It’s carnival season! In the Gulf Coast states, we’re thinking of beads, king cake with a hidden baby, and fun parades with throws for Mardi Gras, but seasonal celebrations aren’t something new, nor exclusively southern. Big secret: when we moved to southeast Louisiana in the 2000s, I really didn’t know much about Mardi Gras or Carnival season, and was surprised to learn it was tied to religion. It seemed a little funny to me that the year’s biggest party was followed by the year’s longest penance. According to Meertens, “From an anthropological point of view, Carnival is a reversal ritual, in which social roles are reversed and norms about desired behavior are suspended.”
Evidence of these types of celebrations globally is replete. On the Gulf Coast of the United States, Mardi Gras, as we know it, began in 1703 in Mobile, Alabama. While the Louisiana folks claim 1699 somewhere south of New Orleans as the beginning, neither city can beat what archeologists have found in Brazil. They have evidence of similar celebrations from 2,300 to 1,200 years ago near Pelotas. “The researchers tentatively identified some of the earliest evidence of alcoholic drink production in the region, with cutting-edge analysis of the pottery revealing traces of beverages made using vegetables – likely to have been tubers, sweet corn and palm. Other pottery fragments contained evidence of the processing of fish.” These celebrations have long histories with amazing food, dance, artists, and music.
The globe is glowing with traditions that make each celebration unique. Masks are popular adornments for parades and parties. One of those traditions started with the Ancient Romans’ masks which really took off in the 15th Century. The NEA National Heritage Fellows highlighted many talented artisans such as Juan Alidato in Puerto Rico for his masks and Allison “Tootie” Montana for her costumes in New Orleans.
Carnival in Rio de Janeiro credits their celebratory beginnings to Greece. Catholicism and later African dance influences helped morph the event into the world class party it is today. Quebec’s Winter Carnival tradition of the arrow sash is traced to aboriginal roots. Trinidad and Tobago credits French immigrants’ masquerade balls and their slaves in the 1780s for starting the experiences they have today. Venice’s Carnevale di Venezia became an official public event in the 1200s, but Napoleon abolished it in 1797. It was revived in 1979 and their masks, the “papier-mâché and ribbons have not been replaced by plastic, and each product is a true masterpiece, created with patience and attention to details.” These masks, costumes, and dances together tell important stories in their communities: speaking against slavery, highlighting roles of women, reenacting hunters, and food preparation.
Celebratory traditions have been part of the human community fabric for many millennia. If we strung all these place markers and their origins together on a map with explanations, it would resemble a crime solving board of suspects and clues. These connections remind me how beautifully interconnected our histories in human civilization are. We do not have traditions without deep ties to influencers both human and natural. I hope that we can continue to embrace the good in our world and each other while celebrating with joyful abandon.
If you need me, I’ll be working on my samba moves and bead catching techniques.
Barbaree Duke
Geospatial Crusader
Copyright © 2025 All Rights Reserved - 
Leave a Reply