Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Splendiferous!

Splendiferous! No other word can adequately describe the incredible feathered, beaded and sequined costumes of New Orleans' Mardi Gras Indians. Each one of these masterpieces takes countless hours, a full year, and an extraordinary dedication of time and resources to complete.
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Standing from 10 to 15 feet tall and almost as wide, hundreds of various-sized pieces of fabric are painstakingly handsewn and covered with thousands of feathers, beads and sequins. Costumes can cost from hundreds of dollars up to $10,000 each to create.
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Reporter Parry Gettelman states, "Viewing a photograph of an Indian 'suit'...is like admiring the Venus de Milo on a postage stamp. You have to see the Indian plumage in life-size 3-D ". He's right.

Kumbuka African Drum & Dance Collective - scroll down for the pictures
http://kumbukaafricandance.com/_wsn/page7.html

Needle & Thread, Beads and Feathers - 2 1/2 minute News Video
http://www.nbc15online.com/mediacenter/local.aspx?videoid=244595@video.wpmi.com&navCatId=78

Mardi Gras Garb Isn't Easy to Craft
http://www.austin360.com/arts/content/recreation/stories/xl/2007/12/1227xlrec.html

Mardi Gras Tribes Ready to Suit Up
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-01-10-mardigrastribes_N.htm

A Short History of the Mardi Gras Indians of New Orleans
by Willie W. Clark, Jr.

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