Connecting past to present: Louisiana cajuns and their sense of belonging to an Acadian diaspora
Many Cajuns claim their Acadian ancestry, despite the fact that their culture is mixed, originating from the different immigrant groups which have settled in Louisiana (French, Acadian, Spanish, Irish, Black and White Creoles…). This sense of belonging appears through the enhancement of a “blood” fi...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Centre de Recherches sur les Mondes Américains
2005-02-01
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| Series: | Nuevo mundo - Mundos Nuevos |
| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/nuevomundo/646 |
| _version_ | 1797307432461926400 |
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| author | Sara Le Menestrel |
| author_facet | Sara Le Menestrel |
| author_sort | Sara Le Menestrel |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Many Cajuns claim their Acadian ancestry, despite the fact that their culture is mixed, originating from the different immigrant groups which have settled in Louisiana (French, Acadian, Spanish, Irish, Black and White Creoles…). This sense of belonging appears through the enhancement of a “blood” filiation with the Acadians from the Canadian Maritimes Provinces, of a common historic memory based on the “Grand Dérangement” experience (the expulsion of the Acadians by the British in 1755) and of the survival theme. The bond felt with the Canadian Acadians is also based on the sharing of common language and values and goes to the perception of physical resemblance. The notion of Acadian Diaspora has grown these last years within the Louisiana French revival Movement, and has been fortified by the World Acadian Congresses (in 1994 in New Brunswick and in 1999 in Lafayette). Even though this sense of belonging is not expressed by Cajuns as a whole, it represents a criterion of definition increasingly widespread, and has given rise to several recent initiatives in “Cajun Country” (located around Lafayette), such as the creation of the Acadian Memorial, the increase of genealogical societies, the setting of exhibitions about Acadian history, and the development of tourism between Louisiana-French and Canadian-French. However, this identity marker never comes into conflict with Cajuns’ American identity. Just like the Louisiana culture as a whole, the origins of Cajun culture are multiple. The metaphor most often employed to illustrate this process of creolization is of culinary nature. It uses a local specialty, gumbo, from which almost every ingredient reveals a different origin : the basic element, roux, comes from a French technique ; okra is a vegetable imported from Africa ; filé has an Native American origin ; finally, rice and the diverse ingredients incorporated (seafood, poultry, pork or wild game) are local products. Cajun last names also show such a process and reveal the diversity of this culture’s origins : German (Hoffpauir, Shexnayder...), Spanish (Castille, Domingue, Romero...), Scottish (McGee), White Creole (de La Houssaye, Fontenot...), which come along Acadian origin (Leblanc, Broussard, Arceneaux...). However, this cultural mix is not always enhanced by Cajuns, since many increasingly emphasize their Acadian ancestry, which appears to be an essential criterion of definition of the group’s identity. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T00:56:04Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d02a8fb4c9fe49c6939be747690177f3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1626-0252 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T00:56:04Z |
| publishDate | 2005-02-01 |
| publisher | Centre de Recherches sur les Mondes Américains |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nuevo mundo - Mundos Nuevos |
| spelling | doaj.art-d02a8fb4c9fe49c6939be747690177f32024-02-14T16:51:46ZengCentre de Recherches sur les Mondes AméricainsNuevo mundo - Mundos Nuevos1626-02522005-02-0110.4000/nuevomundo.646Connecting past to present: Louisiana cajuns and their sense of belonging to an Acadian diasporaSara Le MenestrelMany Cajuns claim their Acadian ancestry, despite the fact that their culture is mixed, originating from the different immigrant groups which have settled in Louisiana (French, Acadian, Spanish, Irish, Black and White Creoles…). This sense of belonging appears through the enhancement of a “blood” filiation with the Acadians from the Canadian Maritimes Provinces, of a common historic memory based on the “Grand Dérangement” experience (the expulsion of the Acadians by the British in 1755) and of the survival theme. The bond felt with the Canadian Acadians is also based on the sharing of common language and values and goes to the perception of physical resemblance. The notion of Acadian Diaspora has grown these last years within the Louisiana French revival Movement, and has been fortified by the World Acadian Congresses (in 1994 in New Brunswick and in 1999 in Lafayette). Even though this sense of belonging is not expressed by Cajuns as a whole, it represents a criterion of definition increasingly widespread, and has given rise to several recent initiatives in “Cajun Country” (located around Lafayette), such as the creation of the Acadian Memorial, the increase of genealogical societies, the setting of exhibitions about Acadian history, and the development of tourism between Louisiana-French and Canadian-French. However, this identity marker never comes into conflict with Cajuns’ American identity. Just like the Louisiana culture as a whole, the origins of Cajun culture are multiple. The metaphor most often employed to illustrate this process of creolization is of culinary nature. It uses a local specialty, gumbo, from which almost every ingredient reveals a different origin : the basic element, roux, comes from a French technique ; okra is a vegetable imported from Africa ; filé has an Native American origin ; finally, rice and the diverse ingredients incorporated (seafood, poultry, pork or wild game) are local products. Cajun last names also show such a process and reveal the diversity of this culture’s origins : German (Hoffpauir, Shexnayder...), Spanish (Castille, Domingue, Romero...), Scottish (McGee), White Creole (de La Houssaye, Fontenot...), which come along Acadian origin (Leblanc, Broussard, Arceneaux...). However, this cultural mix is not always enhanced by Cajuns, since many increasingly emphasize their Acadian ancestry, which appears to be an essential criterion of definition of the group’s identity.https://journals.openedition.org/nuevomundo/646 |
| spellingShingle | Sara Le Menestrel Connecting past to present: Louisiana cajuns and their sense of belonging to an Acadian diaspora Nuevo mundo - Mundos Nuevos |
| title | Connecting past to present: Louisiana cajuns and their sense of belonging to an Acadian diaspora |
| title_full | Connecting past to present: Louisiana cajuns and their sense of belonging to an Acadian diaspora |
| title_fullStr | Connecting past to present: Louisiana cajuns and their sense of belonging to an Acadian diaspora |
| title_full_unstemmed | Connecting past to present: Louisiana cajuns and their sense of belonging to an Acadian diaspora |
| title_short | Connecting past to present: Louisiana cajuns and their sense of belonging to an Acadian diaspora |
| title_sort | connecting past to present louisiana cajuns and their sense of belonging to an acadian diaspora |
| url | https://journals.openedition.org/nuevomundo/646 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT saralemenestrel connectingpasttopresentlouisianacajunsandtheirsenseofbelongingtoanacadiandiaspora |