Hey Blake,
I know that "rex" means "king," therefore not to be called King Rex. But are Comus, Momus and Proteus called King Momus, etc.?
Hardy
Dear Hardy,
Well, I suppose you could say King Comus, King Momus and King Proteus. But if you did, folks would know you are not from N'Awlins. While these organizations have monarchs, they are usually referred to by their mythological names because they are not kings but demigods. Comus was the god of festive mirth, the child of Bacchus and Circe. Momus was the Greek god of mockery and spiteful criticism. It is said that he was born of Night. He kept busy harassing the big guys on Mount Olympus. Proteus was a Greek god of the sea who was capable of taking many shapes.
Comus came to New Orleans in 1857, when a group of men formed a new organization called the Mistick Krewe of Comus and began the traditions of Carnival as we know them today. They put on a torch-lit themed parade with floats and maskers in costume followed by a masked ball. While Comus has not paraded for many years, ever since his debut his identity has remained a secret.
The Knights of Momus first paraded in New Orleans in 1872 on New Year's Eve. From the very beginning, Momus led the knights on horseback. In 1876, the organization moved its parade to the Thursday before Mardi Gras. Momus led the pageant 86 times until 1991, when both he and Comus deprived the citizens of their presence.
Like Momus, the identity of Proteus, who led his first parade in 1882, has always remained a secret. Proteus, too, stopped parading in 1991, but returned to the delight of many in 2000.
Only the identity of Rex, who has been the King of Carnival since 1872, has been known to the masses. The first Rex was Louis Salomon, a Jewish banker and cotton factor and member of the exclusive Boston Club.
Hey Blake,
Is it true that New Orleans was founded on Mardi Gras?
Gloria
Dear Gloria,
What a lovely myth. But, sadly, it is not true. Historians dispute the exact date of the founding of New Orleans, but they agree that the year was 1718. Jean Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville chose this site 30 leagues from the mouth of the river because of easy access to the river through Lake Pontchartrain and Bayou St. John. And it was early in that year that he and about 50 men began clearing trees and undergrowth.
Intrepid men had begun exploring the mouth of the Mississippi and the immediate vicinity of present-day New Orleans shortly after Columbus arrived in the New World. However, it was much later when Sieur de la Salle and company sailed down the Mississippi and erected a cross at a point not far downstream from the present location of the city on April 9, 1682. A column was also erected bearing the arms of France and an inscription claiming the territory in the name of King Louis XIV of France.
In 1684, Louis XIV sent La Salle on an expedition to establish a settlement at the mouth of the Mississippi. Off he went, but got off course and ended up in what is now Matagorda Bay, Texas. La Salle thought he was entering the western channel of the river. When he finally realized his mistake, he kept looking for the river. No luck. Poor La Salle had to abandon the project and return to Canada from whence he had come via a land route. He never made it because, on the way, he was killed by his own men. Then in 1699, Pierre Le Moyne, Sieur d'Iberville, sailed from Canada with four ships and the intent to secure and colonize the mouth of the river. He, too, was a bit confused and landed at Mobile Bay in February 1699. Finally, on March 2, he and his men found the mouth of the river. It was Mardi Gras, and Bienville named his campsite Point Mardi Gras, by which it is still known today.
