I said I was going to blog once a week ... it's been four freakin' months.
But, it's a new year, and even better it's Carnival time!!!! AHHHHHHH - I'm so excited.
So as a quick look back over the last four months there is one place I have visited a few times, and that's the Backstreet Cultural Museum. I went here with both my friend Sarah, as well as my friends Elliott and Sam. This little museum is a tribute to the Black Cultural events that have occurred in the backstreets of New Orleans for quite some time. This includes the second line, social aid and pleasure clubs and my favorite, the Mardi Gras Indian.
The abridged version of this story is (I could go on forever and ever, for serious): Native American Indians helped Black slaves to freedom. As a tribute to the Native Americans, and as an expression of culture, Mardi Gras Indian tribes began to form. At first the masking was simpler and the dancing and chants less complex. The suits began the evolutionary process of becoming grand pieces of elaborate artwork, beads, feathers, and shells, towering up to 10 feet tall. My friend Sarah said, "When we were little kids and they gave us a piece of paper with a mask on it decorate for Mardi Gras, this is what we thought we were going to make." But it's so much better! The Indians come out on Mardi Gras, St. Joseph's Day, and for some of the Jazz Fest performances. The Indians have unique songs, chants, and dances that they use when they meet in the street. The Iko-Iko song is a Mardi Gras Indian chant. Indians follow no particular route. In the past there has been trouble with NOPD, and at times there still is. But the Indians dance on.
Lord, I am gushing and ranting, but I freakin' love the Indians.
The suits they wear, suit is the preferred term, take the entire year to build, and are only worn for one short season. I would argue that they are one of the most beautiful forms of folk art alive and well in the United States today.
Anyway, I think the Mardi Gras Indians are much more important than my silly apology and a wonderful segue into blogging about the rest of the Mardi Gras season.
Yeah You Right, Joe
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