The Difference

Well, golly gee, Wally, I didn’t mean to go and upset anyone. Yet, that is what I’ve done. So, here I am, making a second post to clarify the first post that I thought was pretty accurate. However, some disagree.

What caused the fuss? Well, because I wrote, “There’s a difference between Cajun and Creole”. And there is. I’m going to stick by that statement, too. But there are some who don’t believe this and challenged me on it. Well, folks, I’m not trying to persuade anyone from their way of thinking, but I’m presenting the facts as I’ve learned, experienced, and have been conveyed over time. This post isn’t being made to be argumentative. However, it is being made to offer clarity on what was written in the previous post.

One of the statements that roughly was disputed was “Cajuns are largely descendants from Nova Scotia”. Please note that the following is a quick and dirty, watered-down synopsis of history. I don’t advise anyone writing a thesis on the subject to use this post as their sole source of information.

Acadians had resided in the area since the early 1600s. Then, the tension between Britain and France grew. The British gave the Acadians an ultimatum to pledge loyalty to Britain. The Acadians refused. In 1755, Acadians (now known as Cajuns) were exiled from Nova Scotia, an eastern province of Canada, by the British. This was known as Le Grand Dérangement (Great Deportation). They were deported to Britain, British colonies, and France. They later migrated on their own (not deported) to Louisiana after the revolution in Saint-Domingue. Louisiana was attractive to the Acadians because, being a French colony, the residents spoke French.

Here’s where it becomes tricky. The term Creole originally was used to describe persons born in or indigenous to Louisiana. This included both white colonists and African slaves who were “native-born”. Over time, the term has been used to refer to persons of mixed European and black descent. To further muddy the water, more distinctions were made: French Creole (European ancestry), Black Creole (primarily African ancestry), Creole of Color (mixed race ancestry), and to describe persons whose ancestry are from Francophone and Hispanic communities. The term is also used to refer to as blended French, African, Russian, Italian, German, Chinese, Spanish, and Native American. Then, others used the term to refer to only free people of color. Sometimes, the term is used to refer to anything “pertaining to New Orleans”. Confused yet?

It’s easier to just accept the old saying: “Cajun isn’t Creole, and Creole isn’t Cajun”, n’est pas?

Tell me what you think. In the meantime, here are other useful reads.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/Menuism/cajun-vs-creole_b_1447822.html

https://www.nps.gov/cari/learn/historyculture/creole-history-and-culture.htm

http://www.everyculture.com/multi/Bu-Dr/Creoles.html