French Creole Culture

by Liz Olds

VS

Creole

Cajun

History

French claim to North America 1754

Spanish claims 1762

The Louisiana Purchase1803

Social StructureHierarchy?

• WhitesCreoles, Americans, & inhabitants of European origin

• Free BlacksLes Gens de Colour- emancipated slaves and their descendents

• SlavesNo civil rights

Caste SystemWhite Creole•Creoles•Chacas•Chacalatas•Cachumas

Black Creole•Quadroon•Mulatto•Griffe•Full-blooded

White CreoleHome and Family

•Masculine•Traditional•High Power Distance

Les Gens de Colour

Black Creole Women

•Tignon•Quadroon Balls

•Nurses, midwives, street vendors

Black Creole Men

•Skilled Artisans

•Educated business owners

•Inheritance

Religion•Primarily Catholic•Voodoo

Santo DomingoMatriarchalMen held minor

roles

Creole Food

•French Roots•Multi-ethnic influences•Multicultural influences

ReferencesAbrahams, R. D. 1983. The Man-of-Words in the West Indies: Performance and the

Emergence of Creole Culture. Baltimore and London: The Johns Hopkins University

Press

Binder, W. (ed.). 1998. Creoles and Cajuns: French Louisiana. Frankfurt am Main:

Peter Land GmbH.

Crete, L. (translated by Patrick Gregory) 1978 (translation 1981). Daily Life in Louisiana 1815-1830. Baton Rouge and London: Louisiana State University Press.

Johnson, P. 2000. World Food New Orleans: Creole, Cajun, and Soul. Victoria,

Australia: Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd.

Rushton, W. F. 1979. The Cajuns: from Acadia to Louisiana. Canada: Harper Collins

Canada Ltd.

Thompson, T. 1986. Cajun-Creole Cooking. Tucson, Arizona: HP Books.

http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/Curriculum/units/1992/2/92.02.02.html http://www.frenchcreoles.com/CreoleCulture/creoleculture.html

http://www.state.la.us/about_history.html

http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/20vieux/20setting.html

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/features/july-dec05/culture_9-14.html