Preface

In Laissez Les Bontemps Rouler! Would Louisiana French Have Survived Without The Acadians?"I addressed this loaded question which naively suggests the supremacy and cultural primacy of the early Acadians in Louisiana, while ignoring the fact of at least a century of multi-ethnic Creole-French and métis culture whose linguistic, social and culinary traditions remain the true cultural mother source of all things relabeled "Cajun" since the veiled "Cajun" cultural revolution began forty-six years ago in 1968.
    In this provocative and poignant revision, I seek to provide my intelligent lay readers appropriate and useful scholarly resources for further reading and some specific documentation in order to illustrate that a pre-Acadian culture of Canadian and North American French and métis roots existed to which was added Franco-European, African and later Spanish elements, as well as to expose the facts supportive of my thesis.

These ethnicities which combined in both “Upper” and "Lower Louisiana" resulted in a multi-ethnic, but distinctly unique Louisiana creole culture reminiscent of other kindred creole cultures in the world of the former French Empire because creolization did not stop here; not even after 'Americanization.'

This unique historic, but forgotten culture was long present before the arrival of the Acadians and its diverse contributions resulted in Louisiana’s historic country creole & metis culture.

It is from this multi-ethnic culture's 'raw material' that the substance for sculpting a politically-crafted “Cajun” cultural double was launched after 1968, and heralded by Chef K-Paul Prudhomme, himself of Louisiana French creole-metis background. 

It is my hope to sufficiently demonstrate through this historical narrative which is both passionate and humorous, how greed, ignorance and commerce joined hands in relabeling Louisiana's historic multi-ethnic culture and people as if it had a unique and monolithic Acadian/Canadian French origin, in full contempt of history and scholarship.

Informative with sound sources of research, I submit to you the reading and caring public, this small book which will no doubt prove to be a powerhouse of jaw-dropping facts, as it is an uproariously amusing expose' of one of the most popular cultural forces in America and across the planet today!

This revision is a much more readable, better edited and supplemented text. For example, this book now includes a long needed discussion on the cultural relationship between Louisiana's Creole culture and Haitian Creole culture and will surely be helpful in avoiding confusion of these two separate, but kindred cultures.

This book also contains a "Lagniappe" on the two historic forms of gumbo in Louisiana; its very old Choctaw kombo-lichi, or "file' Kombo" and its later African-creole k-ngombo, or "gombos fevis" tradition.

The reader will surely gain a new perspective of Louisiana's very old and diverse creole & metis culture and people!

 

 

 

Introduction

After reviewing and giving my new book, Louisiana's French Creole Culinary & Linguistic Traditions: Facts vs. Fiction Before And Since Cajunization a strong vote of credibility for its solidly-based argument (that Louisiana's true culture and what is now referred to as "Cajun" culture for the past forty years was and remains decidedly Creole), author and Louisiana Book News editor, Ms. Chere Coen of Lafayette's Daily Advertiser nonetheless, disagreed with my thesis, that what is represented as "Cajun" culture in Lafayette, Louisiana is and has always been Louisiana's old multi-ethnic country creole French-metis tradition and culture.

But, it is not our sweet Chere alone who has expressed this perception or who believes that what is presented and marketed as "Cajun" culture-presuming an Acadian origin for the culture and francophone people of south Louisiana.

This is one of many assertions taken for granted by a generally uninformed and mostly misinformed, public.

However, let me say for the record, that there is no doubt that the arrival of the Acadians in Louisiana certainly helped to reinforce its or our historic francophone and cultural longevity, but not because they were its unique creators, nor the creators of its food and social culture; nor were they at all culturally or politically significant. To make such claims would be a grotesque overstatement which cannot be supported from their colonial period history in Louisiana.

But, this presumption that the Acadians and their heirs (the ‘Cajuns’), were responsible for the creation and survival of Louisiana French culture and its food ways exaggerates both their history, social, cultural and political importance-claims which cannot demonstrated from Louisiana's almost 100-year pre-Acadian French Creole and metis cultural history.

Notwithstanding this reality, 'Cajunization' became a true cultural and economic commercially-motivated hurricane of Katrina-like ferocity in more ways than one, especially after 1968 and throughout the 70s, 80s, 90s to date.

This was due in large measure to the efforts of then, young Governor Edwin Edwards and the cultural-historical and economic wizardry of the late, Youngsville, Louisiana Senator "N'oncle” Dudley LeBlanc; yes, the Dudley of both "Hadacol" fame or infamy, as per your viewpoint.

Mr. LeBlanc was also the author of the myth-history, "The Acadian Miracle" which became the basis of Louisiana’s mass-marketed 'Cajunl' cultural myth-history.

And, we must be careful not to confuse the four decade-long "Cajunization" myth-history with Louisiana's very old pre-Acadian creole cultural history. This "country creole & metis" culture existed before the 19th century, and throughout the 20th century to the present. We are its living witnesses.

However, in New Orleans French commercial re-packaging of "creole" culture and cuisine as a uniquely 'aristocratic' high class cuisine and society was a myth created by French ex-pat chefs and certain romantic and politically-motivated writers who would give the equally misleading impression through the media, of a unique New Orleans-centered "Creole" haute-cuisine, culture and people.

This is misleading because of the fact that there was never an 'aristocratic' creole culture in New Orleans until after this myth was created and marketed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries onward!

 Bienville's humble and racially-diverse creole colonial people and even her truly wealthy creoles such as the Baronesse de Pontalba, did not speak "perfect French."

 In fact, according to Tulane University scholar, Christina Vella, the Baronesse's numerous correspondance reveals quite the contrary. And, it was only after many years of Parisian acculturation that her writing and speaking improved-according to the Standard French model. Even thereafter, she deliberately continued to speak Louisiana's old creole French at her fabulous parties, as if to spite French pretensions of cultural superiority.

See Christina Vella's Intimate Enemies: The Two Worlds of The Baronesse de Pontalba, 2004, LSU Press.

 

Having noted this fact, however, it is also true that with later economic and educational prosperity some prominent New Orleans "Creole" families did acquire and began to reflect the refinements and manners of 'polite' French society. Such are the results of education and improved finances.

For many their education came vicariously, through their Parisian-schooled sons and, or from their Ursuline-educated daughters. It is well-known in New Orleans that pralines and roux were part of the 'instruction' provided to the young women in their charge as part of their education.

The later extravagant Mardi Gras parades and 'Krewes' of the 19th century are thought by some authorities to be the result of the souvenirs, or impressionable memories of young creoles who had experienced "Carnival" in both Paris or Rome.

The country creole Mardi Gras erroneously dubbed "Cajun" however, remains very similar to that reported in the earliest experiences of the Louisiana's creole French reported in A Company Man: The Remarkable French-Atlantic Voyage of a Clerk for the Company of the Indies by Marc-Antoine Caillot living in 1730s Louisiana.

This book was translated by Terry Chalmers and edited by Erin Greenwald, 2013 Historic New Orleans Collection.

But, at home, except for special occasions which required some display of wealth and refinement, the simple country creole menu of gumbos and jambalayas familiar to us, their country cousins, were never lost even if they were 'different.' Thus, this glorified French stereotype of New Orleans Creoles would at least, by default contribute to the other stereotype of the backwards country 'Cajun' cousin-outside of New Orleans.

These equally absurd stereotypes fed off of each others' ignorance and irresponsible carictures of "Cajun Country" and "Creole sophistication" continue to confuse the public, but also continue to attract tourist dollars.

And, our old Louisiana baby-sitter of illiteracy helped to fade the ever-fading memory of New Orleans creole familial ties with the passing of time in the confusing theatres of Spanish and ultimately, American cultures; all of which played their parts in widening the cultural gap between the humble country creoles of the northwest French-speaking parishes and the now largely Frenchified, and Americanized New Orleans "Creoles."

In fact, many of the so-called "Cajuns" of these parishes are surprised to learn that many of their families were personal associates of Governor Jean-Batiste LeMoyne, Sieur de Bienville, himself!

The DeVilliers family, the Francois Veillon family, the Fuselier family and many more originally had ties to French and Spanish Colonial New Orleans. In fact, Francois Veillon's youngest son moved to the Poste des Opelousas and soon married my Creole-metis ancestor Jacques Andre' LaFleur's daughter, Helene Andre' laFleur, thus linking a large number of creole French and metis families together before any Acadians were ever allowed into St. Landry and what became Evangeline Parishes.

However, Ms. Coen did acknowledge the abuse of ‘Cajunization” labeling in Lafayette. And, just what is "Cajunization?" Why is the issue of what is the true culture of Louisiana of any importance anyway? Isn't it reasonable to think that there is actually two historically francophone cultures in Louisiana anyway, you might be wondering? Clearly, if you are wondering about this, then you need to read this book.

If it were all just as simple as what I've just suggested by the question, I would not have had to write this book and tourists from all over the world would not be asking questions; oh, such embarrassing questions which reveal that they too, see the serious 'problems' in this "Cajun" vs. "Creole" cultural caricature from the witness of Louisiana's real history.

These myth-histories out of Lafayette and New Orleans don't conform to reason, logic or to what the earliest records show the reality of our people, their culture and cuisine to have been.

Still, unlike the Cajun cultural myth out of Lafayette which steals credit from Louisiana's historcal culture and people by falsely crediting the Acadians with the origin of what is called "Cajun" cuisine and culture, the New Orleans French version of "Creole" is at least, an honest upgrade of the historic Louisiana Creole French menu.

The French at least, had the good sense not to claim for themselves, the origin of Louisiana's creole culture.

But, in order to understand what the 'fuss' is all about, it is necessary to first, define our terms before embarking upon the discussion which follows.

The reasons for my thesis are what follow in the pages of this little book which I pray will help to dispel the tremendous confusion created by the misleading, conflicted and duplicitous misinformation dubbed "history" and so long pumped out of Lafayette, her university press office and her tourist bureau for now over four decades.

 

"Cajun" Or Créole? That Is the Question, Cher!

Let’s start by first, defining our terms so that you can understand where I am coming from.

 

"Creole" means 'native born' and as consistently seen in Louisiana courthouse records, can include or exclude any ethnicity born into pre-American Louisiana's colonial French culture. "Creole" is not a race, it's a culture; but, it is shared by the many ethnicities who contributed to its creation. This word comes into existence shortly after the beginning of the Transatlantic Slave Trade which event caused the uniting of French, Spanish, Portuguese, African & New World Indians.

Creoles, therefore, can come with any mixture of the original "Louisiana" ethnicities of Choctaw, French-Canadien, French or European blends, African and ultimately Spanish and Mexican, and even including Irish and colonial Italian peoples. And, it can equally EXCLUDE any of these, too.

In the earliest Portuguese documents, the word 'creole' is used in referring to slaves born in the New World, in contrast to their non-native born parents. And, this was and remained the historic use of 'creole' as a generic label for all ethnicities who were 'native-born' to Louisiana. "Creole" is both a noun and an adjective; so it can describe products, such as creole tomatoes, creole sweet potatoes and was also applied to slaves born in the new world as seen in the Portuguese document of Garcilaso de la Vega.

A changed perception of both "Creole" people and culture would and did occur in 19th century and early 20th century American New Orleans; a perception which does not reflect Bienville's colonial era's view of the diverse creole or 'native-born' people and culture of French and diverse European, creole and metis, African and Spanish New Orleans.

In Louisiana, "French Creole" can refer to first born generation of French folks, such as those born in her former colonial 'departements' such as Guadeloupe and Martinique and was extended to include those of Spanish descent as well. However, the French never limited the use of "creole" to only their white or Spanish descendants, as

Impressum

Verlag: BookRix GmbH & Co. KG

Texte: John Allen LaFleur II
Lektorat: Author
Tag der Veröffentlichung: 16.06.2014
ISBN: 978-3-7368-2055-5

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Widmung:
To all of the forgotten and ignored North American, Caribbean, Antillean, African, Indian Ocean & Louisiana French Creoles of yesterday, today & tomorrow & including Kreol Int.'l, Mary Gehman, author-ally of all Louisiana Creoles, Dr. Ina Fandrich, Mr. Brian Costello, Creole scholar; Mo Creole Magazine, Jambalaya Magazine’s Elroy Batiste, Radio KVPI’s Creole Director, Mr. Martel Ardoin, Mr. Gene Buller, along with New Orleans’ Dionne Butler, WWL TV, and Mr. David Ortego, Steve Hallam and Michael Bordelon of The Ville Platte Gazette; Randy DeCuir & Carlos Mayeux of Avoyelles Parish’s Marksville’s Weekly News & the Pte. Coupee Banner; Michael ‘Milano’ Hebert, Christophe Landry, Jeremy Semien, Jason Joplin, & Brandon “Beausoleil” Broussard for their friendship, enthusiasm and support in telling the truth about who we Louisiana creole & metis people really are-culturally! Cover photo: Jarreau Family Collection: St. Catherine's Pray Chapel, Pointe Coupee Parish-Brian Costello.