Edited by Azizi Powell
This pancocojams post is a complete reprint (along with its only discussion thread comment) of an updated version of this 2015 pancocojams post.https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2015/12/probable-ghanaian-sources-for-new.htmlThat post remains on this blog and additional comments may still be added to this post.
This post presents the theories that I've found online about the reasons why New Orleans, Louisiana second line paraders hold & twirl parasols and wave white handkerchiefs.
The content of this post is presented for folkloric, historical, and cultural purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those who are featured in the videos that are embedded in this post. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publishers of those videos on YouTube.
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DISCLAIMER
This post presents theories that I gleaned from reading some internet sources. These theories aren't meant to be comprehensive.
My stating that (based on my internet reading) Ghana, West Africa is a probable early source for the New Orleans Mardi Gras custom of twirling parasols and waving white handkerchiefs doesn't mean that there were (are) other African sources for these customs as well as other reasons (such as the heat) for these New Orleans Mardi Gras customs.
Also, my referring to Ghana regarding this subject, it doesn't mean that that is the only African nation that had (has) the tradition of dancers waving white (or other colors?) handkerchiefs while they danced. Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2026/09/information-about-dancing-and-waving.html for the pancocojams post entitled "Information About Dancing And Waving White Handkerchiefs In Ewe Cultures Of Ghana & Togo And The Igbo Culture Of Nigeria (reprint)"
In addition, click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5dcczS2GsE for the YouTube video of The Democratic Republic Of The Congo (Central Africa) group Proclaim's version of the Gospel song "Awesome God". Notice that the boys waving a handkerchief while they dance is a key element in that dance. I don't know if waving handkerchiefs was an early element of that dance of if that custom was added to that dance by that group and by others who I have seen (online) doing that dance.
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These theories are given in no particular order.
1. It's hot outside (parasols offer shade and handkerchiefs wipe off sweat in the heat)
2. It looks good
3. People carried and twirled white parasols and waved white handkerchiefs for spiritual reasons.
-snip-
My guess is that the third reason was the earliest reason for these customs.
Statements about reason #1
(italics added to highlight a sentence)
Quote #1 from http://blog.juliahohne.com/2012/09/06/pick-your-parasol/ Julia, September 6, 2012
"Parasols and umbrellas are as important to a New Orleans wedding as red beans & rice are to Monday. But why? Where did the tradition come from? And what is that second line handkerchief all about? Heck, what’s a second line? I know many of you already know the answers, but for all of you destination brides and your confused family members, I thought a little explaining was in order.
The second line tradition is one of my favorite ‘only in New Orleans’ wedding traditions. After the ceremony a brass band plays celebratory music as the couple, holding his and hers parasols, dance behind. This is called the ‘first line’. All of their wedding guests, (and often times random people in the French Quarter) are invited to dance behind, waving white handkerchiefs in the air, to celebrate the newlyweds. The band leads the entire wedding ensemble to the reception venue. Think of it as your own little personal parade. I mean, what bride doesn’t want that?
The tradition is based on the famous New Orleans jazz funerals, where the band would play somber, slow music to honor the life of the deceased person. A second line of family and friends would form behind twirling umbrellas and parasols (it is New Orleans after all, and HOT practically all the time!). Those who didn’t have a parasol would retrieve a white handkerchief from the breast pocket of a nearby gentleman and twirl it above their head to join the parade.
So next time you go to a New Orleans wedding, and are handed a handkerchief at the ceremony, you’ll know it’s not to dab your tears or blow your nose but to celebrate the couple in a parade afterwards!"
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Quote #2 from https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070728091424AAo1lxn onetwobucklemyfoo, July 24, 2007
"Reason for white handkerchiefs in New Orleans style wedding?
I have a friend who is getting married and is thinking of doing New Orleans style wedding, but she is curious of why they wave white handkerchiefs after the wedding. Does anyone know?
That is part of a uniquely New Orleans tradition of second-lining! It started back in the mid-late 1800s when a band would march and play behind a casket for a funeral procession. They were known as the first line.The people who would join in behind the band, marching and singing and dancing, were known as the second-line. Because New Orleans is SO hot and humid for much of the year, when these processions would take place, people would carry umbrellas to help keep the sun off their heads--that's still done today in New Orleans--people carry open umbrellas when the sun is out! Also, they would carry handkerchiefs to wipe their faces and dry them by waving them in the air. Second lining is done quite frequently at celebrations like weddings and festivals in New Orleans.
Source(s): I'm a New Orleans tourguide"
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statements about reason #2
I believe that the custom of waving white handkerchiefs in New Orleans, Louisiana or elsewhere in the United States while marching in second line parades have their sources in the traditional customs of waving or dancing with white handkerchiefs in the Ewe cultures of Ghana, West Africa and Togo, West Africa, as well as the Igbo culture of Nigeria, West Africa.
Coincidentally, the "it's hot outside" response was also given in response to a commenter asking why Africans wave white handkerchiefs in church That explanation is combined with a "it looks nice (aesthetic) explanation.
Quote #1 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bho1JbB1gTA Atta Boafo - Double Double (Blessings)
callmeblessings, 2012
in reply to sisteryaime
@sisteryaime lol it doesn't really have a meaning as far as I know. Its just people in africa have these little scarves or cloth because of the heat. For some reason they started using it in church as an extra to praise God. It looks nice too when the whole church does it I think lol."
-snip-
That comment is included in the first post of a four part series on traditional customs of waving or dancing with white handkerchiefs in certain West African cultures. Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2015/11/information-about-dancing-and-waving.html for Part I of a four part series. The links to the other posts in that series can be found in that post.
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statements about reason #3
I believe that the custom of people holding parasols and twirling parasols in first line and second line New Orleans parades have their source in traditional Ashanti (Ghanaian) traditions. In Ghana (and in Egypt and some other African nations) umbrellas were used and are still used to protect royalty from the heat. But I wonder if twirling those umbrellas had (has) a spiritual meaning, similar to the Islamic custom of whirling dervishes or the Buddhist custom of spinning a prayer wheel. Even if there was (and is?) a religious element to the large twirling Ghanaian umbrellas, my guess is that this custom also has an aesthetic element- those twirling umbrellas look good.
I'm also not denying that the white handkerchiefs that are twirled by Ghanaian church goers might sometimes be used to wipe off their sweat. But white handkerchiefs are twirled as a way of expressing spiritual joy. And one comment that I found online indicates that the traditional Igbo dances which include twirling white handkerchiefs had a spiritual meaning:
Quote #2 from https://books.google.com/books?id=8bswAQAAIAAJ
Groundwork of Igbo history - Page 754
Adiele Eberechukwu Afigbo - 1992
"Because the Ogbaru people associated the white colour with deities, the dance was first performed with costumes made of white cloth under the priestess, the dance had a religious character... However, white handkerchief was introduced to accentuate the white symbolism."
-snip-
Notice that in the above mentioned West African traditions and in the New Orleans second line traditions that derive from those African traditions, the handkerchief color is "white", though other colors might be used nowadays.
Quote #2 https://louisianastatemuseum.org/mystery-motion-lore-flying-africans (no publishing date given, retrieved September 2, 2026
The Lore of Flying Africans
Mystery in Motion: African American Spirituality in Mardi
Gras
Online Exhibitions
As Africans became Christianized, beliefs in flying figures persisted and evolved. In Christianity, the dove symbolizes the Holy Spirit, and in funerary art conveys that the deceased is being carried to heaven. Such iconography would have connected with enslaved West Africans, for whom birds represent ashé, the power to make things happen This alignment of symbol and belief continues to this day, as in the tradition of waving a white handkerchief in second-line dances at New Orleans jazz funerals, a practice that can be interpreted to represent a convergence of Christian and traditional Yoruba iconography. The imagery remained in songs and hymns, retaining a mystic connection to flight. For example, the hymn “I’ll Fly Away,” which originated elsewhere, resonated deeply with African Americans in New Orleans and became a standard in the New Orleans brass band funeral repertoire.
In Mardi Gras Indian suits, the imagery of flight has also been applied to scenes of political allegory. Tyrone Casby, Big Chief of the Mohawk Hunters, incorporated a winged President Barack Obama in symbolic battles with flying dragons into two of his suits, one at the beginning of Obama’s first term and a second one as he left office. In these examples, as in other representations, heroic flying figures represent an invocation or recognition of spiritual agency in service of social justice. "
****SHOWCASE VIDEO EXAMPLES
Videos Of Men Holding & Twirling Umbrellas (Ashanti Culture, Ghana)
Example #1: New Video of Ashanti Historic Festival in Koforidua, New Juaben, Ghana, Africa, World
Hunter Gatherer, Published on Apr 4, 2013
Akwantukese Festival of the good people of New Juaben, Koforidua. Depicted are twirling umbrellas, the Ruler of New Juaben, Nana Oti Boateng II borne aloft in a palanquin.
-snip-
Women dancing with white handkerchiefs can be found throughout this video. There is also a brief clip of the Ruler of New Juaben waving a white handkerchief (around 2:50 in this video). New Juaben is a constituency in the Eastern region of Ghana.
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Example #2: Akwasidae Festival, ashanti region, kumasi, ghana
voodooalpaca Uploaded on Aug 27, 2010
Akwasidae Festival, ashanti region, kumasi, ghana
celebrate with the king!...
-snip-
Also, notice the scenes of shields being spun, beginning around 3:58 in this video.
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Example #3: ASHANTI FESTIVAL IN KUMASI,GHANA, 1995. ARRIVAL OF THE JUABENS
Hunter Gatherer Uploaded on Aug 30, 2010
The durbar held by the late King of Ashanti, Otumfuo Opoku Ware II, to commemorate his 25th year on the Golden Stool. Shown here is the arrival of the King of Juaben and his people--the Juabens.
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Update: December 4, 2015
I think that in African context, a durbar is a festival held to honor royalty.
As somewhat of an aside, notice the large fans that two women hold at around 6:00 of the video. Those fans are similar to fans held by some members of (African American (New Orleans, Louisiana) Social Aid & Pleasure Clubs when they strut during Mardi Gras and other parades. Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/05/new-orleans-buck-jumping-information.html for a pancocojams post that features several videos of New Orleans Social Aid And Pleasure Clubs.
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Example #4: 15th ANNIVERSARY OF OTUMFUO OSEI TUTU II
Nana Wiafe Akenten II, Published on Jun 9, 2014
15th ANNIVERSARY OF OTUMFUO OSEI TUTU II
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Example #1: Bella & Brian New Orleans Wedding: Second Line Parade
brellafarrelly, Uploaded on Mar 29, 2009
Footage of the second line parade from our wedding. Music courtesy of the amazing New Orleans Potholes.
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Example #2: Jackson 2nd line wedding reception
babyboy478, Uploaded on Jan 16, 2012
We couldn't have the wedding at home in New Orleans so we brought home to Texas... :~)
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Example #3: Rare Wedding Parade on Decatur Street in the French Quarter New Orleans
tazjazzman, Published on May 11, 2014
Saturday afternoon May 10th a rare wedding parade occurred on Decatur street in the French Quarter of New Orleans Louisiana. The parade had the bride and groom holding umbrellas, followed by a six piece traditional jazz band dressed in white, then followed by the wedding party waiving white handkerchiefs with some wearing Mardi Gras masks. Many onlookers enjoyed the parade, taking pictures and waving and even a few joining it. The wedding parade was video taped outside of the Gazebo Cafe and ended at Jackson square. The chess master who gives lessons on the game of chess you see in the video said that he has not seen a wedding going down Decatur Street for at least 5 years.
-snip-
Here's a comment from that video's discussion thread
Casey Jarvis, 2014
"I"m the bride in this video. Thank you so much for posting this! I want to give a shout out to Free Agents Brass Band who did an incredible job."
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According to sources quoted in the Wikipedia article about second line (parades), "Some scholars believe that second lining has its origins in traditional West African circle dances, where children formed a periphery circle outside the main circle of adult dancers. The dance was brought by slaves to New Orleans, where it became incorporated into processions, such as funerals, forcing the ring to straighten into a line.[2] Others note the similarity of the steps – exaggerated, loosely coordinated strutting – to dances performed in Congo Square by the enslaved given the day off on Sundays. These dances were officially banned for a time because they were deemed threatening to the white inhabitants of the city, and their resurgence in second lining suggests a similar celebration of individual freedom.[3]".https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_line_(parades) (retrieved December 4, 2015
Richard Brent Turner (11 August 2009). Jazz religion, the second line, and Black New Orleans. Indiana University Press. p. 108. ISBN 978-0-253-22120-9. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
3.Jump up ^ Roger D. Abrahams (2006). Blues for New Orleans: Mardi Gras and America's Creole soul. University of Pennsylvania Press. pp. 31–2. ISBN 978-0-8122-3959-1. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
-snip-
However, as can be shown by the Ghanaian videos embedded in this post, processional movements are traditional in Ghana and elsewhere in West Africa and Central Africa (where most Africans enslaved in the United States came from). Some of those processions were for funerals and some were for festivals and other special occasions. For that reason, it seems to me that there's no need for the theory cited above that New Orleans, Louisiana second lines "has its origins in traditional West African circle dances, where children formed a periphery circle outside the main circle of adult dancers."
Also, the dance/strut that is characteristic to second lining doesn't necessarily have the same source or sources as the custom of waving white handkerchiefs and twirling umbrellas or parasols.
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