NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — It was a good morning indeed as the Northside Skull and Bones Gang kicked off Mardi Gras with one of the oldest New Orleans traditions in the Carnival book.
Beginning at the Backstreet Cultural Museum, members walked door-to-door across the Tremé as the sun rose to kick off Fat Tuesday festivities. Founders tell us the tradition is to help remind us of the literal meaning of Carnival — the shedding of the flesh.
In a 2018 interview, NOLA musician and gang leader Bruce “Sunpie” Barnes tells us, “We are the original skull and bones gang from New Orleans, starting in the Treme neighborhood in 1819. We wake up the city at 5:30 in the morning to bring our family spirits back from the cemetery. All of the ancient African spirits and invite them to take a walk with us.”
Before the Indians, before the Zulu coconuts, and before Rex, we remember that Northside Skull and Bones Gang gets Mardi Gras started in Treme. Watch more in the video player above.
Be sure to catch our LIVE Mardi Gras coverage beginning at 10 a.m.! Watch it here.