The definition of Cajun has changed over the years. It hasn’t always been a good word. It is now but the way it was promoted
attached Acadian with it and that’s the gist of the situation in Evangeline
Parish. Many people in southern Evangeline Parish
were poor and rural Creoles. The definition
in the past for a rural and poor Creole was Cajun. It was applied much like Redneck and Coonass is
used today. Some people, just like in
history, are offended by the terms and others laugh about it. Many people simply, eventually, adopted the term Cajun. It had nothing to do
with being influenced by Acadian culture.
It was how the word was applied and then used by people themselves. That’s my take on it from reading stuff. Read the articles and you can make up your
own mind. I’m starting to talk in circles because I started this blog talking
about the same thing. But I have to keep
reminding myself of what I’ve learned and reading again what I’ve read.
History of Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana - by Corinne L.
Saucier.
“The word “Acadian" is now never heard. A prosperous or
educated Acadian is called a "Creole." An ignorant, or poor person,
or tacky person, even though Creole in origin, may be called a Cajun. Words
have a history just like persons, and their meanings change very often. In this
age of rapid economic changes a Creole today may be a Cajun tomorrow or
vice-versa. It is all a matter of affluence and no longer origin, as it was a
century ago. This is a democratic age, as one can verify at every turn. “(102)