University of Wisconsin Milwaukee UWM Digital Commons Theses and Dissertations August 2016 The New Orleans Festival Arts Community: Embodying Culture, Performing Afrocentric Identity Shukrani Keisha Gray University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Follow this and additional works at:https://dc.uwm.edu/etd Part of theSocial and Cultural Anthropology Commons Recommended Citation Gray, Shukrani Keisha, "The New Orleans Festival Arts Community: Embodying Culture, Performing Afrocentric Identity" (2016). Theses and Dissertations. 1267. https://dc.uwm.edu/etd/1267 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by UWM Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of UWM Digital Commons. For more information, please [email protected]. THE NEW ORLEANS FESTIVAL ARTS COMMUNITY: EMBODYING CULTURE, PERFORMING AFROCENTRIC IDENTITY by Shukrani K. Gray A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Anthropology at The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee August 2016 ABSTRACT THE NEW ORLEANS FESTIVAL ARTS COMMUNITY: EMBODYING CULTURE, PERFORMING AFROCENTRIC IDENDTITY by Shukrani Gray The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2016 Under the Supervision of Professor William Wood Anthropologists have evaluated art as indices of culturally specific intentions that express the artist’s view of his or her social relations. New Orleans Festival Arts (NOFA) community is filled with art objects and other forms of cultural expression that express artists’ social relationships, historical contexts, and cultural beliefs. Social aid and pleasure clubs, Black Indians and other organizations orchestrate elaborate parades that incorporate costumes, street decorations, banners, music, dance and song. These artistic expressions index identity within the community. This research, based in New Orleans, Louisiana, is focused on the city’s vibrant Afrocentric community and its festival arts community. Using Alfred Gell’s theory of the anthropology of art, this research examines how art is used as an expression of African Diasporic Identity, agency, and a tool for social change. The Afrocentric community of New Orleans has been a part of the city’s landscape since the 1960’s and continues to thrive today. Although there is no exclusively Afrocentric group who practices NOFA, there are members of New Orleans Afrocentric community who play various roles creating art in NOFA settings. It is my argument that art can be used to examine the intersection of African Diasporic Identity and New Orleans Festival Arts to make sense of the behaviors of participants in the context of specific social relationships and historical contexts unique to New Orleans. Finally, this thesis examines how Afrocentric NOFA practitioners utilize art, symbolic language and performance to ii create change in their community. I seek to understand how art is used as a tool to construct and transmit identity, and how art empowers actors as they express their identity and address community concerns. iii © Copyright by Shukrani Gray, 2016 All Rights Reserved iv Dedication I dedicate this thesis to the living memory of Baba Kabaila Charles Gray and Mama Tabasumu Rosetta Gray, my loving parents. It is their guidance that gave me the fortitude to complete this program. I would also like to dedicate this thesis to the many wonderful people who have aided my journey along the way, specifically Dr. Cheryl Ajirotutu, without whom I would’ve quit years ago. I give a heartfelt thanks to the staff at The Bean Gallery and Café Nicauld because they gave me the proper environment to hash out my ideas. Finally I dedicate this thesis to the many men and women who served as mentors throughout my process, including, but not limited to: My committee members, Dr. Zada Johnson (who saved me from myself) and Dr. William Wood; Dr. Kendra Harris, who gave me the insight and resources to carry on; Dr. Rachel Carrico, who walked this journey with me, and soon to be Dr. Monique Hassman, who lent an ear to my many rants and raves. Thank you all for your support and kind or stern words. Because of you this thesis is possible. v TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Abbreviations ____________________________________________________ vii List of Figures _________________________________________________________ viii Chapter 1: Introduction ___________________________________________________ 1 Chapter 2: New Orleans Festival Arts ________________________________________ 6 Second Line Parades __________________________________________________________ 7 Social Aid and Pleasure Clubs (SAPC) _____________________________________________ 9 Mardi Gras Indians __________________________________________________________ 10 Chapter 3: Research Design and Methodology _______________________________ 10 Chapter 4: Symbols, Art, and Indentity in New Orleans Festival Arts _____________ 17 Aesthetics versus Agency _____________________________________________________ 22 Chapter 5: Afrocentric Indentity in New Orleans_____________________________ 25 The Roots of New Orleans’ African-Centered Movement ___________________________ 27 Identifying New Orleans African-Centered Community _____________________________ 31 Chapter 6: Aestheticizing the Clubhouse____________________________________ 34 Chapter 7: We Are What We Wear_________________________________________41 Identity in Second Line Suit ___________________________________________________ 44 Big Queen Ausettua and the Oya Suit ___________________________________________ 48 Chapter 8: Connectiong New Orleans Festival Arts Through Spoken Word_________ 51 Chapter 9: The Power of Active and Passive Agency in New Orleans Festival Art____ 58 Works Cited ___________________________________________________________ 61 Appendices ___________________________________________________________ 68 vi LIST OF FIGURES Number Page 1. New Orleans Festival Arts Diagram ....................................................... 9 2. Second Line Parade Winds Through New Orleans ................................ 9 3. Black Men Of Labor Parade 2015 ........................................................ 11 4. Big Queen Ausettua Amor Amenkum Super Sunday 2015 ................. 12 vii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS BMOL Black Men Of Labor Social Aid and Pleasure Club CORE Congress of Racial Equality NOFA New Orleans Festival Arts SNCC Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee SPAC Social Aid and Pleasure Club YMO Young Men Olympian Jr. Social Aid and Pleasure Club viii Chapter One: Introduction Indian Red is a song used to signal the beginning of any Black Indian event. It’s a song of reverence. Indian Red expresses the Mardi Gras Indians’ resilient spirit, resourcefulness and tenacity. Those who sing the song hail their pride in a tradition that has continued uninterrupted in the Black community since the 1800’s. There are two ways of singing the first stanza of the song: Madi cu defio, en dans dey, end dans day Madi cu defio, en dans dey, end dans day We are the Indians, Indians, Indians of the nation The wild, wild creation We won’t bow down Down on the ground Oh how I love to hear him call Indian Red. This is how many of the Mardi Gras Indians sing this part of the song. However, Chief David Montana of the Washitaw Nation makes a point to use the song to emphasize his connection to the Black and African traditions represented in the Mardi Gras Indian tradition. Even the way he and his queen, Ausettua Amor Amenkum refer to themselves, “Black Indians” is indicative of a “Black consciousness”. When Chief David Montana sings Indian Red, he changes the line from “We are the Indians” to “We are Black Indians, Black Indians, Black Indians of the nation”. By changing one word in the song, Chief David Montana teaches everyone around him that the Mardi Gras Indian tradition is more than just a tribute to Indian culture. His insistence on using the phrase “Black Indians” instead of “the Indians” declares who he is as a participant in such events, and what his participation in these events mean to him. 1