In our panel presentation, we touched briefly upon the topic of the Book of Thoth being the 'key' of Mumbo Jumbo, the 'final evidence' for the conspiracy surrounding Von Vampton and the Wallflower Order. We know that the Book of Thoth is important to the plot; Papa LaBas mentions throughout the book that Jes Grew is searching for "its Text," which is revealed to be the Book of Thoth. But how much impact does it actually have, besides being the Text that Jes Grew needs?
Say that the Book of Thoth still existed in the box the Papa LaBas brought. The rest of history afterwards would probably have changed drastically. For instance, because the Book was never proven to have existed, Papa LaBas' influence in the future is merely that of a yearly speaker for Jes Grew Day. He is considered "an eccentric old character from the 20s who thrills us with his tales about those golden times and his role in bringing about the holiday we are celebrating today," as a certain professor so aptly put it. But if Papa LaBas revealed the actual Book, in the best case scenario, he would have been hailed as a hero who brought the wrongs of the Atonists to light, instead of a talkative old man with very...interesting...ideas in an Atonist environment.
And as hinted at in the previous paragraph, that existence of the Book of Thoth could cause the mainstream Atonist worldview to wither away, and the 'true' African worldview to regain its prominence. We know that without the Book, the Atonists still held control of the world and had brainwashed even more Africans and African-Americans to hold those views as the years progressed. If it was proven that loas and the dances and Jes Grew were real things that influenced people, not just in terms of logic and scientific analysis, then perhaps more people would go back to the traditional ways and see the 'loa,' not 'a nervous breakdown.'
Thoughts?
This is an interesting idea! I think that even if the existence of the Book of Thoth would be revealed and proven, there would still always be people who were Atonists, but I do think that maybe if the book was proven there would be more people who celebrate Jes Grew and it's influence and ideas could have become a lot more normalized in parts of the world where Jes Grew supporters were still a minority. This could have influence western society's greater perception of Jes Grew.
ReplyDeleteI think that the Book of Thoth would have changed history like you say. Both because it would have proven the existence of the Atonists and Jes Grew and because it would have given Jes Grew the text it was looking for. But it the long run I don't think that the Book of Thoth is too important because Papa LaBas said that Jes Grew will return.
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