# Monkeys and the word Mojo? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 30, 2001, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monkeys-and-the-word-mojo/63777 "2001-04-30T00:35:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2001, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monkeys-and-the-word-mojo/63777/1 "2001-04-30T00:35:38Z")
What do these two have to do with each other? I always thought ‘mojo’ was a hippie word for soul or spirit (i.e. like in Austin Powers 2). Yet I often see it used as a generic monkey name (there was one in The Simpsons and The Powerpuff Girls). ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2001, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monkeys-and-the-word-mojo/63777/2 "2001-04-30T00:51:16Z")
_Mojo_ comes from the Fula language of West Africa, from a word meaning ‘magic’. It still carries that meaning in its traditional usage in African-American hoodoo. Magical power. But, as you’ve noticed, the later rock-‘n’-roll usage of the word is decidedly looser. It must have started with Jim Morrison who anagramed his name to get “Mr Mojo Risin” which he sang in “L.A. Woman.” Rock-‘n’-rollers in the 1960s apparently heard old bluesmen singin’ “Got my mojo workin’” and assumed it meant sexual power. Maybe even an erect _lingam_. Actually, the old bluesmen were singin’ about they “mojo bag” which was a combination of stuff with magical powers. Kat Yronwode is the authority on this stuff which you can read all about on her wonderfully detailed LuckyMojo web site. By the time Austin Powers came along, the rock-‘n’-roll usage of the word had strayed so far from its origin that they could represent it as a bright pink fluid which is simply ridiculous. As for monkeys—it’s just that the word comes from Africa, and monkeys come from Africa. So the unspoken association: Monkeys=Africa and Africa=Monkeys. Racist? Judge for yourself. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2001, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monkeys-and-the-word-mojo/63777/3 "2001-04-30T01:56:32Z")
Don’t forget Homer’s helper monkey, Mojo. [Hawking voice]“Pray for Mojo”[Hawking voice] ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2001, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monkeys-and-the-word-mojo/63777/4 "2001-04-30T02:17:11Z")
Please delve into this site for lucid explanations of all things Mojo. [http://www.luckymojo.com/index.html](http://www.luckymojo.com/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2001, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monkeys-and-the-word-mojo/63777/5 "2001-05-01T06:20:26Z")
Penn and Teller used to do a trick with a monkey’s head (named Mojo) that they used as part of a fake psychic act. ---
**Author:** ![epeepunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f19dbf/32.png) [@epeepunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epeepunk)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2001, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monkeys-and-the-word-mojo/63777/6 "2001-05-01T12:40:04Z")
Actually, Penn & Teller’s monkey head was Mofo the Psychic Gorilla.