Gramercy/Lutcher Mardi Gras Courir

The Courir de Mardi Gras — a rural Mardi Gras tradition in which masked horseback riders travel from house to house begging for gumbo ingredients — is practiced in the German Coast communities of St. James and St. John the Baptist Parishes, including the Gramercy and Lutcher areas, as a community-based Mardi Gras tradition distinct from the New Orleans parade format. The tradition, rooted in medieval French masking customs brought to Louisiana, has been continuously practiced in River Road parishes and is documented by the Louisiana Folklife Program as an endangered living tradition.