Capuchon

A capuchon is a cone-shaped ceremonial hat worn during the Mardi Gras celebration in the Cajun areas of southern Louisiana, known as the Courir de Mardi Gras.

The costumes directly mock the nobility, the clergy and the educated; celebrants wear miter hats, mortarboards and capuchons, which were initially designed to mock the tall pointy hats worn by noble women.

The name "capuchon" comes from the same root word, "cappa" in Latin, meaning a cape or hood, that gives us "cap", "cape", "cope", "chapeau" in French, Capuchin monkeys, Capuchin friars, cappuccinos and baseball caps.

The hats are vibrantly decorated to match (or intentionally mis-match) the colorful Mardi Gras costumes that they accompany.

The capuchons worn by Mardi Gras celebrants are unrelated to the pointed hoods worn by the Ku Klux Klan, and predate the hoods by several hundred years.