The husband and I have been watching Treme on DVD, and I've been really drawn to the storyline that has to do with Mardi Gras Indians. The season 1 finale suggested to me some ways that this New Orleans custom resonates with ancient Greek celebrations.
Mardi Gras Indians are African-American clubs that dress and parade in elaborate feathered costumes, that must be made new every year. They compete with other tribes in musical skills and in the 'prettiness' of their costumes. The tribes include a 'spy', who goes ahead to watch for other tribes, a flag carrier, and a 'big chief'.
On the show, Albert, a Mardi Gras Indian chief, is determined to bring back the other members of his 'tribe', scattered by Hurricane Katrina, so they can march on Mardi Gras.
It's obviously a fascinating cultural custom, but I wondered why I felt so drawn to it. Then it occurred to me that Mardi Gras Indian represent both an oral tradition and a sense of occasion very similar to the Ancient Greeks'. Just as Pindar's victory odes were intended for a particular occasion, and are arguably diminished as texts only, so the tribes' costumes are for that particular night, and devalued after that. (Albert is shocked when his flag bearer wants to reuse a costume from last year, for example.)
The video is of a real-life Mardi Gras parade. If you don't have time to watch it all, you might skip to around 8:00, where two chiefs face off in a musical competition.
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