Mr. Vermeiren, what is your opinion of the savage from Ath with his nose ring and chains?
Me, personally, I find it quite aggressive. It’s been around for a long time, it’s true. We paid no attention to it, we thought it was normal. This being the case, it is necessary to review the way of not hitting since the population is also changing. It is much more cosmopolitan. Personally, I am not for removing monuments and statues. In which case, we can go back very far in history and even demolish the pyramids of Egypt built by slaves. We can try to understand the story, disagree… History is history. But we still have to evolve. Africans were few in Belgium, they are more so. Their sensitivity must be understood. Respect should be mutual.
Unesco has withdrawn its recognition from the Ducasse d’Ath. A citizens’ commission has been set up by the city of Ath and must decide on the future of the wild in a few weeks. What do you think ?
We have to evolve. It is useless to hit people with rings in the nose… In our time, it is not very serious. That there are reflections and criticisms on this subject seems logical to me.
To evolve is to change. When the Blacks changed their make-up, did the change get all of your members on board?
I, who am the oldest, a member since 1954, there were others who did not understand why we absolutely had to change, that traditions are traditions. At the time, we were bathed in a certain recklessness, in many areas for that matter. We weren’t thinking regarding that. The goal of the Noirauds is to raise money for works for the benefit of early childhood, it is not to be provocative. At the same time, it is useless to attract the animosity of the people who welcome us, who are willing to make a donation. If we want to continue to raise funds from restaurant customers, we must not hurt people. What’s more in a city like Brussels, which is increasingly cosmopolitan. A bit like in the Red Devils team. And then, we don’t have time, during a collection, to explain to people the reasons why we are made up in black, that it is not directed once morest people of color… The purpose of make up is to allow the Noirauds, who are volunteer bourgeois, to go incognito.
That said, you call yourself Noirauds and your original name is the African Conservatory… Your creation coincides with the first expeditions to the Congo. Your disguise, with the collar, top hat and baggy pants, is supposed to refer to the supposed attire of African kings…
Even with my advanced age and my title of dean, it is difficult for me to know why the ancestors of the brotherhood painted themselves black and called themselves ‘Blacks’. In my opinion, it is an association with Africa, the Congo having been colonized only followingwards. The costume is an invention of my family. As for the black, the goal was not to make up to look like a black but for the volunteers not to be recognized during the collection. A long time ago, tests were carried out with other colors. It didn’t work. Yes, indeed, we were called African Conservatory then Les Noirauds, to make it simpler. We were in a certain carelessness, I repeat. Nobody thought regarding that. The goal was to raise money, not to provoke. Which, in my opinion, is the case at the Ducasse d’Ath or the carnival in Aalst. Last thing to remember: you have to know that the Noirauds, at one time, were like real stars. We were received at La Monnaie, at the Cirque Royal, in front of thousands of people… In the street, we were accompanied by large brass bands… Les Noirauds were known everywhere.
