Mojo (hoodoo)

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Mojo actually describes a magical amulet , but is also used as a synonym for good luck or a lucky charm . The word mojo is of African origin and came to America with the slaves . Towards the end of the 19th or the beginning of the 20th century, the word entered English usage .

Happiness container

A mojo was usually a cloth bag that was worn as a talisman hidden under clothing. Filled with herbs and magical powders, occasionally a coin and other suitable objects, provided with a hoodoo charm, the mojo should protect against evil influences or bring luck in certain situations.

reception

music

The term mojo became best known through its frequent use in the blues and rock'n'roll , which took up the old blues songs again. In this way, the word spread around the world, but only a few knew the original meaning. This is how the word mojo was used with fundamentally different meanings, for example to describe the libido or the penis . Jim Morrison of the Doors used in the song LA Woman the pseudonym "Mr. Mojo Risin '”, an anagram from“ Jim Morrison ”.

The many blues songs that have the word mojo in their title include: B. Low-down Mojo by Blind Lemon Jefferson , I Got My Mojo Working by Ann Cole , which is often attributed to Muddy Waters , or Paul Butterfield , or Pick Up On My Mojo by Johnny Winter . A well-known title is also 'Mojo hand' by Lightning Sam Hopkins. In the Beatles song “ Come Together ” (LP Abbey Road , 1969) reference is also made to Muddy Waters 'Mojo: the fourth verse reads “He Got Muddy Water, he one Mojo Filter, he say' one and one and one is three '… ”.

The term "mojo" also occurs in the song LeRoy by Wheatus , where it is used in the context of "Leroy is the Mojo-Man tonight". Jeff Buckley used the term in his song Mojo Pin, written with Gary Lucas, ("If only you'd come back to me, if you laid at my side, wouldn't need no mojo pin to keep me satisfied"); If you just came back to me, lay down by my side, I wouldn't need a mojo needle to be satisfied ”). This means a morphine injection.

Heinz Rudolf Kunze mentions it on his 2016 CD Deutschland in the blues song Es ist in him in the line: "Meanwhile I'm old | and my mojo has worked | because my deep magic forest | reveals more than it hides".

Movie

The mojo is themed in the Austin Powers trilogy, in which Austin Powers' mojo is the source of his self-confidence and sexual attraction. In the second film, Austin Powers - Spy in a secret missionary position , his mojo is removed with a syringe and stored in a glass as a red liquid. When the mojo is finally destroyed, however, Austin realizes that he is a winner even without his mojo.

game

In the MMO game World of Warcraft , the Jamaican-themed trolls often leave mojos behind when they are killed. Mojos are also used in the action RPG Diablo 3 through the character of the witch doctor. The game The Darkness (computer game) also deals with this topic. Here the mojo is used as a synonym for Jackie's secret power, darkness.

Footnotes

  1. https://werkzeug.heinzrudolfkunze.de/musik/songs/esistinihmdrin.html , accessed on August 23, 2020
  2. See Blizzard Entertainment (2011): What's New in Diablo III? , checked 2011-0915-1611 (ed. 2011), section Monsters and Objects .
  3. See 2K Games (2012): The Darkness II Official Website