingly strict and conservative politician. But it is also the age speakeasys, cabarets, and jazz. Jes Grew is now giving character to the Jazz Age. The brief chapter closes with an excerpt from Mark Sullivan’s Our Times, which describes the general feeling of discontent among Americans when Harding took office.

As Jes Grew moves from New Orleans to Chicago, tens of thousands of cases are reported through Mississippi, Arkansas, and Tennessee. The narrative abruptly cuts to a headline that states: “Voodoo General Surrounds Marines at Port-au-Prince.”

Inside a bank, a broker explains to his friend that he doesn’t understand why the United States has invaded Haiti because “the only thing they have [there] are mangoes and coffee,” (22) and there currently isn’t a strong market for either. The broker makes racist statements regarding Haitians, and Buddy Jackson enters the bank to deposit the previous night’s cabaret profits. Gunfire erupts, three cars speed away, and the broker and his friend lie dead.

Chapter 10 introduces Papa LaBas, the novel’s protagonist. The text reveals some of his family history. His grandfather was brought to America on a slave ship and bought by a cruel man who was soon found dead by hanging. His grandfather’s next owners suffered similar fates, and it seemed as if they were cursed. LaBas’s father lived in New Orleans and owned a successful mail-order root company. Now, LaBas lives in Harlem and runs a factory, which his detractors have mockingly labeled the Mumbo Jumbo Kathedral. From his headquarters at the Mumbo Jumbo Kathedral, LaBas sells a variety of items associated with HooDoo, including herbs, potions, and talismans. By and large, the community has faith in LaBas. They’ve seen his magical powers, and he is a staple of the neighborhood, where he’s often seen driving his Locomobile.

LaBas’s assistant Earline puts together product orders. LaBas explains to her that Jes Grew has reached Chicago and he predicts that it will next set a course for New York. Soon thereafter it will become pandemic and the Atonists will be defeated. Earline takes exception to this, telling LaBas that he is once again making rambling assumptions without any concrete evidence. This, she claims, is why Berbelang left the Mumbo Jumbo Kathedral. Papa LaBas continues to speak about the importance of traditional mystic practices, but Earline rebukes him, stating that the Black community “need[s] scientists and engineers, we need lawyers” (26). LaBas emphatically critiques the modern measures of “progress,” and Earline begins to sob. LaBas blames himself for her tears but she tells him that she’s crying because of Berbelang. She says Berbelang felt that LaBas was limiting himself in his practice and should have added elements of other systems like Inca and Taoism.

Earline says she’s felt lonely lately and invites LaBas to an anti-lynching fundraising party. LaBas agrees to go. Earline remembers that she needs to feed the loas, spirits of Haitian voodoo. To her, this seems like an esoteric and outdated task, but she knows it’s important to LaBas. She decides that she’ll do it tomorrow or the next day, and they leave for the party.