In Courir de Mardi Gras, a live chicken is the prize ingredient for the communal gumbo.
The Courir de Mardi Gras is a rural Cajun tradition in Louisiana. Masked participants travel from house to house, singing, dancing, joking, and asking residents for ingredients for a shared gumbo prepared at the end of the route.
The chicken turns the food collection into a spectacle: a homeowner typically releases or throws the live bird, and the costumed runners chase it through yards or fields. Catching the chicken is treated as the day’s major challenge and prize.
Rice, sausage, vegetables, and other ingredients may also be collected. Local versions differ, however; some courirs omit the chicken chase entirely, so the tradition is not identical in every Louisiana community. The custom has roots in European begging rituals adapted by Cajun communities.