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{{short description|Phrase for confusing or meaningless language}}
{{subpages}}
[[File:1503-tichenor-heathensprayer.jpg|thumb|right|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.]]
'''Mumbo jumbo''', or '''mumbo-jumbo''', is confusing or meaningless language. 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. For example, "I don't understand all that legal mumbo jumbo in the [[fine print]]."


It may also refer to practices based on [[superstition]], [[ritual]]s intended to cause confusion, or languages that the speaker does not understand.
'''Vegetarianism''' is eating in a manner that avoids the consumption of meat.  The [[Jainism|Jainist]] doctrine of non-violence requires all members to be strictly vegetarian.  Similarly, the [[Seventh-day Adventist Church]] recommends vegetarianism.  The culture of someSouth Indian people (such as the Brahmins from the Tamil region) is vegetarian.  [[Buddhists]] are usually vegetarian, as this was the teaching of the Buddha, who felt that the killing of any sentient creature was undesirable. Aside from belonging to an ethnicity or religious group, reasons people practice vegetarianism include


__TOC__
* health reasons
* avoiding animal cruelty
* for the sake of a [[sustainable]] environment in the world


==Origins==
The relative health benefits (or deficits) of being vegetarian depends on the non-meat food choices that a vegetarian person makes.  It is just as possible, while being vegetarian, to consume excessive processed foods (refined sugars and flours, for example) as for meat eaters.  Even


''Mumbo Jumbo'' is a West African word often cited by historians and etymologists as deriving from the [[Mandinka language|Mandinka]] word "Maamajomboo", which refers to a masked male dancer who takes part in religious ceremonies.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Gandhi |first1=Lakshmi |title=Unmasking The Meaning And Marital Disputes Behind Mumbo Jumbo |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2014/05/31/317442320/unmasking-the-meaning-and-marital-disputes-behind-mumbo-jumbo |website=NPR |accessdate=1 June 2018}}</ref> In the 18th century Mumbo Jumbo referred to a [[West Africa]]n god. [[Mungo Park (explorer)|Mungo Park]]'s travel journal ''Travels in the Interior of Africa'' (1795) describes 'Mumbo Jumbo' as a character, complete with "masquerade habit", whom [[Mandinka people|Mandinka]] males would dress up as in order to resolve domestic disputes.<ref>{{cite book
  Additionally, vegetarian foods are less susceptible to various forms of food poisoning that are common in meats.
  | last = Park
  | first = Mungo
  | title = Travels in the Interior of Africa
  | publisher = Wordsworth Editions Ltd
  | year = 2002
  | location =
  | pages = 34–35
  | url =
  | doi =
  | isbn = 1-84022-601-3}}</ref>


According to the ''[[Concise Oxford English Dictionary]]'':
Since the amount of resources required to create a single serving of meat is much greater than those necessary to create a serving vegetarian fare, and as many people across the globe are malnourished, some believe in an argument that being vegetarian is more sustainable or [[environmentalism|environmentally friendly]].


{{quote|Mumbo Jumbo is a [[noun]] and is the name of a grotesque [[idolatry|idol]] said to have been worshipped by some tribes. In its figurative sense, Mumbo Jumbo is an object of senseless veneration or a meaningless ritual.}}
The environmental issues have become more "heated" (no pun intended) as the debate over global warming intensifies. The raising of live stock for consumption has been recognized as the single largest contributor to global warming. It is also one of the leading contributors to the global water shortage. It reduces the amount of available potable water by the amount necessary for the live stock themselves to drink, the amount used in irrigating their food crops and the amount polluted by the run-off from the fertilizers used to grow their food crops and by the run-off from their waste products.


According to the 1803 Supplement to ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica Third Edition|Encyclopædia Britannica]]'' Third Edition:
There are also some reasons for being a vegetarian which are not easily classified or which can be attributed to more than one of the reasons sited above.


{{quote|Mumbo Jumbo: A strange bugbear employed by the Pagan Mandingos for the purpose of keeping their women in subjection. 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. On these occasions, the interposition of Mumbo Jumbo is called in; and it is always decisive. 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. 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 unfortunate victim being thereupon immediately seized, is stripped naked, tied to a post, and severely scourged with Mumbo's rod, amidst the shouts and derision of the whole assembly; and it is remarkable, that the rest of the women are the loudest in their exclamations on this occasion against their unhappy sister. Daylight puts an end to this indecent and unmanly revel....That the women are deluded seems evident; for Mr. Park assures us, that the dress of Mumbo is suffered to hang from a tree at the entrance of each town; which would hardly be the case if the women were not persuaded that it is the dress of some supernatural being.}}
For example, eating the flesh of an animal which has met a violent death means eating flesh which is permeated with stress hormones. Many people believe these hormones will affect the person who eats the flesh in the same way it did the original animal. Thus, eating this kind of flesh may contribute to a person being in a more stressed out state than if he/she did not eat this kind of food.


==Usage==
Also, many ancient cultures (especially the Chinese and Indian) believe you are what you eat. This includes the spiritual and energetic aspects of what you eat. Although nothing alive wishes to die, most people consider conscious beings to have a stronger will to live than plants. Also, by their nature, animals do not think about much besides their own existence and comfort. Thus, following the "You are What you Eat" maxim, eating animals ties a person more strongly to selfishness, materialism, this world and this plane of existence than eating only plants. Therefore, a person who wishes to raise his/her consciousness to a plane higher than the one we live on now, may choose to sever this tie to the material world by not eating animals.
The phrase appears in [[Charles Dickens]]' ''[[Little Dorrit]]'', originally published in serial form between 1855 and 1857. "He never dreamed of disputing their pretensions, but did homage to the miserable Mumbo jumbo they paraded."


It also appears in [[Thomas Hardy]]'s ''[[A Pair of Blue Eyes]]'' published in 1873. 'A cracked edifice was a species of Mumbo Jumbo'.
Due to the complexity of reasons involved, vegetarianism can take on different forms; not all vegetarians have the same exact diet.


First published in 1899, ''[[The Story of Little Black Sambo]]'' has a titular protagonist whose parents are named "Black Mumbo" and "Black Jumbo".<ref>{{cite web
==Types of Vegetarianism==
|url=http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1330/1330-h/1330-h.htm
|title=The Story of Little Black Sambo, by Helen Bannerman}}</ref>


In 1972, [[Ishmael Reed]] wrote a [[postmodern]] novel titled ''[[Mumbo Jumbo (novel)|Mumbo Jumbo]]'' which addresses a wide array of influences on African diaspora and culture, including historical realities like the [[Scramble for Africa]] and the [[Atlantic slave trade]] as well as its invented influences like the "Jes Grew" virus. The novel includes an etymology taken from the first edition of the ''[[American Heritage Dictionary]]'' that derives the phrase Mumbo Jumbo from the [[Mandinka language|Mandingo]] ''mā-mā-gyo-mbō'', meaning a "magician who makes the troubled spirits of ancestors go away."<ref>{{cite book
Although types of vegetarianism can be classified according to rationale, they are more often classified according to what a particular member of that classification will eat. Here is a non-exhaustive list of foods that a vegetarian may choose to eat or not eat:
  | last = Reed
  | first = Ishmael
  | author-link = Ishmael Reed
  | title = Mumbo Jumbo
  | publisher = [[Simon & Schuster]]
  | year = 1996
  | location = New York
  | page = 7
  | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ilEzKI43olIC&q=mandingo
  | isbn = 0-684-82477-9}}</ref>
<ref>{{cite book
  | title = The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language
  | publisher = [[American Heritage Publishing]]
  | edition = 1st
  | year = 1969
  | location = New York
  | page = 862
  | quote=''mā-mā'', grandmother + ''gyo'', trouble + ''mbō'', leave.}}</ref> While the novel quotes this dictionary entry and includes a lengthy bibliography, the work is largely fictional and regularly blurs the line between fact and fiction. The title can also be interpreted to refer to the notion that postmodern works like ''Mumbo Jumbo'' are often dismissed as nonsensical.


''[[The Story of an African Farm]]'', an 1883 novel by [[Olive Schreiner]], refers to half of a "Mumboo-jumbow idol [that] leaves us utterly in the dark as to what the rest was like."<ref>{{cite book
* Meats
  | last = Schreiner
** Beef -- very few people who eat beef will call themselves vegetarians.
  | author-link = Olive Schreiner
** Pork -- very few people who eat pork will call themselves vegetarians.
  | first = Olive
** Poultry -- some vegetarians choose to eat poultry.
  | title = The Story of an African Farm
** Seafood -- ''pesca-''vegetarians choose to eat seafood.
  | publisher = Chapman, Ltd.
* Eggs -- ''ovo-''vegetarians choose to eat eggs.
  | year = 1883
* Dairy Products -- ''lacto-''vegetarians choose to eat dairy products
  | pages = 116
* Other animal products
  | isbn = 0-486-40165-0}}</ref> Its reference symbolizes the confusion and lack of descriptiveness that came from such an idol.
** Gelatin -- a product derived from cow or horse hooves.
** Honey -- a food derived from honey bees.
**Rennet -- an enzyme taken from the fourth stomach of a ruminant. It is used to curdle milk to make most cheeses.


In his preface to [[Frantz Fanon]]'s ''[[The Wretched of the Earth]]'', [[Jean-Paul Sartre]] uses the phrase when speaking of revolutionary violence being diverted into native African religion: "Mumbo-Jumbo and all the idols of the tribe come down among them, rule over their violence and waste it in trances until it is exhausted".<ref>{{cite book
Vegetarians can either be choosing to consume a single type of food above, or a combination of several types. However, there are some  who have completely eliminated all forms of animal products from their diet.
  | last1 = Fanon
  | first1 = Frantz
  | author-link = Frantz Fanon
  | title = The Wretched of the Earth
  | publisher = [[Penguin Classics]]
  | year = 2001
  | pages = 16–17
  | isbn = 9780141186542}}</ref>


In [[Vachel Lindsay]]'s poem ''[[s:The Congo|The Congo]]'', Mumbo Jumbo is used as a metaphor for the pagan religion followed by the Africans he encounters. The poem, at the end of each of three sections, repeats the phrase "Mumbo Jumbo will hoodoo you".<ref>{{cite book
[[veganism|Veganism]], or strict vegetarianism is a diet in which absolutely no animal products are ingested. Even stricter, Jainists believe that killing a plant constitutes violence, and thus refuse to eat root vegetables such as potatoes or carrots.
  | last1 = Kostelanetz
  | first1 = Richard
  | author1-link=Richard Kostelanetz
  | last2 = Brittain
  | first2 = H.R.
  | title = A Dictionary of the Avant-gardes
  | publisher = [[Psychology Press]]
  | year = 2000
  | pages = 374
  | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=NZX85xdr6boC&pg=PA374
  | isbn = 0415937647
}}
</ref><ref>
Compare the first appearance of "Mumbo-Jumbo" in Lindsay's poem, in context:
:"Be careful what you do,
: [...]
: Or Mumbo-Jumbo, God of the Congo,
: And all of the other
: Gods of the Congo,
: Mumbo-Jumbo will hoo-doo you,
: Mumbo-Jumbo will hoo-doo you,
: Mumbo-Jumbo will hoo-doo you."


- https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/1021/pg1021.txt
==Dietary Concerns for Vegetarians==
</ref>


In ''[[Stranger In A Strange Land]]'' by [[Robert Heinlein]], the character Jubal speaks of Mumbo Jumbo as the "God of the Congo" towards the end of the novel in a discourse on the meaning of religions.{{Citation needed|date=September 2023}}
Depending upon which form of vegetarianism a person subscribes to and their individual food preferences within that sub set of vegetarianism (in other words, how limited a person's dietary choices are), satisfying several nutritional requirements may take deliberate forethought and planning. Some areas for concern maybe assimilating enough of the following essential nutrients:


In ''[[Roots: The Saga of an American Family|Roots]]'' by Alex Haley, the Mumbo Jumbo is also mentioned in the context of tribal men disciplining disobedient wives.{{Citation needed|date=September 2023}}
* protein, especially certain amino acids.


In the 1928 novel ''[[The Twelve Chairs]]'', when describing the limited vocabulary of one character, it is stated that "The lexicon of a Negro from the cannibalistic tribe Mumbo-Jumbo comprises three hundred words."{{Citation needed|date=September 2023}}
* Vitamin B-12: satisfying the dietary requirements for this essential vitamin maybe the most difficult for all vegetarians especially vegans.


==See also==
* Calcium: although it is present in plant foods, the form it is in may not be readily assimilated by humans.
*[[Ajam]]
*[[Gibberish]]
*[[Jargon]]
*[[Mambo (Vodou)]]
*[[Simlish]]
*[[Superstition]]


==References==
* Iron: although it is present in plant foods, the form it is in may not be readily assimilated by humans; and/or other components of a vegetarian diet may reduce its absorption rate (such as fiber, phytates and oxalates).
{{reflist}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Mumbo Jumbo (Phrase)}}
* Vitamin D
[[Category:English phrases]]
 
In addition to these scientifically quantifiable areas of concern, there is another area of deficiency which is also tied into the "You are what you Eat" theory:
 
For the very same reason some people consider that the eating of the flesh of animals affects your spirit and spirituality by strengthening your bonds to this plane of existence (as described above), they also believe that if your purpose in life requires you (your spirit) to have more fire, aggression and dominance (soldier, fire fighter, law enforcement, etc.) following a vegetarian diet may not be your best choice.
 
It should be noted that all of these dietary concerns become even more pressing for growing children.
 
==External Links==
*[http://www.veggiehub.com/ VeggieHub]
*[http://www.vegsource.com/ Vegsource.com] - Vegan & Vegetarian Recipes, Articles, Health Resource
*[http://vegweb.com/ Vegweb.com] - Vegan/Vegetarian Recipes and More for the Vegan Diet and Lifestyle

Latest revision as of 08:15, 17 February 2024

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Vegetarianism is eating in a manner that avoids the consumption of meat. The Jainist doctrine of non-violence requires all members to be strictly vegetarian. Similarly, the Seventh-day Adventist Church recommends vegetarianism. The culture of someSouth Indian people (such as the Brahmins from the Tamil region) is vegetarian. Buddhists are usually vegetarian, as this was the teaching of the Buddha, who felt that the killing of any sentient creature was undesirable. Aside from belonging to an ethnicity or religious group, reasons people practice vegetarianism include

  • health reasons
  • avoiding animal cruelty
  • for the sake of a sustainable environment in the world

The relative health benefits (or deficits) of being vegetarian depends on the non-meat food choices that a vegetarian person makes. It is just as possible, while being vegetarian, to consume excessive processed foods (refined sugars and flours, for example) as for meat eaters. Even 

 Additionally, vegetarian foods are less susceptible to various forms of food poisoning that are common in meats.

Since the amount of resources required to create a single serving of meat is much greater than those necessary to create a serving vegetarian fare, and as many people across the globe are malnourished, some believe in an argument that being vegetarian is more sustainable or environmentally friendly.

The environmental issues have become more "heated" (no pun intended) as the debate over global warming intensifies. The raising of live stock for consumption has been recognized as the single largest contributor to global warming. It is also one of the leading contributors to the global water shortage. It reduces the amount of available potable water by the amount necessary for the live stock themselves to drink, the amount used in irrigating their food crops and the amount polluted by the run-off from the fertilizers used to grow their food crops and by the run-off from their waste products.

There are also some reasons for being a vegetarian which are not easily classified or which can be attributed to more than one of the reasons sited above.

For example, eating the flesh of an animal which has met a violent death means eating flesh which is permeated with stress hormones. Many people believe these hormones will affect the person who eats the flesh in the same way it did the original animal. Thus, eating this kind of flesh may contribute to a person being in a more stressed out state than if he/she did not eat this kind of food.

Also, many ancient cultures (especially the Chinese and Indian) believe you are what you eat. This includes the spiritual and energetic aspects of what you eat. Although nothing alive wishes to die, most people consider conscious beings to have a stronger will to live than plants. Also, by their nature, animals do not think about much besides their own existence and comfort. Thus, following the "You are What you Eat" maxim, eating animals ties a person more strongly to selfishness, materialism, this world and this plane of existence than eating only plants. Therefore, a person who wishes to raise his/her consciousness to a plane higher than the one we live on now, may choose to sever this tie to the material world by not eating animals.

Due to the complexity of reasons involved, vegetarianism can take on different forms; not all vegetarians have the same exact diet.

Types of Vegetarianism

Although types of vegetarianism can be classified according to rationale, they are more often classified according to what a particular member of that classification will eat. Here is a non-exhaustive list of foods that a vegetarian may choose to eat or not eat:

  • Meats
    • Beef -- very few people who eat beef will call themselves vegetarians.
    • Pork -- very few people who eat pork will call themselves vegetarians.
    • Poultry -- some vegetarians choose to eat poultry.
    • Seafood -- pesca-vegetarians choose to eat seafood.
  • Eggs -- ovo-vegetarians choose to eat eggs.
  • Dairy Products -- lacto-vegetarians choose to eat dairy products
  • Other animal products
    • Gelatin -- a product derived from cow or horse hooves.
    • Honey -- a food derived from honey bees.
    • Rennet -- an enzyme taken from the fourth stomach of a ruminant. It is used to curdle milk to make most cheeses.

Vegetarians can either be choosing to consume a single type of food above, or a combination of several types. However, there are some who have completely eliminated all forms of animal products from their diet.

Veganism, or strict vegetarianism is a diet in which absolutely no animal products are ingested. Even stricter, Jainists believe that killing a plant constitutes violence, and thus refuse to eat root vegetables such as potatoes or carrots.

Dietary Concerns for Vegetarians

Depending upon which form of vegetarianism a person subscribes to and their individual food preferences within that sub set of vegetarianism (in other words, how limited a person's dietary choices are), satisfying several nutritional requirements may take deliberate forethought and planning. Some areas for concern maybe assimilating enough of the following essential nutrients:

  • protein, especially certain amino acids.
  • Vitamin B-12: satisfying the dietary requirements for this essential vitamin maybe the most difficult for all vegetarians especially vegans.
  • Calcium: although it is present in plant foods, the form it is in may not be readily assimilated by humans.
  • Iron: although it is present in plant foods, the form it is in may not be readily assimilated by humans; and/or other components of a vegetarian diet may reduce its absorption rate (such as fiber, phytates and oxalates).
  • Vitamin D

In addition to these scientifically quantifiable areas of concern, there is another area of deficiency which is also tied into the "You are what you Eat" theory:

For the very same reason some people consider that the eating of the flesh of animals affects your spirit and spirituality by strengthening your bonds to this plane of existence (as described above), they also believe that if your purpose in life requires you (your spirit) to have more fire, aggression and dominance (soldier, fire fighter, law enforcement, etc.) following a vegetarian diet may not be your best choice.

It should be noted that all of these dietary concerns become even more pressing for growing children.

External Links

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