Latest update- Sept. 18, 2023
This is Part I of a two part pancocojams series about the New Orleans Social Aid & Pleasure Clubs (SAPC) custom of holding and twirling umbrellas (parasols) during their parades.
Part I presents information about the Social Aid & Pleasure Clubs (SAPC) and provides information about the history of umbrellas (parasols).
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2020/02/videos-of-ghanaians-holding-large.html for Part II of this pancocojams series. Part II showcases videos of umbrellas/parasols in Ghanaian (West Africa) festivals. Part II also showcases videos of members of some New Orleans Social Aid & Pleasure Clubs carrying umbrellas/parasols, or feathered fans during jazz funerals and second line parades.
The content of this post is presented for historical, cultural, and folkloric purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.
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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTE
This pancocojams post is closely related to the pancocojams series about New Orleans second lines.
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2020/02/video-documentary-of-new-orleans.html for Part I of this pancocojams series. In that post "Social Aid & Pleasure Clubs" are referred to as "Benevolent Societies".
Part II of that pancocojams series https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2020/02/youtube-video-comments-about-new.html "YouTube Video Of The Second Line Funeral For Singer Juanita Brooks & Comments About New Orleans Jazz Funerals" includes several questions from the discussion thread of that showcased video about why people carry umbrellas during New Orleans jazz funerals. Here's one of those questions and its replies:
1. OhSheela, 2017
"Very Beautiful 🙌🏽🥀
Why the umbrellas?
Is there a meaning behind, I'm just asking. I've seen them ☔️ or shine💜"
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REPLY
2. RunningErins, 2017
"There isn't really a meaning behind it but it was mainly used for shade before air conditioners were a thing. It also became an accessory of choice for many southern weddings and funerals and was often an indicator of societal statue."
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REPLY
3. Tracie Lawrence, 2017
"They're parasols."
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REPLY
4. Jack Pea, 2018
"I think there is a West African origin. Umbrellas were a thing and still is some places."
-end of quotes-
Those questions and replies prompted me to do some online research about the history of umbrellas/parasols and why New Orleans Social Aid & Pleasure Clubs might have chosen to carry parasols when they parade during jazz funerals and during their other parades. I was particularly interested in finding some examples of West Africans carrying umbrellas and stroke gold when I came across videos of Ghanaians carrying and twirling large parasols during various festivals. I've included some of those videos in Part II of this series.
Part I of this series provides some excerpts of online articles about the custom of carrying parasols-in the early days to protect important people from the sun, as symbols of nobility, status, and/or authority, and/or as fashion statements. I think all of reason #2 and #3 in particular may explain why members of New Orleans' Social Aid & Pleasure Clubs carry parasols. I also think that the feathered fans that New Orleans Social Aid & Pleasure Club members carry come from these same African, Asian, and Middle Eastern traditions and are carried for the same reasons as indicated in #2 and #3.
Your thoughts on the origins and meanings of this custom are very welcome.
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INFORMATION ABOUT NEW ORLEANS SOCIAL AID & PLEASURE CLUBS
From https://www.neworleans.com/things-to-do/music/history-and-traditions/social-aid-and-pleasure-clubs/
"SOCIAL AID AND PLEASURE CLUBS
These groups are rooted in community activism
Strutting and jumping and high-stepping beneath their decorated parasols – blowing whistles and waving feathered fans – African-American members of New Orleans’ social aid and pleasure clubs are the organizers, originators, and sponsors of the second line parades for which the city is famous.
In his autobiography, “Satchmo: My Life in New Orleans,” Louis Armstrong wrote that when he was a child, "To watch those clubs parade was an irresistible and absolutely unique experience ... Every time one of those clubs paraded I could second line with them all day long." And in 1949, the Zulu Social Aid & Pleasure Club asked Pops to reign as King in the Zulu parade."
-snip-
This is a complete re-print of this article. No author or publishing date is given for this article which I retrieved on Feb. 25, 2020.
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EXCERPTS ABOUT THE HISTORY OF UMBRELLAS/PARASOLS
These excerpts are given in no particular order. Numbers are added for referencing purposes only.
Excerpt #1
From https://www.parasolgroup.co.uk/blog/the-history-of-the-umbrella-11726/ The history of the umbrella
18th December 2019, by Laura
..."The word ‘umbrella’ originates from the Latin term ‘umbra’, later followed by the Italian term ‘ombra’, which translates to today’s shade or shadow. This provides a strong link back to the early use of the parasol, providing a shadow against the sun’s powerful rays.
So, where did the umbrella come from?
The basic umbrella was invented over 4,000 years ago, its early use has links back to Egypt, Greece and China. If we think of an umbrella, the first thing that would come to mind is rain; however, if we look at their use through time, they weren’t always used in these conditions. The ancient form of the umbrella was traditionally used for protection from the sun, today referred to as a parasol.
Ancient Egypt
In ancient Egypt, the first parasols appeared over 4,000 years ago, and were created to protect royalty and nobility from the sun’s harsh rays. They were originally made from materials such as tree leaves and palm branches, evolving to be made from animal skins and cloth as time went on. These materials were extremely expensive and difficult to source. As a result, they were almost exclusively used by royalty and nobility as a symbol of wealth.
In the desert-like climate, there was little need to create an umbrella through the waterproofing process.
China
In the 11th century BC, the early form of the umbrella was used by those who could afford such a luxurious item. The first waterproof parasols, or umbrellas from then onwards, failed to reach Europe due to limited international trade routes.
A long journey to Europe
After trade routes became more established, the Egyptian non-waterproofed parasol made its way to Greece and Italy, however they were used almost exclusively by females as males viewed them as ‘feminine’. Although the parasol had made its European debut, the fall of the Roman Empire led to its sudden departure from public use.
The poor conditions and lack of technological advancement following this meant that there was an almost-1000 year absence of the umbrella in Europe.
Closer to home
The umbrella emerged again in the 16th century, gaining popularity in the rainy climates of northern Europe.
In the 1790s, the tradition of female use continued to strengthen. This changed when Persian traveller and writer Jonas Hanway used an umbrella in public for a number of decades, popularising its use amongst men. The male population disapproved of this at first, but soon accepted the umbrella into their routine after stronger and heavier umbrellas were put into production.
The first shop that exclusively sold umbrellas was called James Smith and Sons. The shop opened in London in 1830, and still exists to this day.
Early European umbrellas were crafted together from wood and a form of oiled canvas, until the mid 1850s when the steel ribbed umbrella design was created by Samuel Fox. This was followed by the compact collapsible umbrella, available over a century later”...
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Excerpt #2
From https://favoriten-festival.de/en/programm/looking-for-beginnings LOOKING FOR BEGINNINGS
by Rita Mawuena Benissan & Princela Biyaa [no date given, retrieved on Sept. 18, 2023]
"In Ghana, the royal umbrellas are used in the chieftaincy. The royals – king, queen mother and chief – stand and dance under the umbrella surrounded by their entourage. The umbrellas are to provide shade and protect the person from the weather and sun, but they also serve as an indicator of that person. The fabrication of the umbrella represents the person and the community walking under the umbrella. The use of color and size establishes a power dynamic with the different types of umbrellas.“…
Excerpt #3
From https://www.nytimes.com/1981/05/06/garden/umbrellas-drenched-in-history.html UMBRELLAS: DRENCHED IN HISTORY
The New York Times Archives
Cathy Silver, May 6, 1981, Section C, Page 16
..."When the Mandarins ruled China in the 11th century B.C., ''The rank of any holder of office could be judged according to whether a double or triple-decked umbrella was carried over him; a fourfold sunshade was the privilege of the heaven-born emperor alone,'' wrote Max von Boehn in ''Ornaments: Modes and Manners'' (Benjamin Blom, 1970). In imperial Japan the Mikado never appeared in public unaccompanied by his parasol-bearer. Even today a parasol-bearer stands near the Emperor as he gardens.
Alabaster reliefs in the Palace at Nineveh in Iraq dating from 885-860 B.C. show the Assyrian ruler Nimrod in his war chariot. ''Behind him stands a slave with a conical parasol, made of some striped material, and made to fold up,'' von Boehn wrote. In ancient Egyptian art, Pharaohs are enthroned beneath parasols, and in Thebes princesses drove chariots with fringed sunshades. In Burma, white umbrellas were reserved for the king and the sacred white elephant; the king claimed among his other titles, ''Lord of the Great Parasol.''
Greeks brought parasols to Europe, and the transformation from sunshade to watershield was made, at least for a while, in Rome. Until the 18th century, umbrellas kept appearing and then disappearing in the West. In the medieval Catholic Church the umbrella became a symbol of authority, and umbrellas are still among the Pope's accouterments."...
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Excerpt #4
From https://www.encyclopedia.com/fashion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/parasols
“Parasols
Invented to protect people from the sun in ancient Egypt and the Middle East, the parasol was developed as a fashion accessory in late-sixteenth-century Italy and soon spread throughout Europe. A parasol is a light umbrella, generally made of much lighter, less durable materials than an umbrella and not intended to protect the user from rain. At first used only in southern European countries, parasols became popular in England by the mid-eighteenth century and remained an important fashion accessory for women throughout Europe well into the nineteenth century. They were essential to helping women maintain their fashionably pale complexions.
Like other fashionable accessories, the parasol soon became a vehicle for the display of taste and manners. The shades of parasols were made of delicate fabrics like silk, satin, and lace, or of fabrics imprinted with beautiful patterns. Shafts were made of delicately carved wood, and handles might be made of ivory, silver, or gold. Practicality was soon discarded, and the sizes of parasols grew very tiny, hardly capable of providing shade. In the eighteenth century parasols played an important role in the posturing and posing that became such an important part of social display. Women held a parasol over their shoulder just so, twirled the handle for dramatic effect, and used the parasol to draw attention to themselves.*
While it is not surprising that men didn't carry parasols, it also was considered ungentlemanly to carry an umbrella until the nineteenth century. Carrying an umbrella implied that a man couldn't afford a carriage to protect him from the rain, so umbrellas were considered acceptable only for the lower classes. Men using umbrellas in England were mocked as late as the 1780s, but finally people realized that keeping dry might make more sense than keeping in fashion.”
-snip-
*Italics added to highlight these sentences.
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Excerpt #5
From https://racingnelliebly.com/strange_times/parasols-said-it-best/ PARASOLS SAID IT BEST!
Parasols said it best in an era when people often had to communicate without words. Imagine life minus email, cell phones, Facebook, or twitter. Whatever did they do? Gloves and fans worked well for indoor events. But when it came to outdoor meetings, many preferred to twirl, tap or tip a parasol to deliver a private message to that “certain someone.”
[...]
PARASOLS FOR LADIES AND AT LEAST ONE GENTLEMAN
Parasols of ancient times were used largely to shade nobility. With servants in tow, this was a sign of success and great honor. Men had no problem being seen under a parasol.*
In Europe however, no self-respecting male would touch one. That changed slowly, thanks to English doctor Jonas Hanway who began carrying an umbrella in 1756. Not one to succumbed to scorn, Hanway continued carrying his umbrella until it became the must-have item we know today. Englishmen often referred to their umbrellas as the Hanway.
[...]
Ancient cultures used parasols for shade from the sun an estimated 4,000 years ago. Several Egyptians hieroglyphics depict parasols. They are portrayed in literature and art across Egypt, China, Greece and India. Early versions were fashioned from palm leaves and sticks, paper, fabric, feathers and animal skins.
In their earliest years, parasols were a luxury for gods, royalty, nobility and clergy. In China, parasols for nobility frequently had multiple layers. The Chinese are believed to be the first people to waterproof their parasols (a.k.a. umbrellas), by using oiled or waxed paper."...
-snip-
No author or publishing date is given for this article which I retrieved on Feb. 25, 2020.
*Italics added to highlight these sentences.
Notice the sub-heading "THE PARASOL’S LONG JOURNEY FROM ASIA" mentions Egypt and Greece. That sub-heading is incorrect as Egypt is a nation in Africa and Greece is a nation in Europe.
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Excerpt #6
From https://www.today.com/news/parasols-become-modern-fashion-accessory-wbna24001895 Parasols become a modern fashion accessory
April 7, 2008, 6:55 PM EDT / Source: The Associated Press
..."Fashion designer Anna Sui makes a strong case for the parasol as an objet d'art. She's put them on the runway at least four times, including the fashion show for the current spring collection. A model matched her turquoise-and-black print blouse to her turqoise-and-black print parasol.
Tracy Reese and Temperley London also made style statements with parasols this season.
Sui works with a licensee to make umbrellas, and she says the parasols always sell out of her Manhattan store. She can't recall ever carrying one on the street, but an elaborate one from India with mirrors and appliques hangs in her bedroom.
It provides the necessary drama as a prop, but it's also a traditional sunshade, especially in India, China and Japan, as well as in the Old South, when the real-life equivalents of Scarlett O'Hara would use one to keep her skin from freckling, Sui says.
[...]
And they seem to be gaining in celebrity appeal. Among the stars photographed with assistants holding umbrellas for them in the sun are Beyonce, Mariah Carey, Sean "Diddy" Combs and Michael Jackson. Rihanna even has a new umbrella (ella, ella) line for Totes."...
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This concludes Part I of this two part pancocojams series.
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