Creoles
Professionals involved in therapy and counseling with members of the Creole culture of New Orleans and southern Louisiana should be aware of the history and traditions of this group that make it distinctive from all others in the United States, and indeed from the French-speaking Cajun communities in the same region. In Louisiana, Creoles are not simply the white descendants of the early French and Spanish colonists, although in the post-Civil War era of Jim Crow there was a major attempt to redefine them as 100% white. This was never the case in history since they are a mixed-race people descended from Europeans, Native Americans and African slaves during the 18th Century and occupied a special caste in pre-Civil War Louisiana. They spoke their own language known as Creole French, as do tens of thousands of their descendants today, and in appearance have often been able to 'pass' as white. Those who could not were harshly discriminated against during the period of segregation, while many Creoles were involved in leading the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s. In 300 years, they have not lost their memory of being a distinct caste and culture in Louisiana, and still have many traditional African customs that have been embraced by much of the population, including whites, such as jazz music and jazz funerals, Creole cuisine like jambalaya and gumbo, and rituals associated with Voodoo (Vodun). They are a family-oriented people who follow a traditionalist form of Catholicism, especially in rural areas, and have their own poems, oral history, songs, legends and tall tales that have been written down and compiled over the decades.
Creole is a term that has had many meanings over the centuries, although is present-day Louisiana it refers to natives of the state who identify with French language and culture. Many of these are of African-American or mixed-race ancestry, even though much of this was concealed during the era of Jim Crow segregation as those who were lighter-skinned identified themselves as whites. Indeed, contrary to its original meaning of descendants of slaves born in the New World -- or of any person native to the French and Spanish colonies -- in the 19th Century it was actually redefined to refer to the French-speaking elite of planter-aristocrats who governed the state. Not even the Acadians (Cajuns), the French-speaking deported from Canada by the British, qualified as Creoles in this sense, and in fact have never identified themselves as such. Even so, it was impossible to deny that Creoles of color (a term that only came into common usage after the Civil War) existed and that mixed-race ancestry was the norm in Louisiana among the Creole population. Creole culture produced jazz music and food like gumbo and jambalaya that blended African, Native American, French and Spanish cuisine, as well as "Voodoo" (Vodun) in its American form (Juang, 2008, p. 315). Creole French is still "spoken by tens of thousands of people, white as well as black, in some parts of the state," while "Afro-creole folk life, religion, and music, most noticeably jazz, spread up the Mississippi Valley into Memphis, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, and, ultimately, the world" (Hall, 1992, p. 60).
Most of the French migrants who came to Louisiana in the 18th Century did not arrive voluntarily but were galley slaves, paupers, beggars and convicts deported by the government. Louisiana was never a destination of choice for immigrants until the great sugar boom after 1790, when the colony began to develop a true planter aristocracy. Below the elite levels, however, most of the French immigrants and Creoles did not own slaves, and were considered peasant farmers and peones by colonial officials. Due to a shortage of white women in the colony, "race mixture was common and widely accepted" in ways that were never permitted in British North America (Hall, p. 66). African and Native American slaves, white soldiers, convicts and indentured servants all fled into the forests and swaps frequently and lived as free farmers, trappers and hunters, who still traded regularly with New Orleans. About two-thirds of the Africa slaves brought to Louisiana in the 18th Century came from the Bambara culture in Senegal and they created the Louisiana Creole language that was also spoken by many whites, especially the lower classes.
Samba Bambara was one of their folk heroes who had led a conspiracy in 1731 to overthrow the government in alliance with the Indians and free the slaves. He was already legendary for conspiring against the French slave traders in Senegal...
Mardi Gras People can, and often do, build shrines in their memory to cherished experiences in their lives. While some of these shrines are dedicated to memories of a purely personal nature, a few are related to community traditions that have grown to have especial meaning. The Mardi Gras is one such tradition, which many Americans value both for its historical significance as well as because it is a much looked
The music was so intoxicating that it was impossible to stand still or to even walk without a rhythmic gait. The food smells were equally overpowering. Not only had all the local markets, bars and restaurants opened their doors and set tables and chairs in front, but hundreds of people were cooking on the streets as well. Barbecue grills sizzled with chicken, ribs, sausages, and pots of boiled crawfish, corn-on-
2009). One of the most well-known aspects of the modern Mardi Gras celebration is the throwing of beads and other trinkets from the parade krewes (groups and organizations that have floats in the parade) to the crowd of spectators. This was started in 1870 by the Twelfth Night krewe, and was quickly taken up by other groups, each of whom throws their own unique trinkets (Mardi Gras New Orleans 2009).
the nineteenth century saw the Mardi Gras celebration banned, but when it were restored in New Orleans in the 1820s it was a great equalizing force, allowing African-Americans -- man of them still slaves -- the freedom to drum and celebrate in ways they were unable to almost anywhere else or at any other time (Carnaval 2000). The celebrations are still a great equalizer, brining together people of all classes
Under French rule, masked balls and festivals were the predecessor of the festival we know today. After being banned when New Orleans came under Spanish rule, the masked festivals returned in 1827 (Davis, 1997). The festivals developed during the 19th century to include parades featuring masks, people in carriages and on horseback. To curb complaints about violence during the celebrations, the Comus organization was formed to impose a measure of
Aside from the Spanish conquerors, after American gained power on their land, there were also times when the Mardi Gras was banned by the U.S. Government. It was only because of Creoles that the ban on Mardi Gras celebration was lifted. In 1827, the Americans were once again able to revel days before the penitence of Lent. Festivities were once again gathered with people wearing masks, drinking, and enjoying the
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