NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) —For many, the holy grail souvenir collector’s item for Mardi Gras is the Zulu coconut. The historic name the Zulu coconut is the golden nugget. They have been part of the parade since about 1910.
In the beginning, Zulu coconuts were naturally hairy and not quite as decorated as the ones people have come to love today. Over the years, they’ve become elaborately decorated and have grown into highly coveted prized throws.
There was one year when Mardi Gras didn’t have coconuts. In 1987, the Zulu organization was unable to get insurance coverage to toss the coconuts, but after some lobbying, the Louisiana State Legislature passed what was known as the “Coconut Bill,” which protected Zulu coconuts along with other throws such as Mardi Gras beads, doubloons and cups.
On Mardi Gras Day, the Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club, put on quite a show, with the brilliant and animated tramps, close to 48 floats, a host of marching bands and the king and queen for that year. Zulu’s involvement with the Mardi Gras parade began back during the organization’s establishment in 1909. It wasn’t until two years later, that parade goers would get the chance to get their hands on a Zulu coconut.
Roderick Mitchell is the Memorabilia Chairman for the Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club and knows quite a bit about the parade, saying, “on Mardi Gras Day, it’s the best sight to see. Zulu starts off Mardi Gras Day. Hold your hands up and say, hey! Zulu! Throw me a coconut! Toss me a coconut! I want a coconut!”
Even during the other 364 days when it’s not Mardi Gras, there is an opportunity to own a coconut, by purchasing one at the Zulu memorabilia store on Broad street.
“What’s special about our coconuts and all our throws from the Zulu Memorabilia store, is they have the Zulu logo on it,” explains Mitchell.
Zulu coconuts begin life like many other pieces of produce, at the tops of trees. Riders pick up the pain and emptied coconuts by the sack at the Zulu Memorabilia shop and let genius and creativity have their way.
Myron Green and his twin brother Marcus, have been riding in the Zulu parade for the last four years. Part of that honor of riding, means Myron has to transform coconuts into works of art.
“The ones I got this year, I got the idea from marble countertops. I don’t think I’ve ever seen one like the ones I’ve made. I haven’t seen every coconut in the world, but the ones I’ve done this year are quite unique. The thing you need is your epoxy resin. It’s kind of like how you do with a tumbler. You have to rotate it and it then goes through a process to cure,” says Myron.
This year, Myron came up with a novel idea to make marbled coconuts. It takes 12 hours for one of Myron’s marbled coconuts to be complete because of the curing process with epoxy resin.
Myron’s family is just like so many others in New Orleans, which have a tradition of attending the Zulu parade and catching a coconut as a child.
“My twin brother got one first on Mardi Gras day. We were about nine or ten years old. He said he got a coconut and I was so upset because it’s competition when you have a sibling or a twin. I had this fire in my eye and said I was going to get me one too. I got a coconut myself and felt like a million dollars,” says Myron.
If the Zulu parade is the soul of Mardi Gras, the Zulu coconut is the heart, that has been beating for over a hundred years of Carnival parades.
Myron says he will do around 500 coconuts this year and only a portion of that will be marbled coconuts.
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