Click here for Mardi Gras 2001 pictures of the Elton Courir.
Click
here for Mardi Gras 2000 pictures of the Elton Courir.
Elton is a small town about 15 miles west of Eunice in Jeff Davis
Parish (when people refer to the parish, no one ever uses the full name of the Confederate
president, Jefferson Davis).
The Elton Courir, which was revived about a decade ago, follows the
same route as the courir in 1925. The Mardi Gras also sing the same song that dates from
1925. In the past, the courir has started at sunrise from the Malcolm Bertrand farm and
gone through the Coushatta Indian reservation before heading south toward Elton, arriving
about 3 p.m. for a parade. Starting in 2001 the Elton courir began a route that originates
in Elton. The riders follow a route into the countryside and then return to Elton in the
afternoon. Most of the members of the all-male courir are fairly young. They are
dedicated to preserving tradition, but they also keep the Mardi Gras spirit alive with
their antics. A dance follows at 7 p.m. with a live band and riders dressed in traditional
costumes. Pictures on this page are from the 1998 and 1999 courirs, held on the
Saturday before Mardi Gras.
The cocapitaines wield their whips
in a mock attempt to maintain order.
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When the Mardi Gras stop at a house, they dance with all the women. |
"Monica Lewinsky," shown above riding bareback, and Bill
Clinton shared a wagon in the 1998 courir. Monica and Bill, incidentally, were on the
verge of stealing the photographer's car, but Bill told Monica that car theft wouldn't be
very presidential. Mocking authority figures is part of the Mardi Gras tradition going
back to the Middle Ages, exemplified in the bishop's attire worn by a 1999 Mardi Gras in
Elton, shown at right.
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| At one home the Mardi Gras
spontaneously decided to play a game dubbed "Roll a Bertrand" (that's Mr.
Bertrand at right on the ground being rolled). |
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While the photographer wasn't paying attention, the capitaine waved
his flag to signal the Mardi Gras that they could enter the property of a homeowner who
had a chicken. This is what it looks like to be in the path of a Mardi Gras charge. |
Click here for additional
pictures of the 1999 Elton Courir.
Leaders of the Elton Courir include Ken Marcantel, Curt Guillory, and Jimmy Guillory. For
more information, about the Elton Courir, contact David Bertrand, (337) 584-5199.
Return to Mardi
Gras Main Page
Updated February 2001
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