Good Monday Morning Everyone.
This was a great weekend for Saints in New Orleans. Not "THE" Saints, but Saints. It was St. Patrick's Day, which I'm sure many of you all also celebrated. New Orleans does St. Patrick's day up right with two weekends worth of parading and cabbages. I'm saving that post for another day.
This weekend was also St. Joseph's Day. St. Joseph is the husband of the Virgin Mary. You can learn more about him here, if you are so inclined. In New Orleans the Mardi Gras Indians come out on St. Joseph's day in full gear. They march through the neighborhoods. The main starting point is A.L. Davis park in the central city neighborhood. It's normally not the safest of neighborhoods but yesterday is was transformed into a multi block party. There were lots of food trucks, and people set up with grills (I had a grilled pork chop AND a smoked sausage... cause I love food). It was great to walk around, take pictures, and just enjoy the beautiful day. Most of the spectators were African American people who lived in the neighborhood, and played some part in the festivities, but there were definitely a good number of folks from other parts of the city. For the most part it seemed to be local New Orleanians, enjoying each other's company.
I had one of the best times ever. I had actually never seen the Indians before. When you attend college in the city you live in a bubble that is "uptown". I am loving the exploration of other parts of the city. Things like St. Joseph's Day are the whole reason I moved to New Orleans. They really illustrate the culture of the community. I know that I'll never really be a New Orleanian, because too much of my heart belongs to Texas, but one day I want my kids to be able to partake in these festivities as a second nature. I want them to be New Orleanians, and slowly but surely I'm learning all that I can, so I am able to pass it all along...
A video I made of the Indians chanting...
The Indians create elaborate costumes.
Every one is hand sewn and takes a year to complete.
I loved the all white costume.
Feathers, plumes and thousands of beads are incorporated into each costume.
Each tribe is different and has its own set of colors and themes each year.
I will soon put up a link to a picasa account with more/better pictures. I left my camera cord in Texas and I'm waiting for my little sister (biological) to mail it back to me, so for now we have to make due with the pictures taken with my phone. Also, feel free to leave comments and/or questions below. I fixed the comment section so you no longer have to log in to leave your thoughts.
Love,
Tina Marie
No comments:
Post a Comment