A couple fridays ago I was itching to do something exploratory, so I went to visit Vermillionville, on the edge of Lafayette, near the airport. It is a little walking museum, including houses, schoolhouses, and Native American buildings along with the history of Lafayette as a city and the formation of the region. It even had people dressed to the times, which on that day no one could have paid me enough to wear clothing like that in the humidity. I think it may have been taking a toll on some of the "characters" as one man I talked to was very disjointed in his explanation of how Vermillionville turned into Lafayette and the many different levels of culture in this area.
I will try my best to explain.
In the beginning..... There were some Frenchies who settled in Nova Scotia, Canada and were friendly with France. This group of Frenchies called themselves Acadien, the origin of which I am unsure. Some where along the way, they were booted out of Canada by the British, probably for being to "French". Who knows. We all can agree that the two cultures have always knocked heads. I guess in their distaste of rejection they travelled as far South as possible, and ended up in Louisiana. I think it was still French territory, before the Louisiana Purchase occurred in 1803. "Acadien" turned into Acadiana, which is now the name of the area in Louisiana. I'm not quite sure how to describe it; they have parishes, which are comparable to counties EVERYWHERE ELSE in the country, and then the parishes make up areas, of which Acadiana is one.
Vermillionville was the name of the town originally, but was changed to Lafayette after the name of some General during some very old war (we're talking like 19th century old. Stay with me, I'm drinking and typing). General Lafayette. I'm certain it's related to something French.
Creoles and Cajuns are considered to be different. Originally, Cajuns were the French Catholics who migrated south from Canada and Creoles were those who were born in Louisiana, the natives to the area. As the years progressed and the intermingling occurred, they are pretty much interchangable to an outsider, but the locals still prefer to differentiate. The Creoles could be "Creole blanc", "Negre Creole" and all colors of the spectrum between (yes, they still do that down here), with a mix of Spanish, French, Carribean, Native American, and African. Now the area is considered to be "a cultural Gumbo".
This area of Acadiana is the only true "Cajun" area; the rest of the state, New Orleans included, is not truely "Cajun" although the rest of the world is under the impression anything in Louisiana is Cajun. Even the food is different outside of Acadiana; Gumbo is different depending on the region.
And according to my wordy friend, there is a difference between Cajun, Creole, and Zydeco music. This is all I can say about it, because I have no idea how they differ. That is a work in progress.
Either way, the women are beautiful, and about 90% of the people here are short. Men who are my height are considered "tall", and everyone is agast when I say that I am an average height in the Midwest. I am an 5' 9'' Amazon, and will still wear heels, dammit. Also, I've only met 2 other Hannahs here, and we are all so excited to meet because no one down here can spell our names (Hanah, Hanaha, Hana, Hanna. Not kidding, especially about the second one).
Local lingo:
Coon-ass: a local. I've never used it because I feel it's comparable to calling someone in the Midwest a "hick", and I only think the locals should call themselves that.
Come see: Come over here and look at this, or I want to talk to you
Hayacall: used when they don't know the name of something. Comparable to whatchamathingy, or dohickey.
Cooyon (kooo-yawn): and educated fool, or idiot.
