18.3.07

Cajuns are exceedingly hostile

Encyclopedia of the stateless nations : ethnic and national groups around the world / James Minahan.
Westport, CT : Greenwood, c2002


I was looking through this reference book and I was surprised to find an entry for Cajuns in it. I learn something new every day. Of course, the reference book says that Cajuns are descended from the Acadian exiles. This doesn’t surprise me. I was surprised, however, when I read the description of the Cajun people:

The Cajuns are a Latin people, the descendants of eighteenth-century exiles from Canada. They remain clannish and exceedingly hostile to outsiders, known in the Cajun language as Teixannes, which stems from the discovery of oil and the influx of small-time Texan robber barons. (355-356)

Yep, outsiders always get the cold shoulder in Ville Platte. I like that “exceedingly hostile” description. It made my day. I laughed and laughed and laughed.

The description of the Cajun language is also interesting. “The Cajun language, called Cajun French or Francais Acadien, is a bastardized version of French that incorporates archaic French forms with an anglicized syntax and idioms taken from…” (356)

I have a feeling many Cajun activists dislike the “bastardization” description of the language. Something about the entire entry made me laugh. It made me wonder what information I’m getting on the other ethnic groups. Like the Cajun entry, it’s probably a lot of crap.

I also did not know that Cajuns are a legal minority. Yep, that’s what the book says. Supposedly a bill passed that gave Cajuns the minority status and eligible for federal monetary assistance. (359)

Well I be damn, I want some of that money, me.

Evangeline Parish French Creole Heritage

That's it for me. It's been real. I used to talk about this subject on forums and with people and several found it annoying. Evangel...