Who are the Mardi Gras Indians?

[kestrell]

If you're listening to WWOZ.org you may hear about the Mardi Gras Indians, which are the highlight for many New Orleanians. Here are a couple of videos to explain about the Indians

How Mardi Gras Indians Rebel Against History
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ffn_bo9nuY8

Black Masking Indians: A historical New Orleans Carnival tradition
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsOxxz4h1rU

Yesterday was Lundi Gras, and a lot of the Indians were still working on their suits right through from yesterday until this morning.
A song I heard dedicated to them was
Glue Stick Situation by Alex McMurray
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BY39TmWVFuk

The first song many people hear on Mardi Gras morning is
Indian Red
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayr-Sp944J0
which is
a traditional chant
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Red#:~:text=Indian%20Red%20is%20traditionally%20sung,Gras%20Indians%20in%20New%20Orleans.
sung at the beginning of gatherings of Mardi Gras Indians

The compliment you give a Mardi Gras Indian who has made a suit that you think is exceptionally beautiful is "You're the prettiest!" (I love the fact that this is a culturally acceptable thing to say to men during Mardi Gras.)

Comments

[lauradi7dw]

Thanks for the link to Glue stick situation! What a great expression.

[sovay]

The compliment you give a Mardi Gras Indian who has made a suit that you think is exceptionally beautiful is "You're the prettiest!" (I love the fact that this is a culturally acceptable thing to say to men during Mardi Gras.)

That is great.

[cvirtue]

New & different, well, sort of new, article from 2019.

Biodegradable mardi-gras beads from algae. Inventor spoke with some krewes and they were interested in less plastic waste.

“the parade left behind 950 tons of debris in souvenirs, trash and beads, reported the Times-Picayune”

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/made-from-microalgae-these-mardi-gras-beads-are-biodegradable-180971578