A Blessing...
7/30/2007
Geraldine Wyckoff - Louisiana Weekly
Harrison-Nelson chose this particular lot in the village because it is exactly where as a student at Joseph L. Cohn Junior High School she would seek solace from the taunts of her schoolmates.
"Children teased me because I saw the world differently and liked to read," says Harrison-Nelson, a gifted resource teacher with the Recovery School District, Counsel Queen "Queen Reesie" of the Guardians of the Flame Mardi Gras Indian gang and curator of the Mardi Gras Indian Hall of Fame. "So that's where I went to be by myself and find a personal space until class time."
The ceremony began in a grassy area next to her family's North Johnson Street home where Harrison-Nelson grew up. Her mother, Queen Mother Herreast Harrison, and sister live in a trailer next to the house that is presently being renovated. In the shade of an impressive palm tree, tambourines rang out and drums pounded calling the spirit of her father, the late Big Chief Donald Harrison Sr. of the Guardians of the Flame to join the procession that made its way just two blocks to the new house.
On the front porch of the cantaloupe colored home, items for the ceremony were displayed on a table. Some were commonly used articles such as the water that was poured on the steps to symbolize the washing of the home while others came from West African traditions. Both shared similar goals of bringing peace, love, joy, friendship and happiness to the occupants. To make the blessing a personal statement, Harrison-Nelson also included a mirliton and a sweet potato that were her father's favorite foods.
"I didn't want to have something that was created," she offers. "That would be like buying a Mardi Gras Indian suit. I wanted it to be special for me and my belief system and what I think is important in my life."
The Rev. Shola Falodun, an Anglican priest from Nigeria who now leads New Orleans' Church of All Souls, presided over the West African-influenced rituals while bringing his Christian faith to the ceremony. The house received also received a Christian blessing on Mardi Gras Day when the Rev. Bessie Vaughn joined Harrison-Nelson in prayer before she, as Queen Reesie, joined the awaiting members of the Guardians of the Flame.
Another prayer, the Mardi Gras Indian chant, "Indian Red," that certainly began that Carnival day was again heard at the house blessing led by Spyboy Honey (Irving Banister Jr.) of the Creole Wild West.
As an African American who was raised in the Catholic Church and surrounded by the Mardi Gras Indian culture, Harrison-Nelson finds no conflicts within the traditions.
"Most of the time I wear my ethnicity or what I believe is my cultural heritage," she offers. "Most people know me for wearing head wraps or African clothing. It's not a costume to me - those are my clothes. I don't ever deny being a Mardi Gras Indian. That is my heritage; that is what my father left me. And I do have Christian beliefs. They might be a little different than some people because I don't think it is as important to go to a building as it is to live a Christian life every day.
She does understand, however, that many individuals, particularly those outside of New Orleans, might see the traditions as being at odds with each other. She is also aware that there are churches that frown on the Indians and won't allow an Indian funeral.
"I've never known the Catholic Church to stand in the way of having a funeral that represents who you were in your life," she says. "That's its saving grace for me - I can have an Indian funeral when I pass."
All three traditions have offered Harrison-Nelson spiritual revelations that have enriched her life and brought a sense of understanding and comfort. She remembers feeling transformed when she went to West Africa and stood at the House of Slaves' "door of no return" on Goree Island.
"When I left out of that door, the old Cherice was gone and a new Cherice came out of that door. Something died and I guess it was the part of me that had been indoctrinated into a Western esthetic. Although I struggled with that, I no longer struggle with it."
She felt a similar sense of transformation when she first put on a Mardi Indian suit and remembers drawing on her Christian faith when at the birth of her son Brian, Big Chief of the Guardians of the Flame, she was told he had a slim chance of survival.
The house blessing that embraced the cultures that have shaped Harrison-Nelson's life has apparently already accomplished some of its aims.
"I'm just happy that I was be able to have the ceremony in that it really did make my house a home. For whatever reason, I was having problems feeling like I belonged here. I had to make my peace with that."
The 9th Annual Mardi Gras Indian Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony takes place on Aug. 12 from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. in Congo Square.
The music and musicians of New Orleans have always been the city’s heart and soul. Your support of New Orleans Habitat Musicians’ Village is the best way to ensure that my home town lifts itself from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina with heart and soul intact.- Harry Connick, Jr.
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