..........The
sun shined brightly on Mardi Gras
1998, as King Zulu LXXX, Wallace Broussard,
in all his regal glory and festive
finery, greeted thousands of loyal
subjects. "Law-abiding citizens
shall direct every effort towards
fun and merry making, and shall not
confuse Mardi Gras with other issues,"
he decreed in a proclamation.
..........Inspired
by the Zulus, the most admired and
romanticized of African tribes in
the 19th century, the Zulu Social
Aid and Pleasure Club, whose members
parade in blackface and grass skirts,
has a long and colorful history. The
first Zulu king reigned in 1909; in
an apparently conscious burlesque
of the "official" king of
Carnival, Rex, he wore a lard-can
crown and waived a banana-stalk scepter.
He was accompanied by a group of black
laborers clad in "raggedy pants,"
according to the club's official history,
and a "Jubilee-singing quartet."
In 1917, parodying the ceremonious
tradition of Rex's arrival by yacht
at the foot of Canal Street, the Zulus
floated their king along the New Basin
Canal in a barge, as he waved a ham
bone at his subjects. Nowadays, the
first parade to roll on Mardi Gras
includes Mr. Big Stuff, Mr. Big Shot,
Witch Doctor and various other "Float
Characters from Zululand." |
