Loup Garou

Title

Loup Garou

Artist

Seaux-N-Seau Soileau

Medium

Painting - Mixed Media

Description

Some of the Courir de Mardi Gras riders were a bit scary to me when I was a young child. The ones dressed the most like Loup Garou were the most frightening. Spanish Moss was often attached to their costumes and fluffy noses poked out their screen mask. They sometimes had a hairy tail attached to their colorful costumes. The Loup Garou is the Cajun werewolf. I often wondered if the riders were werewolves or men.
The Courir de Mardi Gras is celebrated the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday in rural Acadiana in south central to south western Louisiana where this Cajun/Creole celebration brings people from around the world each year. It is a often seen as a coming of age event for young men. The Corir Dr Mardi Gras consist of riders dressed in colorful costumes with fringes cut from fabric and large pointed hats with skirts. The identity of the riders remains anonymous. They ride through the community on horse back collecting ingredients for a community gumbo. The favorite ingredient is live chickens. The riders dance and sing to entertain the farmer/home owner in hopes of attaining a chicken. If the home owner decides to donate a chicken the bird is let loose in the crowd of riders and they must catch it. Riders are often awkward as they chase the chickens under houses, over fences, up trees and anywhere a chicken might go. Most Corir de Mardi Gras only allow men to run. There are a couple towns that only allow women and a couple that allow anyone over a certain age. Often children have their own chicken chase the weekend before Tuesday's event.
Once the ingredients is collected everyone in the town gathers for a gumbo. Bowls of gumbo is often brought to the homes of the elderly and disabled. All is fed before the strike of midnight on Tuesday as a solemn fast begins 40 days of prayer and fasting for Lent.

This image was featured in the following Fine Art America groups:
Out Of The Ordinary -1 A Day
Mask

Uploaded

January 24th, 2016

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