Sacrilegus New Orleans Cultural Chants

My father taught me that I had to go through the ranks to earn the right to sing New Orleans cultural chants. I was taught that if you have not paid the dues and earned your respect from masking you should not chant prayers like Oh-Nah-Nay and Tu-Way-Pockey-Way. Musicians and others that chant without knowing what they are talking about show the deepest disrespect to our culture. They can sing songs that are not part of our ritual like Hey Pockey-Way, but they should not chant our traditional songs. When they do chant is a form of sacrilege.

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