Although I've lived here in New Orleans for a few years and I spend damn near all my time researching and writing about New Orleans, this place never ceases to amaze me. Brass bands and Second Lines are among the best things about this city, yet behind the music and the dancing lies deep cultural traditions tied to rites of passage-- namely funerals. I live near an old Creole mortuary so I certainly see more than my fair share of funerals. But there is something so moving about mourners dancing and rejoicing when their loved ones depart this life. I'm no biblical scholar but i know the Good Book talks about how we should weep when one enters the world and rejoice when they depart this life and pass into to spiritual eternity. I find the concept to be simply beautiful.
Watching people celebrate life and death is spiritually moving and I often wonder who will be dancing when I pass on? New Orleans is not a wealthy city nor is it full of big and important people, yet the lives of ordinary men and women are celebrated with brass bands, lots of food and drink, and sometimes hundreds of friends and family members. i know if I have hundreds of people dancing at my funeral, I either did something really right or REALLY wrong!!
Today, I went outside to watch a 2nd line and the mourners pulled the casket out of the hearse and began dancing on top of it. I have seen people dancing while carrying the casket but I have never seen a casket put on the ground and people get on top of it. I tried to take a couple pictures but there were people everywhere!!
***postscript***
This post was first written in 2009 and I guess I forgot to publish it. I didn't even finish the post, but I'm publishing in anyway-- 5 years later.
Friday, August 14, 2009
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