Mumbo Jumbo . . . and Sambo January 14, 2014
Posted by nrhatch in Books & Movies, Happiness, Humor, Spirit & Ego.comments closed
You know you’ve grown in spirit . . . when external turmoil does not disturb the peace and tranquility you feel within.
You know you’ve grown in compassion . . . when angry words tossed your way make you want to alleviate the suffering of the person doing the tossing, without first wanting to defend your own position.
You know you’ve found your bliss and are headed the right way . . . when your spirit is soaring and work feels like play.
And that’s no Mumbo Jumbo!
Aah . . . that’s better!
When I googled “Mumbo Jumbo” to learn the origin of the expression, one of the links transported me back in time to . . . Mumbo, Jumbo, and Sambo.
The Story of Little Black Sambo is a children’s book written and illustrated by Helen Bannerman, first published by Grant Richards in October 1899 as one in a series of small-format books called The Dumpy Books for Children:
Sambo is a South Indian boy who encounters four hungry tigers, and surrenders his colourful new clothes, shoes, and umbrella so they will not eat him. The tigers are vain and each thinks he is better dressed than the others. They chase each other around a tree until they are reduced to a pool of melted butter. Sambo then recovers his clothes and his mother makes pancakes out of the butter.
The story has been retold a time or two in different settings with changed names. For example, in “Little Kim,” a storybook and cassette as part of the Once Upon a Time Fairy Tale Series, Sambo is called “Kim,” his father Jumbo is “Tim,” and his mother Mumbo is “Sim.”
For more on the history and resurrection of Little Black Sambo ~ New Takes on an Old Story (L.A.Times, 9/8/96)
Spirit Lights The Way 