Why Do They Throw Beads During Mardi Gras?
What started as a modest Louisiana "carnival" in the 1700s is now known to be one of the wildest celebrations in the country, complete with parades, revelers, and bead-throwing. The city of New Orleans hosts the famous Mardi Gras festival, home to the most recognized trinkets in the country: purple, green, and yellow beads that participants throw and catch.
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History
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The celebration of Mardi Gras started in Medieval Europe and eventually moved to New Orleans. In 1703, the small French-Canadian settlement of Fort Louis de la Mobile held its first Mardi Gras celebration. Starting in the 1920s, "krewes" of parade organizers began the "tradition of throws" by tossing to the crowd cheap necklaces made of glass beads. The beads became so popular that they were adopted by all parade krewes, which number about 60 today.
Significance
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The tradition of throwing beads at Mardi Gras carries an importance which Mardi Gras Unmasked suggests is capable of virtual out-of-body experiences for the patrons. Beads exert a "power capable of inducing even 'respectable' citizens...to grovel in gutters and expose body parts that normally remain covered up." It seems tourists and locals alike lose all inhibition during the "tradition of throws," especially since they know the party will come to an eventual end. They are all part of a tight-knit community that is, if fleetingly, enjoying an exciting and communicative tradition.
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Misconceptions
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One of the wackiest things to come out of the Mardi Gras festival is the tradition of removing one's clothing in order to be granted a set of beads. National Geographic's John Roach maintains that the act of stripping or "exposing one's usually clothed body parts," to get the attention of the float-riders, is actually unnecessary (contrary to popular belief). His research shows that there is such an abundance of trinkets and baubles at the festival, that it's virtually impossible to leave the celebration without some kind of purple, green, and yellow souvenir.
Function
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Beads and baubles function as a kind of currency in the world of Mardi Gras. According to Mardi Gras Unmasked, beads make Mardi Gras "interactive, turning spectators into willful participants." For both float-rider and spectator, the beads become "ritual talismans that make possible an emotionally powerful experience." Though the beads are practically worthless, they become priceless in this setting. They also establish a one-on-one connection between two prefect strangers, a connection that feels important and exhilarating.
Types
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Purple, green, and gold are colors that are, and will forever be, unfailingly associated with Mardi Gras, especially with the festival's gaudy trinkets. For the founders of the Louisiana settlement, these colors came to represent justice, faith, and power. Today, these three colors signify the essence of Mardi Gras. Besides the most popular tri-colored trinket, the bead, traditional Mardi Gras baubles include medallions, doubloons, cups or "New Orleans dinnerware," long pearl beads, and stuffed animals.
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References
- Photo Credit mardi gras beads image by Roslen Mack from Fotolia.com
