>>> <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 01/15 1:22 AM >>>
>some sort of caroling group in Ste. Genevieve, Mo.,
This is probably more than you want to know, but here goes -
This "caroling" is actually a centuries-old New Years Eve French folksong/dance
tradition and begging ritual similar in some ways
to one practiced in Louisiana around Mardi Gras. It's called La Guillonee (sp). And
it's still done in other French communities in the area, particulary Old Mines, MO and
Prairie Du Rocher, IL. About 4 years ago, I was asked to help out some folklore types
videotape and photograph the St. Genevieve bunch while another group led by Harry
Oster (producer of many great blues and Cajun albums in the early 1960s and all around
character) went to Prairie Du Rocher. In the old days, a group of men led by a
fiddler used to go from house to house on foot or in the back of a wagon and sing to
the farmer a song in which they begged for a drink (and perhaps his daughter). The
farmer would then give them a drink. Then on to the next place. And so on.
Well, traditions change. Now these guys go from bar to bar (and one nursing home and
a church) in a school bus and do their song. The night I was with them we made, I
think, 18 stops. It got a little crazy after about the 6th ot 7th drink. Yeah buddy.
The funniest stop was when these guys marched into a bar where some glittery rock
band was playing. The guys waited a few minutes, then did their song and dance during
the band's break. Talk about a gap in the space/time continuum... They got a huge
round of applause.
Any idea if this series will be available on video?
Jim Nelson
