Origin of the term "Cajun"

[mmd]

Not wanting to let thread drift sully the "Meerkat News" thread, I thought it best to start a new thread. In the Meerkat thread, Phil Heffernan said:

"...in the french creole jargon of our Louisiana cajuns (formerly 'Canadiens'= 'Cajuns')."

I don't think that the term "Cajun" is a derivative of "Canadien"; rather one of the word "Acadienne", which was the term used for the citizens of Acadie.

Acadie was the French colonial settlement region in the New World from the early 1600's to the middle of the 18th century, comprising of the regions now known as Maine, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. After the war of the Spanish Succession and the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht that ceded the French colonies in Atlantic Canada to England, decades of English supression of the French settlers - who had accepted British sovereignty but refused to swear alliegience to the the British Crown, which would make them eligible for drafting into the British millitary and probably pit them against their fellow countrymen in the on-going wars with France - culminated in the forced expulsion of all Acadiennes from Nova Scotia in 1755 . Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's epic poem "Evangaline" is set against the backdrop of this event. About 6,000 Acadiennes were deported, some to Quebec, some returned to France, some few escaped and remained in Nova Scotia living in remote areas beyond the grasp of the English, but most went to the then-French possession of Louisiana. It is this stock of people that became known as "Cajun", a name that is a vernacular derivative of "Acadienne".

Two summers ago there was a summer-long series of festivals and events, primarily in Nova Scotia's "French Shore" and Cheticamp areas but also in NB & PEI, chronicling the 250th anniversary of the Expulsion of the Acadians and celebrating their culture and roots. Many Cajuns came to NS that summer and were able to trace family roots to specific places and even "long-lost" relatives here in places like Digby, Cheticamp, Weymouth, and Meteghan. And the food and music were great!!

[Tristan]

Yep, that's what I always understood.

[seedtick]

The town of St. Martinville, LA hosts an annual Acadian Memorial festival celebrating the culture and tradition of the Acadians, complete with a re-enactment of the arrival of the first Acadians paddling down Bayou Teche. St. Martinville is credited with being the meeting palce of the first arrivals and also has the Evangeline oak. This year's festival is on March 17

[Bruce Taylor]

Ethnic cleansing, essentially.

[Popeye]

yep , still a handful of french communities dotted around the NL coast , one group came to be known as 'zingers' because they were from the 'crossing' (cross-zing in twisted english-french vernacular))

[Norman Bernstein]

There are still two islands just south of Newfoundland, St. Pierre and Miquelon, that are actually sovereign French territory. I've often dreamed of sailing there... one couple did, and their story is within their website:

http://www.libertysails.com/html/from_maine_to_nova_scotia.html

[John Bell]

Un Canadien errant,
Banni de ses foyers,
Parcourait en pleurant
Des pays étrangers.
Un jour, triste et pensif,
Assis au bord des flots,
Au courant fugitif
Il adressa ces mots

"Si tu vois mon pays,
Mon pays malheureux,
Va, dis à mes amis
Que je me souviens d'eux.

"O jours si pleins d'appas
Vous êtes disparus,
Et ma patrie, hélas!
Je ne la verrai plus!

"Non, mais en expirant,
O mon cher Canada!
Mon regard languissant
Vers toi se portera . . ."

[Mrleft8]

Cajuns.....AKA "Acadian driftwood".
Who was it that claimed "Canadiens"?

[Bruce Taylor]

An apt song, John, though it was actually written (by Antoine Gérin-Lajoie) about the exiled patriotes of the Papineau rebellion of 1837.

[Popeye]

i hear there was a french - english war or something

[John Bell]

An apt song, John, though it was actually written (by Antoine Gérin-Lajoie) about the exiled patriotes of the Papineau rebellion of 1837.

It's a beautiful, haunting song. Even though I have not heard it in 25 years, I can still hear it in my head. It was hearing that song and wondering about it's origin that led me to discover the meaning of "Cajun", that's why I posted it.

[High C]

Aaaiiiieeee!

http://www.cajunimages.com/images/Cajun%20cabin%20web.jpg

[Bruce Taylor]

It was hearing that song and wondering about it's origin that led me to discover the meaning of "Cajun", that's why I posted it.

There's a version of the song that substitutes "Acadien errant" for "Canadien errant."

[John Bell]

That must have been the version I first heard.

[huisjen]

I heard that the indian (MicMac?) word "Quody" meant "place", or perhaps "this place".
When the locals called it the quody, the French called it "La Cadie", then "L'Acadie. Drop the L and you get Acadie and Acadia.

Dan

[mmd]

Norm, fellow Forumite and immigrant Bluenoser HR has cruised to St. Pierre et Miquelon (last summer) and discussed the trip - with pictures - on this thread:
http://www.woodenboatvb.com/vbulletin/upload/showthread.php?t=54910

[Ethan]

Aaaiiiieeee!

http://www.cajunimages.com/images/Cajun%20cabin%20web.jpg

Am I the only one who thinks that would be a blast? Talk about a cool weekend gettaway. And....who cares if a hurricane relocated it to Ohio one summer? Just build a new one!

[Popeye]

unfortunately i like it too:rolleyes::D

[Nicholas Carey]

There are still two islands just south of Newfoundland, St. Pierre and Miquelon, that are actually sovereign French territory.I was going to say that St-Pierre et Miquelon aren't just French territory, that they are a département d'outre-mer (DOM), an actual part of France in the same way that Hawaii and Alaska are a part of the United States.

However, a glance at this Wikipedia page (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Administrative_divisions_of_France) tells me that that's not true any more: the status of St-Pierre et Miquelon was changed from a DOM to a collectivité d'outre-mer (COM) in 2003. Evidently France is de-centralizing.

DOMs are legally a part of France in every way: representives in the French Assembly, French schooling, French healthcare, etc. Not exactly sure just how COMs differ from DOMs, though. St-Pierre et Miquelon don't use French postage stamps any more -- they issue their own, but they are still in the Euro zone.

More at the French government's Le Ministère de l'Outre-Mer (http://www.outre-mer.gouv.fr/outremer/front?id=outremer/decouvrir_outre_mer/st_pierre_miquelon&region=1).

[geeman]

I know folks in these parts that dont spend that much money on their houses as the guy did that built that shanty .
I was having a hard time makin fun of it too.Simple very down to earth.

[Phil Heffernan]

Not wanting to let thread drift sully the "Meerkat News" thread, I thought it best to start a new thread. In the Meerkat thread, Phil Heffernan said:


I don't think that the term "Cajun" is a derivative of "Canadien"; rather one of the word "Acadienne", which was the term used for the citizens of Acadie.

Acadie was the French colonial settlement region in the New World from the early 1600's to the middle of the 18th century, comprising of the regions now known as Maine, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. After the war of the Spanish Succession and the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht that ceded the French colonies in Atlantic Canada to England, decades of English supression of the French settlers - who had accepted British sovereignty but refused to swear alliegience to the the British Crown, which would make them eligible for drafting into the British millitary and probably pit them against their fellow countrymen in the on-going wars with France - culminated in the forced expulsion of all Acadiennes from Nova Scotia in 1755 . Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's epic poem "Evangaline" is set against the backdrop of this event. About 6,000 Acadiennes were deported, some to Quebec, some returned to France, some few escaped and remained in Nova Scotia living in remote areas beyond the grasp of the English, but most went to the then-French possession of Louisiana. It is this stock of people that became known as "Cajun", a name that is a vernacular derivative of "Acadienne".

Two summers ago there was a summer-long series of festivals and events, primarily in Nova Scotia's "French Shore" and Cheticamp areas but also in NB & PEI, chronicling the 250th anniversary of the Expulsion of the Acadians and celebrating their culture and roots. Many Cajuns came to NS that summer and were able to trace family roots to specific places and even "long-lost" relatives here in places like Digby, Cheticamp, Weymouth, and Meteghan. And the food and music were great!!

Alright we're getting to the truth now....Still, aren't these folks Canadiens?

We're all 'Americans', even down to Panama...
PS I should say 'North and Central'...Americans

PH

[High C]

When I had to move my family away from Slidell temporarily after Katrina, we sought refuge in New Iberia, in the heart of Cajun country. We were there for two months, and were tempted to stay. Such generous, sweet people.

One old Cajun fellow I spoke to, he with a Cajun accent as thick as any, asked, "you're not from around here, are you?" "How'd you know?" I replied. "You talk funny." said he. :D

[High C]

C...they shared the swamps and prairies with the Attakapa and Chitimacha Native American tribes

We've a Chitimacha who is an active member of this forum, Roger Stouff.

[Bruce Taylor]

Alright we're getting to the truth now....Still, aren't these folks Canadiens?

It gets a bit tangled.

In terms of ethnicity, the word "Canadiens" identifies the population of New France, now Quebec; whereas the Acadiens are the descendents of the French population that settled in Nova Scotia in the 17th century. The groups are genealogically and, to some extent, linguistically, distinct.

In terms of citizenship, we are all "Canadiens."

These days, the "Canadiens de souche" of Quebec usually identify themselves as Quebecois. The dispersed "Canadiens" of Upper Canada typically describe themselves as "Canadiens Francais." The old French population of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Eastern Quebec identify themselves as Acadiens.

[Tristan]

As the old Cajun said, "Ah come from up on top Baton Rouge, me."

[High C]

That is nice to know...:)
I think Cajun and Creole is an interesting culture.. I like cajun foods, music, and their lifestyle....

I can tell. :)