Le Quiz de Mardi Gras
Robert Trudeau, author of How To Mardi Gras
1. Rex is the best-known krewe of New Orleans but it is not quite the oldest. That distinction belongs to the Mystick Krewe of a) Comus b) Proteus c) Zulu.
2. The horse-mounted men of the Cajun courir de Mardi Gras ride to their neighbors' farms to entertain and to request a) the loan of their first-born son b) a round of beers c) a contribution to the gumbo d) a kiss from each of the ladies present.
3. New Orleans still has nighttime parades illuminated in part by men carrying pole-mounted torches. The torches are called a) doubloons b) flambeaux c) throws.
4. The New Orleans krewe with the biggest floats and the most throws: a) Rex b) Bacchus c) Zulu d) Mid City.
5. New Orleans also celebrates the arrival of Rex at the river front on the day before Fat Tuesday. That day has a French name, too: a) Lundi Gras b) Jeudi Gras c) Dimanche Gras d) Vendredi Gras.
6. The first krewe to roll on Mardi Gras morning is the one that traditionally did not print a specific parade route: a) Rex b) Comus c) Zulu.
7. The nation with the longest Carnival season; it begins in November.
a) Germany b) Brazil c) Trinidad d) France.
8. This nation features a Women's Parade Day during which the females on the floats may descend into the crowd to grab men for hugs and kisses: a) Brazil b) Belgium c) Italy d) Germany.
9. Costumed riders throw oranges at the crowd according to an ancient custom in the Western European town of Binche, in a) Germany b) Belgium c) Trinidad.
10. Carnival costumes are frequently so large in this Caribbean nation that they must be supported by metal frames and outrigger wheels. The nation: a) Trinidad
b) Jamaica c) Brazil.
11. In England the day we know as Fat Tuesday is called Pancake Day or a) Clove Tuesday b) Shrove Tuesday c) Mauve Tuesday.
12. The largest Carnival gathering in the world: a) New Orleans b) Rio de Janeiro c) Munich, Germany.
13. The Creole Wild West, the Wild Tchoupitoulas and the Golden Eagle Hunters are tribes of New Orleans' Mardi Gras Indians. One of their traditional chants is *Two-way pocky way*. That means a) *Come on, sister, show yo' stuff!*
b) *Whole lotta money in this costume!* c) *Get out of the way or we'll kill you!*
Answers: 1. a 2. c 3. b 4. b 5. a 6. c 7. a 8. d 9. b 10. a 11. b 12. b 13. c
Sources: The New York Times, Carnival, American Style, Kinser; Carnival, Orloff; Mardi Gras, A Celebration, Osborne, and Mardi Gras, Huber.
Sonja Bailes, Ch. 3 News Shreveport, has invited me to join the morning news team at the Centaur den Wednesday morning, Jan. 26, to discuss Carnival lore. Please join us.
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