CREOLE CULTURAL NEWS FLASH: Is Louisianas Culture REALLY an Acadian-based culture? by John La Fleur II, 2014 In response/reaction to my recently published post: Louisianas French Creole & Metis Culture: 500 Years of Culture by John laFleur II, 2014 I was asked the following question, to which I happily share with all of you, lest you should miss the point and purpose of my work and that of many other brilliant scholars, of whom I am simply a humble teacher/student. John, I find your assertion that the Acadian descendants assimilated to the older Creole culture to be interesting. Are you saying that the Acadian culture made no contribution at all to the complex mix in Southwest Louisiana? My honest response to this honest scholars question, is as follows below: David, I am also a descendant of the very first Acadian arrivals in the Territory of Orleans -namely, of Francois Pitre, the bel ami of Joseph Broussard dit Beausoleil. That there were some notable Acadian contributors to Louisianas already established pre-Acadian culture, such as that of the Moutons and my ancestor, is not at issue. Francois Pitres family, for example, introduced horse racing into southwest Louisiana; the Moutons (who intermarried into prominent Creole families), would also identify as Creole and in the person of their patriarch, Alexandre Mouton, rise to become a governor. In any case, these families, including Joseph Broussards son Amand, all very quickly assimilated the prevalent Louisiana Creole planters lifestyle, and the evidence for this is seen in both their surviving architectural and linguistic traditions. Moreover, the earliest Acadians-according to no lesser Louisiana Acadian scholar, as Dr. Carl Brasseaux-the Acadians remained a largely closed community, and refused participation in larger American & Creole society. That being said, however, they certainly adopted and ultimately, assimilated both the Louisiana Creole French & Choctaw patois, the food culture and the Louisiana multi-ethnic creole social traditions, which he admits occurred chiefly in the areas designated Acadiana since 1971; the former Creole Parishes according to history and Dr. Joseph Tregle, late Professor Emeritus of History of UNO. And, yet Dr. Brasseaux remains among the Cajunists writers who insists upon an Acadian-based culture. Tulane professor, Thomas Klinger has continued to search for the Acadian in the Cajun and has yet, to find the Acadian cultural influences which justify this myth of an Acadian-based culture across the French speaking triangle, which at the time of the arrival of grand total 3000 Acadians, was a historical Creole bastion -in the words of Brasseaux, himself. But, in terms of producing what has been an over-generalized Acadian-based culture, the evidence for this assertion is more ideological, than it is historical and factual. The truth is, that apart from the few progressive Acadian descendants who embraced their new Louisiana identity, the Acadians as a class did not significantly impact Louisianas long established and prevalent metis-creole culture; they adopted it. What is perceived and marketed as Cajun culture in and around Acadiana (mythic Acadian settlement area created by legislation sponsored by discredited historian Sen. Dudley Hadacol LeBlanc and his protege (then, young Louisiana Gov., Edwin Edwards who, incidentally, has Avoyelles Parish French Creole roots), is in fact, nothing more than old Louisiana country Creole & metis food ways with Old World French traditions. Both, Lefcadio Hearns La Creole Cuisine of 1885 and the earliest New Orleans Picayune Creole Cookbook series attest to the pre-existent and pre-Acadian menu of Louisiana fame. Both Dr. Brasseaux and his co-author and cousin, Chef Marcelle Bienvenus culinary history, Stir The Pot: A History of Cajun Cuisine admit these facts; sometimes, a bit begrudgingly. Marcelle herself, has been a guest in my home and asked me to look at her genealogical papers-which I did-to determine her fathers historical-cultural origins. Bienvenu was, as with many French Creole & metis settlers of Louisiana, not Acadian. It was my cousin, Chef K-Paul Prudhomme who was to unfortunately, stamp the newly manufactured Cajun label to our historic country Creole & metis culinary tradition in 1972; while another famous St. Landry Parish, Louisiana (white) Creole, Tony Chachere (world-famous CREOLE SEASONINGS of Opelousas), refused to go along with the new cultural revolution; Cajunization, by name. The fact of an intercultural association and intermarriage which produced a simplified culinary tradition distinctive from that of New Orleans later glamorized Creole culture (as created and propagated by 19th century French chefs in their temples of CREOLE cuisine), has been a source of confusion for many people who dont realize that before 1968, there was only one significant francophone-creolophone identity for white French Creoles (and Creoles of color), whether they were of metis, Canadian, Continental, Austrian-Swiss, African, Spanish and later, descendants of the Acadians; creole. Chef Marcelles family, in fact, published a small culinary booklet promoting their hot sauce product prior to 1968s Cajunization Louisiana cultural relabeling. Significantly, it is called, Evangelines CREOLE Recipes and features nothing of Acadian culinary origin. Here below, I attach a facsimile of this embarrassing artifact which attests to the truth of my statement. In striving to remarry historical reality to our shared Louisiana contemporary cultural reality, I do not mean to be offensive, nor do I mean to deprecate the people of whom I too, am a descendant. The fact remains that Louisianas historic francophone & creolophone culture has always persisted, however, people choose to identity in terms of ethnic heritage. But, it is intellectually dishonest, and certainly, historically impossible to ascribe credit for the genesis of Louisianas multi-ethnic, pre-Acadian culture and people to the small group of Acadians (compared to the 10,000 diverse creole-metis population present at the time), who were rather late arrivals, and who did not contribute significantly to the long established and historic culture of Lower Louisiana. This idea, is a politically and sociologically constructed myth, as is the very descriptor Cajun -according to Dr. Brasseaux, himself. More progressive young scholars, who are more concerned with historical reality, than commercial myth-histories, offer new studies and research which expose the on the ground motivations behind this aggrandizement of the minority Acadian descendants and wrongly attribute credit to them for the creation of Louisianas historic culture and the perpetuation of our francophone tradition. I highly recommend, Dr. Gwendolyn Midlo-Halls renown work, Africans in Colonial Louisiana.., soon to be, Dr. Christophe Landrys work and research, as I do that of Dr. Rain Gomez and that of soon to be, Dr. Ian Moone, in addition to Dr. Brasseaux works. Dr. James H. Dormons, The People Called Cajuns: Introduction to an Ethno-history; Dr. Corinne Sauciers, A History of Avoyelles Parish Louisiana concerning use/knowledge of Cajun. Additionally, my works-written for lay people-and that of Louisiana independent scholar, Brian Costello-also well and solidly illustrate these historical truths. Dr. Shannon Lee Dawdys work, Building the Devils Empire; French Colonial Louisiana and the works of Dr. Carl Ekberg also help scholars and interested cultural afficionados to see the bigger picture of the pre-Acadian world of La Nouvelle France and her creole & metis culture-which remains the basis of Louisianas historic colonial and contemporary Creole & Cajun culture.
Posted on: Sun, 25 May 2014 17:23:50 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015