  Qualitative features of multiparticle correlations in light-heavy ion ($p+A$)
collisions at RHIC and LHC are reproduced in a simple initial state model of
partons in the projectile coherently scattering off localized domains of color
charge in the heavy nuclear target. These include i) the ordering of the
magnitudes of the azimuthal angle $n$th Fourier harmonics of two-particle
correlations $v_n\{2\}$, ii) the energy and transverse momentum dependence of
the four-particle Fourier harmonic $v_2\{4\}$, and iii) the energy dependence
of four-particle symmetric cumulants measuring correlations between different
Fourier harmonics. Similar patterns are seen in an Abelian version of the
model, where we observe $v_2\{2\} > v_2\{4\}\approx v_2\{6\}\approx v_2\{8\}$
of two, four, six, and eight particle correlations. While such patterns are
often interpreted as signatures of collectivity arising from hydrodynamic flow,
our results provide an alternative description of the multiparticle
correlations seen in $p+A$ collisions.
