Mardi Gras Schedules
Click here for pictures
from the 2002 Mardi Gras.
Click here for pictures
from the 2001 Mardi Gras.
Click here for pictures of the 2000 Mamou courir.
During Mardi Gras, the small town of Mamou attracts thousands and
thousands of visitors who come to experience a traditional Cajun Mardi Gras.
The newest Mardi Gras activity is the Mardi Gras Rodeo, begun in
1995. The rodeo, which has proved popular among both participants and spectators, is held
the Saturday and Sunday before Mardi Gras at the Mamou Civic Center.
| A street dance is held Monday evening before Mardi Gras. Each year,
tops bands like Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys perform before a huge crowd that
packs the streets for blocks. Everyone really gets in the spirit when the band plays the
traditional "La Chanson de Mardi Gras," which goes in part, "Les Mardi Gras
viennent de tout partout, / Mais principalement de Grand Mamou. / Les Mardi Gras viennent
de tout partout, / Tout à l'entour du moyeu." Click to the schedule link above for
the time the band goes on stage. |
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On Mardi Gras, music begins about 11 a.m., and the crowd grows
throughout the day, dancing in the streets and celebrating. The music is continuous. |
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Meanwhile, the Mamou Courir de Mardi Gras is riding through the
countryside, collecting ingredients for the evening gumbo. The all-male Mamou courir
remains faithful to the old traditions. The riders accept the authority of the capitaine,
who sets out the rules before the ride begins. The capitaine and co-capitaines, wearing
their colorful capes, are the only riders who are not masked.
Accompanied by a flatbed trailer carrying musicians and by other
trailers transporting participants who do not have horses, the riders stop at homes in
rural Evangeline Parish where they sing, dance, and cut up while begging for chickens and
other makings for a gumbo. |
Co-capitaines Wayne Soileau and Boyd Landreneau ride along side James
Warner "Buff" Fontenot, at right,
capitaine, in a scene from the 1998 courir. |
A large crowd gathers at one of the
rural stops in 1998 where the Mardi Gras are chasing chickens being thrown from
the roof of a house. |
 The courir arrives back in town some time after 3 p.m., but
there is no firm schedule. The riders do not throw trinkets: throws are not part of
the traditional rural courir. |
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They act rowdy, some dancing atop their saddles or even attempting a
headstand as they ride down the street. But the wildness is all part of the tradition,
part of the merriment and raucous celebration enjoyed by a large crowd of people of all
ages who line the streets several deep for blocks. The music, dancing, and partying
continue late until the evening, but everything stops before midnight, when Ash Wednesday
begins.
For
pictures of the 1999 Mamou Courir, click here. |
|
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Page
Updated February 2001 |
