At a pep rally in the auditorium a tall cheerleader brought out a whiskey jug painted black on the bottom and white on the top. MOJO first appeared at Permian in 1962 or 1963. However, it did not become a “fixture” until later in sixties when the song “Got My Mojo Working” was famous and then it went from there.

We were using the Mojo Magic and the colors of our fine school to send all the powers to the next years to Permian Prowess in all areas of the school. MOJO started in 1962 during the senior stunt play. In 1976… ‘MOJO’ had become so widespread that the Permian seniors were to let it be known MOJO and Odessa Permian were one in the same.Īccording to alumni, Mojo may have very well been adopted even earlier than this. After all, it was easier to write Mojo than Permian or Panthers with shoe polish. It was in 1972 that several fans were decorating their cars with MOJO. More and more fans started the chant during crucial moments of the games over the next few years. The Mojo hand has been a part of the Louisiana folklore for special voodoo properties of luck. By the time others heard the chant, it was condensed to Mo Jo. The close game hit its peak in the fourth quarter, where to warm themselves a handful of fans in the same section started saying “more jo”.

Fans sitting around him heard “need more jo” – jo > java > coffee. Jack Crawley, then assistant principal, was rumored to have been asking for more coffee in the third quarter. Permian’s adoption of Mojo suppose to trace back to the early ’60s on a cold night in Abilene, TX. Muddy Waters got his ‘Mojo working’ and Jim Morrison of The Doors called for the Mojo Risin’. “Mojo” spread first into mainstream Black English and then general usage primarily through the popularity of jazz and blues music. The ultimate root of “mojo” was the word “moco’o,” which means “shaman or medicine man” in the African language Fulani. “Mojo” first appeared in the 1920s in the southern United States from the Gullah word “moco” (magic), Gullah being Creole spoken by some groups of African-Americans. “Mojo” is magic, magical ability, and the power to get things done.

Meaning of the word mojo