New Orleans Fat Tuesday ceremonies have deeper meanings
Black masking traditions honor ancestors
Black masking traditions honor ancestors
Black masking traditions honor ancestors
It's not what you typically think of on Fat Tuesday. In the Treme neighborhood, there is always a prayer and a blessing before sunrise to set the tone for the day.
There is singing and chanting to awaken the ancestors and the neighborhood. For the Northside Skull and Bone Gang, the ceremony and ritual dates back more than 200 years.
"You know, we often go to the cemetery and we sing and do what we call 'entertain the spirits' and ask them to guide us, to embody us and wake up the city," said Big Chief Bruce "Sunpie" Barnes.
"We are meant to be scary in some ways, especially for young people, to have them understand that you do not want to rush toward death," Barnes said. "Everybody will be part of the skull and bone gang someday."
Traditions range from the spiritual to the mystical.
"We want to cleanse and bless the neighborhood, bless the streets," said Voodoo Queen Kalinda Laveaux.
The Mystic 7 Sisters take their own route through the neighborhood. They sing and sway their skirts to sweep away any bad spirits.
"We are talking about something that touches back to our origins," Laveaux said.
These traditions are both rooted in African spirituality.
"Well, it is most important for us to have an identity that we define for ourselves," Laveaux said.
At the Backstreet Cultural Museum, owner Dominique Dilling says Mardi Gras is a sacred time.
"We tap into our ancestors. We have always come out in our own neighborhoods and honored the people in our community," Dilling said.
Xavier professor and Harvard fellow Kim Vaz-Deville says the traditions are about empowerment, especially when you consider a time when African Americans were barred from participating in official Mardi Gras activities.
"They had something to say. They had something to say about the kind of fun they wanted to have and the kind of statement they wanted to make about themselves on Mardi Gras Day," Vaz-Deville said.
Nobody makes a statement like Spirit Fi Yi Yi. Big Chief Victor Harris of the Mandingo Warriors is retiring this year after 59 years of masking.
"When they put these suits on, they transform. It's a spiritual transformation where something inside of them takes over, and they're able to sing and dance and chant and carry a 90-pound suit on their back," Dilling said.
The wonderful thing about Mardi Gras is you capture the day, and you want to capture the light. They get to sparkle and shine," Vaz-Deville said.
Another carnival tradition is the baby dolls. They are always a popular sight on Fat Tuesday.
"The thing about the baby doll tradition is it's accessible. You don't have to pay fees," Vaz-Deville said. "They went out and they they danced. They danced like there was no tomorrow."
The baby doll tradition was initially associated with the city's red light district. It has evolved since the days of Storyvillle to include a wide range of women who participate.