Mumbo Jumbo blog
Mutafikah
In the world of Mumbo Jumbo by Ishmael Reed, there are a number of
fascinating characters. However, what drew my attention was the Mutafikahs.
Ishmael Reed’s message was pretty clear that they are a ragtag group bent on
resisting the existing hierarchy. However, the dynamics within the Mutafikah
group, particularly with Berbelang and Thor Wintergreen, highlight the message
and its complexities.
The
overarching theme in Mumbo Jumbo is the critique of Western Civilization, and
it cannot be more obvious than through the Mutafikahs. The Mutafikahs embody an
interesting branch of justice, in a way. They look to amend these historical
injustices inflicted upon them by retaking their art and sending it back to
their rightful owners. In that sense, the art represents agency over their
cultural heritage, highlighting the ongoing colonialism.
Adding
on to this, the Mutafikah also serves as an interesting thought provocation. In
my eyes, Reed seems to be supporting what the Mutafikahs are doing and putting
them in a positive light, so why does Berbelang, the “leader”, end up
dead?
Before
their plan was revealed, the Mutafikah organization was described as pretty
successful. They had “repatriated masks and figures [...] from where they were
exhibited in pirate dens called museums located in Zurich, Florence, England,
and Milan (page 83).” Everything seems to be going well, up until we meet Thor
Wintergreen. Thor is that so-called White intellectual who sympathizes with
their cause. Both Yellow Jack and Jose Fuentes make it apparent that they want
nothing to do with Thor, yet Berbelang is the one who continuously vouches for
him.
Reed
casts doubt on Thor’s ability through the experience in the diner. Even though
Thor is part of the organization, he can never truly understand, as explained
by the interaction with the waiter. While Berbelang can do nothing and accepts
that fact as he’s charged an extra cent, Thor tells him that “my father owns
the chain.” (page 92) Thor always has a way to cop out of the oppressive system
if needed, whilst the rest of the Mutafikahs cannot. Thor physically cannot be
more invested than the other Mutafikahs because he doesn’t experience or have
to deal with what they have to.
Because of his weaker resolve, in the end, Biff
Musclewhite is able to talk Thor out of the Mutafikah. It’s interesting how
Thor isn’t the one that is ultimately punished for his actions but Berbelang
gets shot in the head for it. In my opinion, Reed believes that these
well-meaning, but ultimately privileged sympathizers oftentimes end up hurting
the organization that they want to be a part of. Thor is able to spend a couple
of nights in jail whilst Berbelang lies dead. The key difference? Thor was able
to switch sides whenever he felt like it since he was unaffected.
The Mutafikah was also something that managed to pique my interest within the novel, and their acts of "repatriating" objects once in museums *kind of* reminded me of our class discussion of the guy who made the money paintings, and then when he was commissioned to do 3 he sent the museum commissioners blank frames. I feel like Thor's character specifically reminds me of MYB from Ragtime. He joins a group of revolutionaries as a white intellectual, and while he says he's part of the group, he can never truly understand the depths and struggles as to why the group exists. I feel like I would have loved to have more expansion on the rest of the Mutafikah organization and more lore on how they came to be because having these figures from across the world taking things back to their cultures is a very wonderful concept that I wanted to see more of
ReplyDeleteI wonder whether the Text would also fall under the category of the objects that the Mutafikah would have tried to repatriate. According to the novel, the Text originated from ancient Egypt and had been pilfered by westerners into the hands of the Knights Templar, and so under the same logic of the Mutafikah's repatriation mission, it seems that the Text should also be returned to its origin, Egypt. It's true that the Text sparks the American Jes Grew movements and thus has cultural influence and value within the African American community, but would it also have had impact if it were returned to its country of origin? We never know the answer to that question, but through the ultimate destruction of the Text and LaBas' prediction that the future generation would continue on the Jes Grew by creating its own text, it seems that Reed is implying a certain distance between Egyptian/African and African American culture. Though the Text was certainly significant to the American African community in Mumbo Jumbo, Reed is showing how black people in America would continue to progress without it by constructing their own cultural artifact, independent of the African artifact--thereby creating a cultural identity that isn't purely African or western, but rather consists of a distinct African American voice and culture.
ReplyDeleteThis is a good reading of the scene in the diner, where at first glance it appears that Thor is doing the right thing, being an ally, calling out the waiter for his racism. But as you note, the leverage he reflexively employs uses his father's ownership of the chain--essentially "pulling rank" on the racist waiter--to shut the guy up. Very ironic after he's just been arguing to Berbelang that he is "not his father."
ReplyDeleteEven more troubling, perhaps, is the way the he folds after about five minutes of overblown rhetoric about the universal values of Western Civilization from Safecracker, renouncing all of his revolutionary principles and selling out the organization. Readers who may have doubted the sincerity of Mother's Younger Brother meet a much less impressive "white revolutionary" in Thor Wintergreen.
You make a lot of good points about Thor Wintergreen. Wintergreen as a person really annoyed me while reading. Mainly, his weak resolve when it comes to standing up for the ideals he supposedly believes in, and how it dooms the rest of the Mutafikah. At least MYB tried to assimilate into the ranks of Coalhouse's revolutionaries, and gave his life fighting for things he believed in (though he was still separate and not really part of the movement). Wintergreen doesn't even try to uphold his loyalty to the Mutafikah, and overall I concluded that the only reason he was there was to be the 'wallet' that they could get their funds from.
ReplyDelete