A Golden Comanches Mardi Gras Indian "spy boy" halts traffic by dancing in front of a car in New Orleans on February 28, 2006. ..Masking as an Indian during Mardi Gras is a long standing tradition in the black community of New Orleans. ..The Mardi Gras Indian gang is composed of a hierarchy that plays out in the order they walk down the street. Walking first (and ranking last) is the Spy Boy, who seeks out other tribes to battle and signals the Flag Boy, second, about what is...
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A Golden Comanches Mardi Gras Indian "spy boy" halts traffic by dancing in front of a car in New Orleans on February 28, 2006. ..Masking as an Indian during Mardi Gras is a long standing tradition in the black community of New Orleans. ..The Mardi Gras Indian gang is composed of a hierarchy that plays out in the order they walk down the street. Walking first (and ranking last) is the Spy Boy, who seeks out other tribes to battle and signals the Flag Boy, second, about what is ahead. The Flag Boy, sporting an actual flag or staff, signals back to the rest of the gang and back to the Spy Boy. The Wild Man, wearing horns, keeps the streets clear between himself and the chiefs that follow. ..There can be several chiefs but there is only one Big Chief, usually surrounded by bodyguards. He is the leader and he sends out instructions to the rest of the gang, sometimes through song, call and response in their own unique language. When gangs do meet, all Indians square off against their counterparts, culminating in the meeting of the Big Chiefs, who dance, sing, and preen for superiority. ..Being a Mardi Gras Indian is both a family and a community affair. If one is not born into an Indian family (although this denotes "Mardi Gras Indian" many Indians do in fact claim Native American heritage) a young man can still apprentice with a neighborhood tribe. Older Indians instruct the young men in the sewing of suits and in the singing of the traditional songs. ..Because Indians typically come from lower class neighborhoods, becoming an Indian is a serious decision as it involves a large investment of both money and time that is not always there. The community supports the tribe however- sometimes by pooling together and defraying the cost of materials and always by being out on the streets with the tribes when they do parade, second line dancing alongside and around them, admiring the tribe's wondrous creations.
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