Krewe of Diaspora

I think I have seen former Nyx members say here and there that they've already joined other clubs.  When the Krewe of Themis announced its (possibly 600 member strong) existence the other day I wondered if maybe they'd all end up coming back together there.

But, come to find out, the options continue to expand.

The Knights of Sparta, a 300-member, all-male New Orleans parading krewe that first hit the streets 40 years ago, is welcoming into its parading ranks a new group called the Mystical Order of the Phoenix, founded by 10 former members of the all-female Nyx. The new members will parade with Sparta as the Sisters of the Knights of Sparta.

The Phoenixes didn't tell MacCash how many members they are actually bringing over to Sparta. Nor did they mention why on earth they would have passed up the opportunity to name themselves "Phoe-Nyx."  It sounds like the Phoenixes are fewer than the Themises, though.  I suppose, since Sparta (potentially) has a permit to parade in 2021 (if there is a 2021 parade season at all) that it's possible some are doing both. But I don't know. It sounds like these might be different circles of people.

I mean, Themis's branding seems a little more mission-driven. 

The new krewe is named for Themis, the Greek goddess of fairness and divine justice. Her symbols are the scales of justice and a sword.

Themis president Kimya Holmes said that the need for the new organization stemmed from “the utter disappointment with the krewe we paraded with.”

Whereas the Phoenix group says they were maybe holding out hope a little bit longer. 

Phoenix co-founder Gigi Saak said the women who conceived the new krewe were among the last to leave Nyx during the controversy that followed captain Lea’s polarizing posts. They’d hoped, she said, to somehow salvage the organization. But when it became obvious that was impossible, they joined the exodus.

Anyway, one thing we knew about Nyx is that they sure did have a lot of members. So it's possible we'll see them start to pop up in more formations than just these. And, of course, all of this assumes there's eventually going to be a Mardi Gras at all sometime before the city falls away into the Gulf. From here, it is still difficult to see.