The Many Comings of Jes Grew

 The central element of Ishmael Reed’s Mumbo Jumbo is the phenomenon of Jes Grew. Presented as both a dangerous plague, so infectious and disruptive that it could cause “the end of Civilization as we know it” and “an anti-plague” which revives society and revitalizes those it infects, Jes Grew is complex and polarizing (Reed 4, 25). Synthesized by Osiris for agriculture, Jes Grew dates back to ancient Egypt. Even at the advent of its creation / popularization, Jes Grew was met with backlash. Throughout history, Jes Grew sporadically reappeared and disappeared with the popularization of new forms of African music. Every re-proliferation was met with resistance, and the anti-plague repeatedly diminished. However, each disappearance was only temporary because “Jes Grew is life” and “there is really no end to life” (Reed 204). The immortal nature of Jes Grew allowed it to persist and pervade history.

After Jes Grew is created by Osiris in Ancient times, there is a large gap in history where Reed does not mention any further epidemics. According to the novel, the first case of American Jes Grew took place in the year 1890. However, this outbreak was notably less severe and more contained than those in Ancient times or the 1920s. Reed states that “the Jews Grew which shot up a trial balloon in the 1890s was then endemic”, demonstrating that it was unable to reach pandemic status in that period of time (Reed 17). In fact, the outbreak was so brief that many years later, the Mayor and his associates view the Jes Grew of the 1890s as “nothing but a false alarm” (Reed 1). Another “flair-up” of Jes Grew took place in 1909 during the Ragtime movement, but this outbreak was also restricted to specific regions (Reed 208). The relative impotency of this modern Jes Grew likely stemmed from the fact that it took place in America during a period when Black art was marginalized and discouraged. For the time periods, the levels of Jew Grew were revolutionary. Both outbreaks set a precedent, promising for an outbreak of unparalleled proportions in the years to come.

The highly anticipated epidemic of Jes Grew finally came into its own in the 1920s. This particular outbreak is the focal point of Mumbo Jumbo: the first true Jes Grew epidemic in America. Until this point, Black music / performing arts had not received mainstream recognition. The rise of Jazz in the 1920s tore down this prejudiced barrier, spawning a new wave of Jes Grew. Unlike the prior outbreaks of 1890 and 1909, the Jes Grew of the 1920s went viral, spreading rapidly through Chicago and towards New York.

When the pandemic of the 1920s ultimately dies out, Papa Labas asserts that Jes Grew will undoubtedly reappear in the future, saying “We will miss it for a while but it will come back, and when it returns we will see that it never left” (Reed 204). Reed, through the mouth of Papa Labas, predicts the popularization of hip hop in the 1980s nearly ten years prior to the start of the movement. For the third time in the 20th century, Jes Grew returned. Every occurrence marked an increase in the potency of Jew Grew. The outbreak of 1909 was relatively weak and contained, the pandemic of the 1920s broke free from the prior regional constraints, and the hip hop movement of the 1980 turned Jes Grew into a nationwide epidemic of Black art.