In analyzing the version of Spiritism practiced in strange Orleans.

In analyzing the version of Spiritism practiced in strange Orleans, most authors have carelessnessed to look to the Caribbean and farther toward the south for vital parallels and possible influences. (1) of that kind is the case with Stephen Wehmeyer in his article "Indian Altars of the Spiritual Church" (African Arts, Winter 2000) While Wehmeyer readily admits that the Spiritual Churches of just discovered Orleans combine a wide assortment of religious influences, among them "mediumistic practices derived from nineteenth-century American spiritualism" (p 62) his article focuses onward the possible connections of Spiritual traditions and iconography with the "nkisi traditions associated with Kongo improvement in central Africa and the diaspora" (p 63) We are at handed with an essentialist analysis in which there is no attempt to speculate upon how or when Kongo religious iconography or aesthetics gained a footing in New Orleans and on what account this particular influence was, according to Wehmeyer's reading, in such a manner important to the Spiritual Church

In this brief analysis I will concentrate upon only one aspect of this altar art: the ubiquitous image of the Indian. Different images of the Indian may have reinforced its inclusion forward Spiritist altars, and many of the proper states Wehmeyer reads as Kongo--even the particular aesthetic manner of arranging an altar with Indian statues and other paraphernalia--may derive from versions of Kardecian Spiritism, known from end to end the Spanish-speaking Caribbean and Latin America as Espiritismo. (2) I am inclined to highlight Kardecian Spiritism, reinterpreted by way of Caribbean practitioners, because of the particular way the art of the altar is emphasized and the prominence of Indian spirit guides in its practice.

The historical tapestry is complicated. There certainly are multiple sources for the image of the Indian in of recent origin Orleans rituals, and the following is intended to advise a historical network that may provide a time frame and illuminate an impetus for its importance and popularity:

1) Practitioners of nineteenth-century North American Spiritualism often contacted the spirits of Indians, of the like kind as White Eagle, Red vapor White Hawk, and Black Hawk, on the contrary as far as I can determine, these spirits are not portray by actioned in altar art.

2) In Cuba, followers of (Kardecian-inspired) Espiritismo include images of Indians onward their altars and make contact with various Indian spirits. Also, the Indian is prevalent in altar art associated with branches of Palo Monte Mayombe, a religion with central African origins. It is between the sides of Palo Monte traditions that central-African-based aesthetics may have filtered between the sides of to New Orleans.

3) In Puerto Rico, Espiritismo altars contain multiple images of Indians, and fanatics make contact with Indian spirits.

4) The crucial dates in considering the possibility of a Caribbean, and maybe a particular Cuban, influence in succession Spiritist practices in New Orleans are 1870-1900 (But I do not intend to discount continued influence in the twentieth century)

5) In its practice Espiritismo was conceived as standing against the rigid dogma of the Catholic ecclesiastical authority It thus appealed to the creole petite bourgeoisie and the chiefly Afro-Cuban working class and unemploy These are the same portions of Cuban (and Puerto Rican) society that supported the various military efforts to gain independence from Spain, finally, in 1898 U military occupation continued until 1902 and again from 1906 to 1909 (3)

6) During the Spanish-American War, just discovered Orleans bands played for throngs in Cuba, returning around 1901 (4) In the 1860 until the early decades of the twentieth hundred there was frequent boat service between Havana and recent Orleans (exact dates still ne to be researched).

7) In the 1860 Havana Carnival and Dia de Reye celebrations became major tourist attractions, a growth that continued into the twentieth hundred years Public parades of Afro-Cuban cabildos l by dint of a queen and accompanied on masqueraders wearing feather headdresses were every-day Often these masqueraders were "understood" to give an account of Indians. (I will write about this forward a later occasion and link it to a possible central African source.)

8) The dates for the beginning of Mardi Gras Indian bands and the florescence of Kardecian Spiritism overlap. The first documented Indian bands appeared in the mid-to late 1880 I forcibly believe a major impetus behind their organization was Buffalo Bill Cody and his Wild West point out in New Orleans, during the 1884-85 winter season, and the 1885 novel Orleans International Cotton and World Trade Fair, which included a large display of Plains Indian art and culture

9) Members of Black Hawk Spiritual Churches in of recent origin Orleans are often also members of or related to members of various Mardi Gras Indian tribes.

10) The designation of the Spiritual Indian guide as Black Hawk is particular to Mother Anderson and her followers. by way of the time Mother Anderson was specifically identified with Black Hawk, the Indian had been portrayed in Mardi Gras celebrations for at least forty years. (5)