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Published: January 15th 2010
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Musings from the Gypsy Outhouse
Blog Entry 1.14.2010
It never really warmed up in New Orleans. Yesterday, our last day, I was sure we would get some relief so I left off a layer of clothing, big mistake… or was it? For our picnic lunch at riverfront park I bought a cheese mufaletta at Central Grocery, a whole loaf of a sandwich! Steve found a vegetarian restaurant within walking distance of the hotel and got a yummy BBQ seitan wrap with sweet potato fries. Since we were under-dressed for our picnic at riverfront park (that would be the Mississippi!), we found a more protected sunny location with a bench occupied only by a bronze statue named Martha.
To drink we had a local Abita specialty brew called an Andy Gator. After sharing our sweet potato fries with a street musician (who played five-gallon buckets) we went over to the national park office across the street to get warm. It happened to be the only National Park in the nation dedicated to music heritage, jazz to be specific! Since Steve had been researching where all of the good music was (did I mention we saw Charmaine Neville our first night!)
he inquired about a group playing at the Maple Leaf called the Mardi Gras Indians. The park volunteer said if we were interested in the Indians’ music we should go over to the Backstreet Museum.
We walked past Louis Armstrong Park in the Treme’ district where Congo Square is. We found the Backstreet Museum housed in an old funeral home. A handsome middle-aged guy named Robert gave us the tour. He was very proud of their large collection of Mardi Gras Indian costumes. WOW - they are hugely elaborate, colorful, beaded, full-body costumes loaded with feathers. Robert helps to sew and bead them. It was wild, the whole experience…
For a little background, when the white people settled in New Orleans they tried to take native American Indians as slaves, but the Indians were too clever and kept slipping back into the swamp. Then the settlers brought in African slaves, who didn’t know their way around the bayous, but soon got the idea (and assistance) from the Indians and they did their best to slip away too. So you have the Spanish influence and the French influence and the Native American influence and the African American influence - it gets Creole colorful!
Anyway, Robert told us about the different tribes of Indians and how they parade in their fancy costumes in the neighborhoods during Mardi Gras. First there is a spy-boy who goes out along the route to make sure everything is OK. Next comes the flag-boy who carries a tall, decorated staff with him. If everything is OK along the route the spy-boy signals the flag-boy, who holds up the flagstaff and gives signals to the wildman. Now the wildman is the chief’s bodyguard, who looks out for signals from the flag-boy, and communicates to the chief about the route. The chief is the most decorated big cheese you have ever seen in those elaborate costumes, and nobody can approach the chief without approval from the wildman….
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