Cajun and Creole Folktales; The French Oral Tradition of South Louisiana

by Barry Jean Ancelet, Ancelet

English, French

Genres: Folklore, Fiction, Folk Tales, Short Stories

296 pages, Library Binding

First published February 1, 1994

Reviews

[Andy Mirs · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is more suited to the folklorist or student of folklore than to casual reading. The stories are presented in the original Cajun or Creole French with a side by side English translation. The author has classified the tales using the Aarne/Thompson tale type index (plus Baughman, Klipple & others), allowing easy comparison to similar tales. The tales are word for word transcriptions as the storyteller originally delivered them, so they are often marred by imperfections (like explaining the joke after the punchline). But it is a fine collection, divided into groups of Animal Tales, Magic Tales, Jokes, Lies and Tall Tales, Pascal Stories, Legendary Stories and Historical Tales. My favorites were the Jokes, Lies and Tall Tales, Pascal Stories and Legends. The Pascal Stories are probably the most unique feature of the book, an impromptu tall tale where the storyteller bounces new ideas off of comments made by the audience, with an aim to never repeat a performance. Fans of Compere Lapin (AKA Br'er Rabbit) will appreciate the Animal Tales. This book also has a great bibliography for further reading.

(Another book I can recommend in the same genre is Cajun Folktales by J.J. Reneaux from August House publishing. That book has only stories, with no technical analyses.)

[Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

I consulted this wonderful collection during my research on Cajun dance and music culture.

[Hope Phelps · Rating 5 out of 5]

"If you need directions, maybe you've got no business going there at all."

[Jacob · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good collection of stories, but I think the author/collector's notes and comments fill up more of this book than the stories do.

[Alisha Helton · Rating 5 out of 5]

The amount of work and care Ancelet put into this book is inspiring. I have a whole new fascination with local folklore and folktales after reading this. It makes me want to collect them myself.