Cajuns

The Cajuns retain a unique dialect of the French language called Cajun French, and hold numerous other cultural traits that distinguish them as an ethnic group. Cajuns were officially recognized by the U.S. government as a national ethnic group in 1980 per a discrimination lawsuit filed in federal district court. Presided over by Judge Edwin Hunter, the case, known as Roach v. Dresser Industries Valve and Instrument Division (494 F.Supp. 215, D.C. La., 1980), hinged on the issue of the Cajuns' ethnicity:

We conclude that plaintiff is protected by Title VII's ban on national origin discrimination. The Louisiana Acadian is alive and well. He is "up front" and "main stream." He is not asking for any special treatment. By affording coverage under the "national origin" clause of Title VII he is afforded no special privilege. He is given only the same protection as those with English, Spanish, French, Iranian, Czechoslovakian, Portuguese, Polish, Mexican, Italian, Irish, et al., ancestors.

— Judge Edwin Hunter, 1980[11]

Acadian militia captain Joseph "Beausoleil" Broussard

The British conquest of Acadia happened in 1710. Over the next 45 years, the Acadians refused to sign an unconditional oath of allegiance to the Crown. During this period, Acadians participated in various military operations against the British and maintained vital supply lines to the French fortress of Louisbourg and Fort Beausejour.[12] During the French and Indian War (part of the Seven Years' War and known by that name in Canada and Europe), the British sought to neutralize the Acadian military threat and to interrupt their vital supply lines to Louisbourg by deporting Acadians from Acadia.[13] The territory of Acadia was afterward divided and apportioned to various British colonies, now Canadian provinces: Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, the Gaspe Peninsula in the province of Quebec. The deportation of the Acadians from these areas beginning in 1755 has become known as the Great Upheaval or Le Grand Dérangement.

The deportation of the Acadians.

The Acadians' migration from Canada was spurred by the 1763 Treaty of Paris which ended the war. The treaty terms provided 18 months for unrestrained emigration. Many Acadians moved to the region of the Atakapa in present-day Louisiana, often travelling via the French colony of Saint-Domingue (now Haiti).[14] Joseph Broussard led the first group of 200 Acadians to arrive in Louisiana on February 27, 1765, aboard the Santo Domingo.[15] On April 8, 1765, he was appointed militia captain and commander of the "Acadians of the Atakapas" region in St. Martinville.[16] Some of the settlers wrote to their family scattered around the Atlantic to encourage them to join them at New Orleans. For example, Jean-Baptiste Semer wrote to his father in France:

My dear father ... you can come here boldly with my dear mother and all the other Acadian families. They will always be better off than in France. There are neither duties nor taxes to pay and the more one works, the more one earns without doing harm to anyone.

— Jean-Baptiste Semer, 1766[17]

The Acadians were scattered throughout the eastern seaboard. Families were split and boarded ships with different destinations.[18] Many ended up west of the Mississippi River in what was then French-colonized Louisiana, including territory as far north as Dakota territory. France had ceded the colony to Spain in 1762, prior to their defeat by Britain and two years before the first Acadians began settling in Louisiana. The interim French officials provided land and supplies to the new settlers. The Spanish governor, Bernardo de Gálvez, later proved to be hospitable, permitting the Acadians to continue to speak their language, practice their native religion (Roman Catholicism – which was also the official religion of Spain), and otherwise pursue their livelihoods with minimal interference. Some families and individuals did travel north through the Louisiana territory to set up homes as far north as Wisconsin. Acadians fought in the American Revolution. Although they fought for Spanish General Galvez, their contribution to the winning of the war has been recognized.[19]

Galvez left New Orleans with an army of Spanish regulars and the Louisiana militia made up of 600 Acadian volunteers and captured the British strongholds of Fort Bute at Bayou Manchac, across from the Acadian settlement at St. Gabriel. On September 7, 1779, Galvez attacked Fort Bute and then on September 21, 1779, attacked and captured Baton Rouge.[20]

A review of participating soldiers shows many common Acadian names among those who fought in the battles of Baton Rouge and West Florida. The Galvez Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution was formed in memory of those soldiers.[21]

The Spanish colonial government settled the earliest group of Acadian exiles west of New Orleans, in what is now south-central Louisiana—an area known at the time as Attakapas, and later the center of the Acadiana region. As Brasseaux wrote, "The oldest of the pioneer communities ... Fausse Point, was established near present-day Loreauville by late June 1765."[22] The Acadians shared the swamps, bayous and prairies with the Attakapa and Chitimacha Native American tribes.

After the end of the American Revolutionary War, about 1,500 more Acadians arrived in New Orleans. About 3,000 Acadians had been deported to France during the Great Upheaval. In 1785, about 1,500 were authorized to emigrate to Louisiana, often to be reunited with their families, or because they could not settle in France.[23] Living in a relatively isolated region until the early 20th century, Cajuns today are largely assimilated into the mainstream society and culture. Some Cajuns live in communities outside Louisiana. Also, some people identify themselves as Cajun culturally despite lacking Acadian ancestry.

The Acadian Creole governor of Louisiana, Alexandre Mouton

In the modern era it is common to see Cajuns and Louisiana Creoles discussed as separate and distinct groups; historically speaking, this was not necessarily the case. Many historical accounts exist wherein persons with Acadian surnames (and of various races) either self-identify or are described by others as Creoles.

In Louisiana, the French word Créole (itself borrowed from Spanish and Portuguese) meant "born in the New World." This label was meant to distinguish the native-born population from newly arrived European immigrants and from slaves imported from Africa. Likewise, after the Sale of Louisiana, the term "Creole" distinguished people of Catholic, Latin backgrounds from newly arrived Americans and other Protestant anglophones.

In general, Créolité in Louisiana was largely defined by whether that person was born in Louisiana, spoke a Latin-based language (often French, Spanish or Creole) and practiced Catholicism. Having been born on Louisianian soil and maintaining a Catholic francophone identity, the Acadian descendants were indeed and often considered to be Creoles.

Documents from the late eighteenth century, such as militia rolls, make a distinction between "Acadians" (those born before or during Le Grand Dérangement) and "Creoles" (those born after Le Grand Dérangement), often the children of the former group, with identical surnames and belonging to the same families.[24] Today, members of these families—including, among many others, those with surnames such as Broussard, Hébert and Thibodeaux—usually consider these names Cajun rather than Creole.

Sources from the nineteenth century sometimes make specific references to "Acadian Creoles" in particular—a term entirely absent from contemporary Louisiana. One article in vol. 56 of The Youth's Companion notes that, "The Acadian Creoles of Louisiana are a humane and charitable race—simple-minded and full of queer, superstitious notions, but an orphan thrown upon their care never suffers."[25] The Mouton family, an influential Acadian family of the period, provides an excellent case study in this regard, with secessionist Alexandre Mouton retaining the famous nickname of "the Creole Hotspur."[26] His son, the Confederate General Alfred Mouton, is also noted in contemporary sources as "a brave and intrepid Creole".[27] Today, by contrast, members of the Mouton family are referred to as "Acadians" or "Cajuns" more often than as "Creoles".

In 1885, the New Iberia Enterprise (taken from a section of advice for American editors) wrote: “Although all men born here, of whatever color and using whatever language, are Americans, it is the custom to designate the descendants of the old French, Spanish, and Acadian settlers of the country and using as a rule the French language, Creoles, and all using the English tongue, Americans.”

In his « Refutation des érreurs de M. George W. Cable sur le sujet des Créoles », published in L'Athénée Louisianais, the francophone Creole John L. Peytavin accused the writer George Washington Cable of fundamentally misrepresenting Creoles to the American public. (Cable, who was not a Creole and did not speak French, had written that Cajuns of Acadian descent were not themselves Creoles.) Peytavin declared: "The Acadian Creoles have the same right to be called Creoles as others of foreign descent."

Filipinos of Saint Malo, Louisiana

Not all Cajuns descend solely from Acadian exiles who settled in south Louisiana in the 18th century. Cajuns include people with Irish and Spanish ancestry, and to a lesser extent of Germans and Italians; Many also have Native American, African and Afro-Latin Creole admixture. Historian Carl A. Brasseaux asserted that this process of mixing created the Cajuns in the first place.[5]

Singer Beyoncé Knowles is of Acadian and Creole heritage

Non-Acadian French Creoles in rural areas were absorbed into Cajun communities. Some Cajun parishes, such as Evangeline and Avoyelles, possess relatively few inhabitants of actual Acadian origin. Their populations descend in many cases from settlers who migrated to the region from Quebec, Mobile, or directly from France (French emigration). Regardless, Acadian influences are generally acknowledged to have prevailed in most sections of south Louisiana.

Many Cajuns have ancestors who were not French. Some of the original settlers in Louisiana were Spanish Basques and Spanish Canary Islanders. A later migration included Irish and German immigrants who began to settle in Louisiana before and after the Louisiana Purchase, particularly on the German Coast along the Mississippi River north of New Orleans. People of Latin American origin; a number of early Filipino settlers (notably in Saint Malo, Louisiana) who were known as "Manilamen" from the annual cross-Pacific Galleon or Manila Galleon trade with neighboring Acapulco, Mexico; descendants of African slaves; and some Cuban Americans have also settled along the Gulf Coast, and in some cases, intermarried into Cajun families.

One obvious result of this cultural mixture is the variety of surnames common among the Cajun population. Surnames of the original Acadian settlers (which are documented) have been augmented by French and non-French family names that have become part of Cajun communities. The spelling of many family names has changed over time. (See, for example, Eaux).[28]

Amédé Ardoin the first Black Cajun recording artist; he only spoke Cajun French.

Cajuns as an ethnic group historically included Indians and Blacks.[29] Black Louisiana Frenchmen have historically self-identified as Cajun, using the term in regards to the ethnicity of the Cajun Country and the language they speak: Amédé Ardoin for example was born speaking only Cajun French and at his height was known as the first Black Cajun recording artist;[30] Clifton Chenier the King of Zydeco, routinely self-identified as a Black Cajun:

"Bonjour, comment ça va monsieur? Clifton Chenier greeted his cheering crowd at the 1975 Montreux Jazz Festival. They call me the Black Cajun Frenchman."[31]

People of the Cajun Country have historically described what the Cajun nationality means to them; Brandon Moreau, a Cajun of Basile, Louisiana described Cajun as an "inclusive term designating region, descent, or heritage - not race."[32] Moreau also described an incident of where he used the term coonass with a good friend of his: "We were all talking in the hall, and I said I was a coonass. She said she was Cajun, but that she would never be a coonass. She's black and it offended her."[32]

Cajun culture due to its mixed Latin-Creole nature had fostered more laissez-faire attitudes between blacks and whites in the Cajun Country more than anywhere else in the South.[33] Roman Catholicism actively preached tolerance and condemned racism and all hate crimes; the Roman Church threatened to excommunicate any of its members who would dare to break its laws.[33]

Anglo-Americans discriminated against the Cajuns because they were Catholics, had a Latin Culture, and spoke Cajun French.[33] White Cajuns and White Creoles accepted advances in racial equality, and they had compassion for Black Cajuns, Black Creoles, and African Americans.[33]In the 1950's, twice as many blacks in Louisiana's French-Catholic parishes registered to vote compared to blacks in the Anglo-Protestant parishes.[33]

When the United States of America began assimilating and Americanizing the parishes of the Cajun Country between the 1950's and 1970's, they imposed segregation and reorganized the inhabitants of the Cajun Country to identify racially as either "white" Cajuns and "black" Creoles.[34] As the younger generations were made to abandon speaking French and French customs, the White or Indian Cajuns assimilated into the Anglo-American host culture, and the Black Cajuns assimilated into the African American culture.[35]

Cajuns looked to the Civil Rights Movement and other Black liberation and empowerment movements as a guide to fostering Louisiana's French cultural renaissance. A Cajun student protester in 1968 declared "We're slaves to a system. Throw away the shackles... and be free with your brother."[33]

Geography had a strong correlation to Cajun lifestyles. Most Cajuns resided in Acadiana, where their descendants are still predominant. Cajun populations today are found also in the area southwest of New Orleans and scattered in areas adjacent to the French Louisiana region, such as to the north in Alexandria, Louisiana. Strong Cajun roots, influence, and culture can also be found in parts of Southern Mississippi. These areas include Bay St. Louis, Pass Christian, Gulfport, Gautier, Natchez, D'Iberville, and Biloxi, Mississippi. Over the years, many Cajuns and Creoles also migrated to the Houston, Beaumont and Port Arthur areas of Southeast Texas, in especially large numbers as they followed oil-related jobs in the 1970s and 1980s, when oil companies moved jobs from Louisiana to Texas. However, the city of Lafayette is referred to as "The Heart of Acadiana" because of its location, and it is a major center of Cajun culture. Despite the migration and influence in other states, cities outside of Louisiana, including these Texas cities, are not considered a part of Acadiana and are not considered a part of "Cajun Country."

Cajun music is evolved from its roots in the music of the French-speaking Catholics of Canada. In earlier years, the fiddle was the predominant instrument, but gradually the accordion has come to share the limelight. Cajun music gained national attention in 2007, when the Grammy Award for Best Zydeco or Cajun Music Album category was created.[44]

Cajun boudin rolled into a ball and deep fried

Due to Le Grand Dérangement, many Acadians were invited to settle in Louisiana by the Spanish Governor Galvez.[45] Unfamiliar with the terrain, they assimilated Creole and Native American influences into their Acadian traditions. Cajun cuisine focused on local ingredients and wild game (e.g., duck, rabbit), vegetables (e.g., okra, mirlitons), and grains. Coastal communities relied heavily on fish and shellfish. Seafood, especially shellfish, is still very popular in the region and remains a dominant feature of many classic Cajun dishes like seafood gumbo and court-bouillon.

Since many Cajuns were farmers and not especially wealthy, they were known for not wasting any part of a butchered animal. Many rural communities held a weekly boucherie, which is a communal butchering of an animal, often a pig. Each family received a share of the meat. Some high-profile foods like grattons and boudin are examples of Cajun cuisine that are widely popular.[46]

Louisiana French is a variety or dialect of the French language spoken primarily in Louisiana. At one time as many as seven dialects were spread across the Cajun heartland.

While Cajuns are often said to speak "Cajun French," this term is increasingly seen as a misnomer because the dialect did not originate with the Acadians, and Acadian-descended people are not the only ones to speak it. Recent linguistic scholarship has also cast doubt on how much Acadian influence is present in Louisianian dialects today, and the influences that do exist are sometimes regional rather than widespread.[47] For these reasons, the term "Louisiana French" is increasingly preferred.

Recent documentation has been made of Cajun English, a French-influenced dialect of English spoken by Cajuns, either as a second language, in the case of the older members of the community, or as a first language by younger Cajuns.

"Our Lady of the Assumption" is Patroness of the Acadians (Cajuns). In 1638, the colonies of France, to include Acadie, and France were consecrated by the Pope and the King to Mary under the aforementioned title; the date of consecration was August 15 which is the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and is a Holy Day of Obligation for Roman Catholics (Source 4).

Traditional Catholic religious observances such as Mardi Gras, Lent, and Holy Week are integral to many Cajun communities. Likewise, these traditional Catholic religious observances may further be understood from Cultural Catholicism in Cajun-Creole Louisiana by Marcia Gaudet[48] which tells that such traditional religious observances, although they may not be "strictly theological and liturgical forms", are still integral and necessary to many and remain religiously valid as "unofficial religious customs and traditions are certainly a part of Roman Catholicism as it is practiced".[49]

Musicians playing at a traditional Courir de Mardi Gras

Mardi Gras (French for "Fat Tuesday", also known as Shrove Tuesday) is the day before Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of Lent, a 40-day period of fasting and reflection in preparation for Easter Sunday. Mardi Gras was historically a time to use up the foods that were not to be used during Lent, including fat, eggs, and meat.

Mardi Gras celebrations in rural Acadiana are distinct from the more widely known celebrations in New Orleans and other metropolitan areas. A distinct feature of the Cajun celebration centers on the Courir de Mardi Gras (translated: fat Tuesday run).[50] A group of people, usually on horseback and wearing capuchons (a cone-shaped ceremonial hat) and traditional costumes, approach a farmhouse and ask for something for the community gumbo pot. Often, the farmer or his wife allows the riders to have a chicken, if they can catch it. The group then puts on a show, comically attempting to catch the chicken set out in a large open area. Songs are sung, jokes are told, and skits are acted out. When the chicken is caught, it is added to the pot at the end of the day.[50] The courir held in the small town of Mamou has become well known. This tradition has much in common with the observance of La Chandeleur, or Candlemas (February 2), by Acadians in Nova Scotia.

On Pâques (French for Easter), a game called pâquer, or pâque-pâque was played. Contestants selected hard-boiled eggs, paired off, and tapped the eggs together – the player whose egg did not crack was declared the winner. This is an old European tradition that has survived in Acadia until today. Today, Easter is still celebrated by Cajuns with the traditional game of paque, but is now also celebrated in the same fashion as Christians throughout the United States with candy-filled baskets, "Easter bunny" stories, dyed eggs, and Easter egg hunts.

One folk custom is belief in a traiteur, or healer, whose primary method of treatment involves the laying on of hands and of prayers. An important part of this folk religion, the traiteur combines Catholic prayer and medicinal remedies to treat a variety of ailments, including earaches, toothaches, warts, tumors, angina, and bleeding. Another is in the rougarou, a version of a loup garou (French for werewolf), that will hunt down and kill Catholics who do not follow the rules of Lent. In some communities, the loup garou of legend has taken on an almost protective role. Children are warned that loups garous can read souls, and that they only hunt and kill evil men and women and misbehaved horses.

Cajuns, along with other Cajun Country residents, have a reputation for a joie de vivre (French for "joy of living"), in which hard work is appreciated as much as "let the good times roll / laissez les bon temps rouler".

In the culture, a coup de main (French for "to give a hand") is an occasion when the community gathers to assist one of their members with time-consuming or arduous tasks. Examples might include a barn raising, harvests, or assistance for the elderly or sick.

Cajun fiddler at 1938 National Rice Festival, photographed by Russell Lee

The majority of Cajun festivals include a fais do-do ("go to sleep" in French, originating from encouraging children to fall asleep in the rafters of the dance hall as the parents danced late into the night) or street dance, usually to a live local band. Crowds at these festivals can range from a few hundred to more than 100,000.

• In Texas, the Winnie Rice Festival and other celebrations often highlight the Cajun influence in Southeast Texas.
• The Cajun Heritage Fest in Port Arthur, Texas celebrates Cajun music and cuisine and features events such as a crawfish eating contest and crawfish racing.
• Major Cajun/Zydeco festivals are held annually in Rhode Island, which does not have a sizable Cajun population, but is home to many Franco-Americans of Québécois and Acadian descent. It features Cajun culture and food, as well as authentic Louisiana musical acts both famous and unknown, drawing attendance not only from the strong Cajun/Zydeco music scene in Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York City, and California, but also from all over the world. In recent years, the festival became so popular, now several such large summer festivals are held near the Connecticut–Rhode Island border: The Great Connecticut Cajun and Zydeco Music & Arts Festival, The Blast From The Bayou Cajun and Zydeco Festival, also in California the Cajun/Zydeco Festival; Bay Area Ardenwood Historic Farm, Fremont, Calif. and The Simi Valley Cajun and Blues Music Festival.[51]

• Zachary Richard, Cajun Heart (2016, color) director: Phil Comeau with Zachary Richard
• Spend It All (1971, color) director: Les Blank with Skip Gerson
• The Good Times Are Killing Me (1975, color)
• Hot Pepper (1975, color) director: Les Blank
• J'ai été au bal (English: I Went to the Dance), by Les Blank, Chris Strachwitz & Maureen Gosling; narrated by Barry Jean Ancelet and Michael Doucet (Brazos Films). Louisiana French and Zydeco music documentary.
• Louisiana Story (1948, black and white) director: Robert Flaherty. Further addressed in 2006 documentary Revisiting Flaherty's Louisiana Story, by a group at Louisiana State University.

• Southern Comfort (1981), directed by Walter Hill, starring Powers Boothe
• The Big Easy (1986), directed by Jim McBride, starring Dennis Quaid
• Belizaire the Cajun (1986), directed by Glen Pitre, starring Armand Assante
• Passion Fish (1992), directed by John Sayles, starring Mary McDonnell
• Little Chenier (2006), directed by Bethany Ashton, starring Johnathon Schaech
• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008), directed by David Fincher, starring Brad Pitt
• In the Electric Mist (2009), directed by Bertrand Tavernier, starring Tommy Lee Jones
• The Princess and the Frog (2009) directed by John Musker and Ron Clements, Set in New Orleans during the 1920s, the film tells the story of a hardworking waitress named Tiana who dreams of opening her own restaurant.

• Evangeline (1847), an epic poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, is loosely based on the events surrounding the 1755 deportation. It became an American classic and contributed to a rebirth of Acadian identity in both Maritime Canada and in Louisiana.
• Bayou Folk (1894) by Kate Chopin, who wrote about the Creoles and Cajuns (Acadiens)
• Several volumes on Cajun culture and history by children's book author Mary Alice Fontenot
• Acadian Waltz (2013) by Alexandrea Weis, who wrote about the Cajun culture
• Acadie, Then and Now (2014) by Warren Perrin, Mary Perrin, Phil Comeau, a collection of 65 articles on Cajun/Acadian culture and history
• The fictional Marvel character Gambit is a mutant of Cajun descent

• "Jambalaya (On the Bayou)" (1952) is credited to Hank Williams, about life, parties, and stereotypical Cajun cuisine. The music is taken from the Cajun song "Grand Texas".
• "Acadian Driftwood" (1975), a popular song based on the Acadian Expulsion by Robbie Robertson, appeared on The Band's album Northern Lights – Southern Cross.
• "Louisiana Man" (1961), an autobiographical song written and performed by Doug Kershaw, became the first song broadcast back to Earth from the Moon by the astronauts of Apollo 12. Over the years, the song has been recorded by hundreds of artists, sold millions of copies and become a standard of modern Cajun music.
• "Jolie Blonde" (or "Jolie Blon", "Jole Blon", or "Joli Blon"), with lyrics and song history of the traditional Cajun waltz, is often referred to as "the Cajun national anthem".
• "Mississippi Queen" is a 1970 song by Mountain about a Cajun woman visiting from Mississippi.
• "Elvis Presley Was a Cajun" is a song from the 1991 Irish film The Commitments, in which a two-piece band plays along to the lyric "Elvis was a Cajun, he had a Cajun heart."
• "Amos Moses" (1970), a song by Jerry Reed, is about a fictional one-armed alligator-hunting Cajun man.
• "Perfect Day", a song by Lady Antebellum, starts off with the singer seeing "a Cajun man with a red guitar singing on the side of the street" and throwing "a handful of change in his beat-up case and [saying] play me a country beat".
• "Cajun Hell", a song by American thrash metal band Exodus, from 1989 album Fabulous Disaster.
• "Queen Of New Orleans", a song by Jon Bon Jovi from the 1997 album Destination Anywhere

• Hebert-Leiter, Maria, Becoming Cajun, Becoming American: The Acadian in American Literature from Longfellow to James Lee Burke. Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press, 2009. ISBN 978-0-8071-3435-1.
• Jobb, Dean, The Cajuns: A People's Story of Exile and Triumph, John Wiley & Sons, 2005 (published in Canada as The Acadians: A People's Story of Exile and Triumph)
• Fete De L'Assomption De La Vierge Marie, 15 aout 2015, 250 ans, L'Eglise Saint Martin du Tours et la foi Catholique, His Excellency Glen John Provost, D.D.
• Homily of the Priest, St. Martin de Tours Roman Catholic Church, Friday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time, Year 2017 of the Gregorian Calendar (See Mt. 13:18–23—the Reading is in the Roman Missal for this day)
• United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Catechism of the Catholic Church, Statement number 1831
• United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, New American Bible, copyright 1987, Book of James, Cpt. 1, Vs. 5