"Unanae" - New Birth Brass Band

“Unanae” (PDF) from the New Birth Brass Band album, New Orleans Second Line!

Many of the origins of the Mardi Gras Indians remain a mystery to outsiders, probably for the best, however the adoption of the language into modern New Orleans culture still carries the original intent. I don’t know what unanae means, but I have to assume that the war chant can’t mean anything good, especially if it’s chanted in your direction.

But thanks to the peacekeepers and guardians of the flame, unanae, or “Ooh Nah Nay,” has become a common response to the call of some traditional New Orleans tunes, such as “Iko Iko” and “Tootie Ma Is A Big Fine Thing,” and you can say so much by saying so little.

For instance, this trombone solo mostly stays within one octave, and despite repeating a few phrases, it makes a statement by relying on funk rhythms in a similar manner as Fred Wesley. And similar to the Mardi Gras Indians, the power and strength is in the grooves and rhythm, unrelenting and always driving forward until a blast of energetic expression stuns its intended target.

Recommended reading: Roll With It: Brass Bands in the Streets of New Orleans by Matt Sakakeeny. Published by Duke University Press.