Unique ‘Booktail’ for a Masterpiece: The Mumbo Jumbo

First published in 1972, Ishmael Reed’s novel Mumbo Jumbo is a satirical, avant-garde work concerning an “anti-plague” called Jes Grew that compels you to dance. Jes Grew’s rise is an apt metaphor for the artistic and cultural contributions of Black American music. Of course a conspiracy arises to eliminate the dancers and the Black musicians who inspire them. Violence and high jinks ensue.

Mumbo Jumbo is a wild, masterfully executed experience in storytelling and truth through fiction. 

This “booktail” is a low-alcohol aperitif made with dry vermouth, for the vermouth gifted to the North American branch of the Mu'tafikah. In the novel, the Mu'tafikah is an underground organization that steals back African art and artifacts. Fittingly, vermouth is a fortified wine; in Egyptian mythology, the god Osiris is responsible for teaching humanity how to make wine. This vermouth is infused with rose. Rose had significance in ancient Egypt; it adorned royal Egyptian tombs and was buried with mummies. Voodoo priest PaPa LaBas, the protagonist of Mumbo Jumbo, has a trainee, Charlotte, who is filling in for a former member and whose home is filled with roses; it’s also the flavor of her favorite liquor.

Here, rose is combined with sweet, herbaceous basil syrup, as both botanicals are commonly used in hoodoo. Indeed, PaPa LaBas also crafts a “Work” “for an old sister who has annoying nightly visitations,” a concoction containing garlic, sage, thyme, geranium water, dry basil, and other herbs. The mysterious assistant therapist Earline bathes in basil, and her room is sprinkled with oil of white rose after a particularly trying experience with a loa, a powerful spirit entity. This drink is topped with tonic water, whose very name suggests healing properties. In fact, tonic water is high in quinine, which is a known antimalarial. A lemon twist and a sprig of thyme complete the potion.•

Join us on April 17 at 5 p.m. Pacific time, when Reed will sit down with CBC host John Freeman and special guest Justin Desmangles to discuss Mumbo Jumbo. Register for the Zoom conversation here.