MSNBC has a decent article about African Traditional Religions in New Orleans. I found this bit particularly interesting:
Take “funky.†According to the leading academic expert on how slaves hid and preserved African tradition in the New World, Prof. Robert Farris Thompson of Yale, it derives from the Ki-Kongo word Lu-fuki, meaning the heady aroma of a hard-working man.
An etymological dictionary tells a slightly different but overlapping tale of this word’s origins:
“bad smell,” 1623, from dial. Fr. funkière “smoke,” from O.Fr. fungier “give off smoke,” from L. fumigare “to smoke.” In reference to a style of music, it is first attested 1959, a back formation of funky. Funky was originally “old, musty” (1784), in reference to cheeses, then “repulsive,” but began to develop an approving sense in jazz slang c.1900, probably on the notion of “earthy, strong, deeply felt.” Funky also was used early 20c. by white writers in ref. to body odor allegedly peculiar to blacks. The word reached wider popularity c.1954 (e.g. definition in “Time” magazine, Nov. 8, 1954) and in the 1960s acquired a broad slang sense of “fine, stylish, excellent.”
Funky, either way.
[Article found via AltReligion]
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3 Comments
I’ve always thought funky had to do with the smell of sex, ie. vaginal secretions mixed w. sweat
The word goofy comes from the kikongo word kufya or kufwa BTW. That means “to kill.”
Some tribes make a mixture of veneous snake skin and grave yard dirt and hot pepper and put it where an enemy walks
The mixture (called “goofer dust” in hoodoo) is absorbed through the feet and makes the victims act goofy in the head. Over time they will crawl on all fours and foam at the mouth
The victim doesn’t even have to touch the stuff. You can also scoop up someone’s footprint and put it in a jar with goofer dust and shake it. Same effect but not as strong.
Just read the MSNBC article, weird coincidence I once ate birthday cake with that lady in the picture on the 2nd page. Priestess Miriam on Congo square. Glad she’s still alive!
Whoa, weird! I wish that article had more info, but I guess it’s pretty good as far as MSNBC is concerned. That’s probably really far out on the fringe for them