#yumbo

This chapter was so fun and cute. The gang have a yakiniku party after a hard day of fighting aliens! All of the character interactions are so goooooooood. Aira playing with Chiquitita, Vamola learning memery from Jiji, and Momo and Okarun's little squabbles.

I’m trying not to post like 5 things in one day bc I feel like that would be weird

1/21/26.

mmm and Yuki Furukawa join forces to bring this 7": Kehai b/w Yohō. I can't get either song out of my head. Yes, this does have sounds of Japanese pop, but more in line with the cornets and yumbo 7" we covered in July 2025.

Specifically, "Kehai" is just hauntingly beautiful. It kind of reminds me of Chris Weisman - just a lone guitar and haunting vocals. Yuri Furukawa wrote the music for both songs while mmm (Moe Ishii) wrote the lyrics for the 2nd, but sings both.

Check out mmm's music on Bandcamp. It tends more to Vashti Bunyan. On her most recent album, Tara Jane O'Neill lends guitar on one track. I spent quite a bit of time perusing mmm's collection.

Often described as little, otherworldly beings akin to fairies or elves, Yumboes are intriguing entities from the Senghilian mythology. Local tales hold that Yumboes, with silvery-white hair and an ethereal radiance, are ghostly or spirit-like creatures around two feet tall. They live in subterranean homes on the moonlit hills of Senegal, mostly on the Atlantic coast. Their exquisitely decorated residences mimic small palaces, reflecting their mysterious and otherworldly character. Yumboes are sometimes benign, playful, and mischievous, as stories of them sometimes show.

Many stories portray Yumboes as people who enjoy feasts and festivals. They are well-known for throwing lavish banquets, which usually invite people to join in on celebration. It is believed that these feasts are enchanted, with food and drink appearing in unexpected places. Though they can be amicable, Yumboes are also known to be quickly enraged and easily angered if they feel mistreated or devalued. Reflecting the complicated dichotomy sometimes seen in folklore surrounding magical beings, their dual nature makes them both fascinating and somewhat deadly. Sometimes linked with the ghosts of the dead, Yumboes provide their mythology a deeper, spiritual component. In this sense, they are either intermediaries between the human and spiritual worlds or defenders of the earth. Their way of life reflects their relationship to the ground and nature; they are sometimes said to live in harmony with their surroundings. This lends credence to the theory that Yumboes, despite their otherworldly nature, maintain a profound connection with the human realm. Their existence in mythology reminds us of the interdependence of people and the supernatural. Senegalese society often passes down stories of Yumboes orally, thereby maintaining their position in the shared imagination. These tales are moral teachings or warnings as well as fun. They stress, for example, the need to appreciate the invisible forces in nature and treat others—including those who seem little or negligible—with compassion. Yumboes, which combine elements of mysticism, spirituality, and cultural values into gripping tales, are another evidence of the rich storytelling customs of West Africa.