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Once A Cajun, ALWAYS A Cajun! (By Ronee' Le-Anne Marie Reaux, aged 11) by Karen Lynn Vidra, The Texas Tornado
Sunday, March 7, 2004
Rated "G" by the Author.
A young preteen girl is proud of her unique Cajun French heritage. She discusses in detail of the Cajun heritage, the history surrounding the Cajuns, and some of the more well known components of the Cajun way of life.
I am a Cajun. I am also very proud of my Cajun heritage; always have been.
I was born in Louisiana, near Abbeville, in the heart of Cajun Country, and I learned early of my Cajun French background. Now you are probably wondering just what a "CAJUN" is. Well, I am about to tell you, so hang on tight, okay??
A Cajun is a direct descendent of the early French Acadians who came to South Louisiana by way of what is now Nova Scotia, in Canada (back then, the area was known as "Acadia", and the people were to be known as "Acadians"), after they were kicked out by the British because of their religious beliefs. The English people who came there did NOT take very kindly to the Catholic people, and the Acadians were Catholic. They were forced out of their homes; and some were even killed or hurt by these British people, and they ended up going to the southern part of the United States, in an area extending from southern Louisiana, below Baton Rouge, to southeast Texas, around Beaumont/Houston/Port Arthur, that area. Some Acadians also ended up in Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia; but most came to Louisiana and southeastern Texas. (Most of the Cajun people still DO make their homes in these areas; but now you will find Cajuns living just about anywhere, if you look hard enough! I am a Cajun, and I happen to live in Nashville, Tennessee! :) )
The people already living in this part of the world at that time welcomed the new French people, quite unlike times past; but they couldn't get used to their French ways or their language; and the people soon called themselves "Les Acadiens" ("The Acadians"); but the people who weren't French had trouble with this pronunciation; so they ended up calling these people "Cajuns". ("Cajun" is a short form of "Acadian".)
This period of time was known in historic circles as "Le Grand Derangement", and it was a very bad time for the Acadians; but then once settled in their new southern home, they adapted to their new place of residence, and they were finally happy to have a place they could call their own.
Now these people are usually known as "CAJUNS", and I am a direct discendent of those early Acadian settlers. I have the French accent to prove that, and if my last name ("REAUX"; pronounced like "ROW"; the "X" is silent) isn't any indication of my Cajun French background, then I don't know WHAT is!
I speak French fluently (I learned it from my maman and my grandparents; they spoke it at home, so I was exposed to French at a very early age, and I also spoke English), and I also love the Cajun way of life. I love the Cajun music I grew up with (and have since learned to play and sing it!), and I love going to Cajun fais do-dos (Cajun dances) whenever we can get to Lafayette or any other place in Cajun Country in Louisiana. I also love the Cajun food: some of my very favorite dishes include crawfish (crawfish look like little shrimps, and they are great to eat at a picnic or a festival!), etoufee' (ay too fay; it's a rice dish and very spicy), jambalaya (another rice dish, but has veggies, fish, meat, and rice all mixed together), gumbo (soup made from seafood or meat with veggies in it; it's very thick and zesty!), and andouille (pronounced anh doo ee) and boudin (pronounced boo dan) (two types of spiced Cajun sausage: andouille is pork sausage that is very spicy, and boudin is pork sausage stuffed with rice and Cajun seasonings).
Cajuns are known for their appetite for fun and music, and they will find any excuse to have a good time. Louisiana is especially a hotbed for Cajun related festivals; we celebrate everything from boudin, andouille, crawfish, jambalaya, and what not, and we even celebrate the Cajun way of life, and you can BET that there will be PLENTY of that GREAT Cajun music! Cajun music is upbeat (two step) or slow (waltz), and most Cajun songs are about the Cajuns and their way of life or about Louisiana; and there are some well known Cajun songs people can hear, thanks to people like Hank Williams, Sr., Belton Richard, or Doug Kershaw, all who had major hits with Cajun songs. But outside of Louisiana or southeastern Texas, Cajun music is virtually unheard of unless someone's heard of singers like "Beausoleil", Belton Richard, Jimmy C. Newman, or Doug Kershaw, or unless they've been to LOuisiana, to the Cajun Country and experienced the Cajun culture for themselves. Cajun music is a form of country music, with the Cajun accordion and the fiddle being the two main instruments, but in a Cajun band, you can have a steel guitar, guitars, drums, keyboards, or even a banjo or dobro. Cajun music can be happy or sad, and whenever one hears it it is GUARANTEED to get one's heart racing and one's feet a jumping; and it isn't long before people are soon up, dancing!
Cajun parties are family affairs: everyone from MAMAN, PAPA, and LES ENFANTS (the children) are there; and so are GRANDPERE'(Grandpa) and GRANDMERE' (Grandma); and you will also have your L'ONCLES (Uncles), TANTES (Aunts), NIECES (Nieces), NEVEUS (Nephews), and COUSINS (Cousins, pronounced like COO ZANS). Everyone has a fine time, and these Cajun parties (called FAIS DO-DOS, remember; pronounced like FAY DOUGH DOUGH) can last until the wee hours of the next morning. There is much food, much dancing, and much Cajun music (or zydeco, which is more rock or soul type Cajun music) to be found at a fais do-do. I have been to plenty of Cajun festivals and fais do-dos, and I ALWAYS have the BEST time! AAAIIIEEE!! :D (Or, as I like to say so often, "LAISSEZ LES BON TEMPS ROULER!" [pronounced like Lay Zay Luh Bawn Tawn Roo Lay, which means "Let The Good Times Roll!" in French]).
Now you know about the Cajuns, and why I am so proud to be a Cajun. I think the Cajun heritage is unique, and I am SOOOO proud to be called "CAJUN"! :D
~Written by Ronee' Le-Anne Marie Reaux (aged 11) on Sunday, March 7, 2004, at 4:56 p.m., C.S.T.
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Reviewed by Simon Thurlow
3/12/2004
Great write once more Karen. I've never been to Abbeville in Louisiana, but I have been to Abbeville in France. One always wonders how similar such places with the same name are. The one in France does have a large McDonalds LOL
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I am a Cajun. I am also very proud of my Cajun heritage; always have been.
