New Orleans Mardi Gras Indian Collective is here:

A fine humanitarian gesture

BY MALINI Govinnage

NEW Orleans Mardi Gras Indian Collective - the cultural troupe from New Orleans, USA will perform at the Lionel Wendt Theatre on November 22, Tuesday evening.

The Concert takes place as a gesture of gratitude from the US Government and the citizens of New Orleans for the generous assistance the Sri Lankan people and the Sri Lankan Government extended towards the New Orleans citizens in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

New Orleans was totally devastated by the hurricane and the Sri Lankan Government gave some financial assistance as a token of goodwill to the citizens of New Orleans.

The Collective represents a 150 year old tradition created by African Americans as a symbolic tribute to native Americans for their efforts to secure freedom and the lives of the African Americans.

It was native Americans who accepted and provided shelter to runaway slaves, and allowed them to live among their communities. Natives from West Africa and the Caribbeans were brought as slaves to America in the 18th and 19th centuries to work in cotton plantations.

This great humanitarian gesture was never forgotten by the African Americans. They began participating in the native American traditions of dancing and singing, dressed in colourful feathers, beads and sequins and chanting their songs.

Black Americans' favourite Mardi Gras costume is that of the Indian warrior. Music very much similar to popular Afro-Caribbean carnival celebrations of Cuba, Haiti and Trinidad.

While their main instrument of music is tambourine, they use contemporary Jazz and African drums as well.

A couple of days before leaving their shores for Sri Lanka, several members of the Collective from Washington met a group of Sri Lankan media people in Colombo through a digital video conference.

"We were moved by the generosity of many people throughout the world, and we thought of a way to thank these people who helped us.

The best possible way we could think of was to let them see and enjoy a little of our unique culture and to tell them what New Orleans is all about, said Dan Shuman, a member of the Collective, one of the two 'whites' who appeared among the other black members of the troupe.

"Even after the most traumatic experience of tsunami your Government came forward and contributed generously. We see it as a great humanitarian gesture", added another member, who introduced himself as the President of Jazz American Centre.

Jacqueline Harris from Lincoln Centre Collective is one of the two women performers joining the tour.

"We are all sisters and brothers in that we all are tradition bearers, though we may belong to 3rd and 4th generation of Mardi Grass. Yet we are deeply rooted in this culture. Fathers of our two members in the troupe are Indian chiefs. They are leaders in their community", she said.

She emphasized the authenticity of their performances which has come down fusing with several other cultural strands from West Africa, France, Spain, The Caribbean and Native America.

"For us music is part of our lives. It is the great healer. We sing at the birth of a child and it is the self-same song we sing at the death bed of a loved one, because singing and music heals many wounds in your soul and eases one's departure".

Jacqueline cited an example from her own life. "When my father was dying, I was in the next room, weeping.

"Then a close relative in the family came to me and said. "Go and sing so that your father has a peaceful death. Likewise, listening to my singing he passed away peacefully".

Spontaneity and vibrancy is the mark of Mardi Gras music culture. These singers can improvise a song and add impromptu music to it on the spot.

Their lifestyle is an integral limb of their unique cultural body. By just moving among their people they become masters of their culture to the next generation.

The Concert is a fine gesture of gratitude from a group of people who represent a culture which is deep rooted in humanism, humble and noble at the same time.

Another special element of this cultural event; the proceeds of the concert is for the preservation and development of several genres of our traditional art. The proceeds will help develop Bandu Wijesooriya school of dancing in Ambalangoda.