noun
Street Slang
Indians
· noun · nola
Mardi Gras Indians — Black NOLA tribes who mask in elaborate hand-sewn suits.
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Definitions
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Short for Mardi Gras Indians: Black New Orleans 'tribes' (Wild Magnolias, Wild Tchoupitoulas, Yellow Pocahontas, Creole Wild West and dozens more) who mask in suits hand-sewn over a full year — beads, feathers, sequins, weighing 100 pounds plus. They march on Mardi Gras morning and Super Sunday, meet other tribes, and 'battle' through chants, dance, and who's prettiest. Honoring the Native communities who once sheltered escaped slaves.
“The Indians came through Claiborne under the bridge on Mardi Gras morning and shut the whole block down.”
by community
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Indians In A Sentence
The Indians came through Claiborne under the bridge on Mardi Gras morning and shut the whole block down.
Origin & Usage
Black New Orleans tradition dating to at least the 1880s, honoring Native American communities that sheltered escaped enslaved people; the suit-making tradition is passed down within tribes by Big Chiefs and Spy Boys.
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