Cajun Mardi Gras explained: Wilson Savoy on the costumes, music, masks

In an email Q&A, Savoy explains the Cajun Mardi Gras gathering:

We usually have about 300 runners who show up on Mardi Gras . A handful show up and leave before we even start because they didn't know they had to dress up in costumes. This is depicted in the "Treme" episode of our Mardi Gras run. Everyone has to have a costume and take part, either playing music or chasing chickens. If they don't, they will usually end up being thrown in a ditch by one of the co-capitains.

What are the roots of the celebration as you understand it?

Mardi Gras, to us, is the last day to party and have fun drinking and indulging in whatever you plan on giving up for Lent. Most people, starting Ash Wednesday (the day after Mardi Gras) give up alcohol or cigarettes or whatever they love to do. We pay homage to the traditions of our ancestors, since they were running Mardi Gras 60 years ago just like we are now. The runners go from house to house and ask permission to enter the yard of the home owner. They dance and entertain the owners and in exchange they ask for anything to contribute to the run, usually ingredients to make a gumbo at the end of the day (rice, chickens, sausage, flour, etc). While New Orleans Mardi Gras is a giant parade, Cajun Mardi Gras was always meant to be small, each little rural area having their own "run," consisting of a small acoustic band and a handful of runners. Today's Mardi Gras runs range from very small runs like Tee Mamou (one small band and about 30 runners) to Eunice with over 5,000 runners. The bigger the Mardi Gras becomes, the more the traditions get watered down and forgotten about. That was the whole reason that my brother, Joel, along with friends, started this Mardi Gras run.

What's up with the costumes?

Everyone wears a mask to conceal their identity, so they can have fun without worrying if everyone recognizes them. The rest of the attire is simply traditional, and I'm not sure where it comes from (the pointed hats, the colorful garments).

I like that it depicts what I understand to be the traditional hierarchy of the event, with a captain explaining the task to the group. I've seen that same scene in documentaries. Is that typical?

The capitain's job is to make sure no one is breaking the rules of the Mardi Gras run. He establishes his authority at the beginning so people respect the capitain during the run. There have been times during some Mardi Gras runs (not ours, but other runs nearby) when the capitain had to kick people off the run who were misbehaving.