Carnival A-Z: Knights, of Momus and of Chaos

In Classical Mythology, Chaos was the beginning. It was from him that all things came, but he was nothingness. Chaos represented a complete lack of order. From Chaos came many things, one of which was Nyx (Night). Nyx bore many children, many of which were conceived without a father. According to many accounts one of these fatherless children was Momus (Momos), the god of mockery and ridicule. Other accounts have Momus listed as a sibling of Nyx; this may mean Nyx was impregnated with Momus by her father, Chaos (Chaos being nothingness and disorder, that may be perceived as a fatherless conception). Momus was exiled from Olympus for what amounts simply to the unending ridicule of the other Olympians.

The first Krewe in New Orleans was that of Comus, which was founded in 1857 by a group of young men. By the early 1870’s the Mistick Krewe’s membership was older, and decidedly full. Several young men who would otherwise have been granted membership into the Mistick Krewe decided to form their own Krewe; they chose ridicule and mockery as the premise. Thus began a period of 120 years where the Knights of Momus would parade through the streets of the Crescent City on the Thursday preceding the shrove.

In 1992 when Dorothy Mae Taylor succeeded in ceasing the parades of several krewes, the Knights of Momus were among the parades that ceased parading. The Knights continue, to this day, to hold their private ball on “Momus Thursday,” which has been said by many a person to be one of the most amusing, enjoyable, and entertaining balls of the season.

The Momus Thursday evening spot remained vacant for about 10 years, then a Krewe like none other appeared to fill the spot. The Knights of Chaos, paraded for the first time on Momus Thursday in 2001. The floats that Chaos uses are infact the very same, old wagon-wheeled floats that Momus used. Nothing is made known about this krewe other than the origin of the floats and it’s [Momus inspired?] satirical irreverence.

Chaos does a wonderful job filling the void in the schedules and hearts that open back in the nineties. The arrival of Chaos, seems to allow Momus’s knights to live out their motto: “Dum Vivimus, Vivamus”