Mardi Gras Indians really could not exist anywhere else.
PHOTO: Hillary KurlandMardi Gras Indians are one of the most obscure and yet most delightful aspects of living in New Orleans. They really could not exist anywhere else. By blood, they are a mixture of African slaves brought to the city and Native Americans local to the region. Run-away slaves were often given shelter among the Native Americans and, as similarly marginalized groups, they began to blend their traditions, creating something entirely new and distinct.
Both cultures have a history of masking: creating elaborate outfits from local objects of value. In New Orleans, these include feathers, beads, and cloth. Tribe members spend all year creating outfits. They create a new one every year, often only wearing each year’s outfit only a couple of times. Each outfit has three pieces: a crown, a dickie, and an apron. The crown is the elaborate headdress, often adorned with feathers. They can weigh upwards of 40 pounds! The dickie is the part that covers the upper chest and the apron covers the waist to ankles. Both the dickie and apron are typically covered with detailed beadwork, designed and hand-embroidered by the tribe member wearing the outfit. This picture is a good example of each section of the suit on display:
PHOTO: Hillary KurlandThere are about 40 tribes spread across the city. The most prominent divide is between Uptown and Downtown Indians. Uptown Mardi Gras Indians have a more African influence. Tribes “battle” among each other for prominence. This used to be a more violent occurrence. Nowadays, recognition is gained for artistic ability, whether that is costume design, song, and/or dance.
Within each tribe, there is a distinct hierarchy. In general, these positions in the hierarchy are universal to all tribes. First and foremost is the Big Chief. Each tribe also has a Queen. The Trail Chief acts as a rearguard and the Spy Boy leads the group, searching out for rival tribes. Once a rival group is spotted, the Spy Boy signals the Flag Boy, who in turn alerts the Wild Man. The Wild Man then clears a path for the Big Chief so that the two tribes can begin their competition. Often times, tribes also include Baby Dolls. These are women close to the male tribe members who also wish to perform. They wear dresses resembling doll outfits and dance with the tribe. Here is an example of what Baby Dolls look like.
PHOTO: Hillary KurlandMardi Gras Indians perform on very specific days of the year. Unsurprisingly, the first is Mardi Gras Day, also called Fat Tuesday. This is the day before Lent begins on the Catholic calendar. Oftentimes these parades are the grand unveiling of the outfits tribe members spend all year sewing. A simple explanation for why Mardi Gras Indians parade on that particular day is that parade licenses are simply easy to obtain that day because there are already so many parades going on.
The big day for Mardi Gras Indians, in particular, is Super Sunday, which is the 3rd Sunday in the month of March. It is the closest Sunday to St. Joseph’s day. On this day, Mardi Gras Indians congregate and parade, showing off their costumes, competing, and spending time celebrating their neighborhood. Uptown and downtown Indians perform Super Sunday in their own locations and in their own way. Really, each tribe is their own distinct entity, going about their performances in their own way.
PHOTO: Hillary KurlandOften the last time Mardi Gras Indians parade is Big Sunday, which is a Sunday decided upon by the tribe leaders sometime around New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. The pictures in this article were taken at this year’s Big Sunday celebration. Some tribes even perform during Jazz Fest itself, though this is a select group.
Although these are the traditional times to parade, tribes make individual decisions about when else they would like to perform. Mardi Gras Indian culture used to be much more covert. The older generation of current Mardi Gras Big Chiefs broke with that tradition, performing dance and song all year round. These particular tribes gained city-wide recognition. Perhaps the most famous example of this is Bo Dollis, the big chief of the Wild Magnolias. He was recorded widely, making the Wild Magnolias one of the most recognizable tribes in the city today. When Bo Dollis died, the whole city celebrated for his jazz funeral, also called a second line. His son, Bo Dollis Jr, now carries on his father’s legacy as Big Chief. As a personal note, I can attest that he is a very nice man. He used to be my neighbor.
