Sew, Sew, Sew - What Goes into a Mardi Gras Indian Suit?
Take Me to the River: New Orleans › Won’t Bow Down - The Traditions of the Mardi Gras Indians › Sew, Sew, Sew - What Goes into a Mardi Gras Indian Suit?

Lesson 2 Sew, Sew, Sew - Community Traditions of the Mardi Gras Indians

Essential Question

What is a Mardi Gras Indian suit? How has the beadwork tradition evolved?

Objectives

Students will be able to:

  • Describe who the Mardi Gras Indians are.
  • Articulate and interpret artistic ideas as presented in Mardi Gras Indian suits.

Materials Needed

  • Computer or Tablet
  • Media links (see below)
  • Berklee PULSE Account
  • Whiteboard

Media

Lesson 2: Sew, Sew, Sew - What Goes into a Mardi Gras Indian Suit?

  1. Explain to students that masking was a way for Black New Orleanians to walk with pride during Carnival celebrations, especially since many faced racism at these celebrations.
    • Watch the video of Big Chief Bo Dollis, Jr. providing context about Mardi Gras Indians on Mardi Gras Day and during Carnival celebrations. (2:07)

     

  2. Watch the video of the Mardi Gras Indians from St. Joseph’s Night (7:07) taken by Jules Cahn in 1970. While watching the video, ask students to write down:
    • What do they observe about the Mardi Gras Indian tradition? Are Mardi Gras Indians the only ones present, or are other people there to watch and join in?
    • What materials do they observe in the Mardi Gras Indian suits?
    • How many beaded patches do they see on the suits?
    • How are the Mardi Gras Indians interacting with the crowd?
  3. Then watch the video of Big Chief Demond Melancon from the documentary All on a Mardi Gras Day from 2022. Stop the video at the 2:30 mark. While watching the video, ask students to write down:
    • What materials do they observe on the suit Big Chief Demond was working on?
    • How many beaded patches did they observe Big Chief Demond assembling?
    • Big Chief Demond mentioned he started beading at 5 a.m. and stopped around midnight. How long do they think it takes to make a suit like the one being worked on in this video?
    • In this video, Big Chief Demond described being the “prettiest.” Why do you think they’re trying to look the prettiest each year?
  4. Explain to students that a part of Mardi Gras Indian culture is to work to make your suit the “prettiest” each year. The prettiest doesn’t just mean in comparison to someone else’s suit, but how it compares to their suits from the year before. Mardi Gras Indian suits are works of art.
  5. Ask students what they think the process to make a suit is like each year.
  6. Explain to students that Mardi Gras Indians create a brand new suit each year. As Big Chief Bo Dollis, Jr. from The Wild Magnolias explained, the process to make a new suit is the same each year.
    • First, they choose a storyline or a theme for the suit. This theme will help as they design the imagery for the beadwork panels.
    • Next, they draw up the suit. In this process, they make a sketch out the outline for their beadwork or get copies made of concepts and images they like. Some Mardi Gras Indians may use a piece of paper with the copy on top of the canvas material.
    • As they create their suit design, the Mardi Gras Indians also choose the colors for their suit. There are local stores that carry items like ostrich feathers and plumes that will order items in the colors that the Mardi Gras Indians request.
    • Once they design the imagery and choose their colors, they begin the rigorous sewing process. As Big Chief Demond mentioned, the small beads take much longer to sew, but they get the most detail out of them. He noted he beads ``all day, every day.” Many Big Chiefs mention that they barely eat and sleep when they’re making their suits. They often sacrifice things to make time to sew.
    • The final part of the sewing process is assembling the suit, ensuring that it fits and that the beadwork is securely attached.
    • Due to the size of their suits, once they’re ready to reveal their suit on Mardi Gras day, they use uHauls, pick-up trucks, and buses to travel to the start of their processionals, which occur at top secret locations each year on Mardi Gras day.
  7. Have students watch the video One Bead at a Time (2:42) where Big Chief Tyrone Casby of the Mohawk Hunters shows a part of the sewing process. Have students observe his beading process and the storytelling that is in the suit.
  8. For additional examples of beadwork, students can also watch the video of Witch Doctor Bird beading his suit in 1982 (2:57). Note: this video has no sound.
  9. Watch the video of Big Chief Bo Dollis, Jr. Beadwork (3:43) and a Timelapse of Big Chief Bo Dollis, Jr.’s Beadwork (:22).
     

     

    • What is similar between all of the beadwork processes between the Big Chiefs?
    • What is different about their processes?
    • Do you think that the ways suits are designed today are different from the suits designed back in the 1970s? If so, why?
  10. Watch: Big Chief Bo Dollis Sr. of the Wild Magnolias discusses how parts of the Mardi Gras Indians' traditions have evolved (1:59).
    • What were some of the reasons Big Chief Bo Dollis, Sr. discussed in terms of why there was less dancing?
    • Why do you think the suits got bigger?
  11. Explain to students that traditionally, Mardi Gras Day is the first time a suit is revealed, with Super Sunday as the last time the suit is worn that year. Suits are retired during Super Sunday each year.
  12. Watch: Big Chief Bo Dollis Sr. discussing the making of Mardi Gras Indian Suits (1:41). Explain to students that there were numerous reasons why suits weren’t worn year after year.
    • Many Mardi Gras Indians used materials like fish scales and chicken feathers in their suits. Since the suits were made of decomposable materials, they had to retire the suit. Others used to recycle materials into their future suit, as Big Chief Bo Dollis, Sr. explained.
    • Today, suits are made using all new materials, and so there is an attempt to outdo each other to be the prettiest one each year.
    • To store their suits after they’re worn, many keep the suits in their homes, in storage units or donate them to museums like the Backstreet Cultural Museum.
  13. Explain to students about the pieces of a Mardi Gras Indian suit. A basic Mardi Gras Indian suit has 3 main pieces, although they can be much more elaborate. The pieces of their suits include:
    • The crown: an elaborate headdress worn with their suits. The Big Chief’s headdress can weigh anywhere from 40 to 100 pounds.
    • The dickie: the portion of the suit that goes from the upper chest to the waist, with a design that portrays a story.
    • The apron: the part of the suit from the waist to the ankle, and it comes in various shapes and sizes.
  14. Distribute the Worksheet - the Mardi Gras Indian Suit.
  15. Ask students to view early photos of the Mardi Gras Indians:
  16. Then ask students to view photos of the Mardi Gras Indians today:
  17. Encourage students to research Mardi Gras Indians suit photos to observe ways the suits have evolved.
  18. Using the worksheets, students answer the following questions:
    • What kinds of materials do you observe in the early Mardi Gras Indians suits (pre-2000)?
    • What kinds of materials do you observe in more recent Mardi Gras Indians suits (post-2000)?
    • What sort of imagery do you see in the panels? What story do you think it’s trying to convey?
    • How does the storytelling change in the panels on the suits?
    • Did the suits get larger or smaller post-2000?
  19. Once students have an opportunity to fill in the worksheet, ask them to share some of their observations. Why do you think that sewing is such an important part of Mardi Gras Indian culture?

Assessment/Extensions

Assessment

  • Students can describe the evolution and importance of the Mardi Gras Indian suit.

Extensions

  • Have students watch We Won’t Bow Down, a documentary that provides students with first-hand accounts from those who are a part of Mardi Gras Indian culture. The film provides more insight for students to understand the process of beadwork and the rich history and traditions passed on between generations.

Key Terms

  • Beadwork/Beading - The art of attaching beads to one another by stringing them onto a thread with a sewing needle or sewing them onto fabric, suede, or leather. Mardi Gras Indians use beading to create intricate panels on their suits.
  • Mardi Gras Indian - Mardi Gras Indians are African American men, women, and children in New Orleans who are part of tribes (also referred to as gangs) that mask in elaborately hand-beaded and feathered suits inspired by Indigenous and West African ceremonial dress.
  • Suit - Hand-sewn attire worn by Mardi Gras Indians that features intricate beadwork with imagery that tells a story. Mardi Gras Indians make a new suit each year to be worn on Mardi Gras Day, Super Sunday, and St. Joseph’s Night. The suits are made of brand new materials each year, cost thousands of dollars to create, feature thousands of beads, ostrich plumes, sequins, velvet, and rhinestones and can weigh up to 150 pounds.