Description
Release Date: 1991
Publisher: University Press Of Mississippi
ISBN: 0878054677
Softcover, 256 pages
This insightful book is by far the broadest examination of traditional Cajun culture ever assembled. It goes beyond the stereotypes and surface treatment given to Cajuns by the popular media and examines the great variety of cultural elements alive in Cajun culture today—cooking, music, storytelling, architecture, arts and crafts, and festivals, as well as traditional occupations such as fishing, hunting, and trapping. It not only gives fascinating descriptions of elements in Cajun life that have been woven into the fabric of American history and folklore; it also explains how they came to be. Cajun Country reveals the historical background of the Cajun people, who migrated to Louisiana as exiles from their Canadian homeland, and it shows their folklife as a living and ongoing legacy that enriches America.
Review
This first volume of the Folklife in the South Series provides an insightful study of the Cajun people of south Louisiana. It successfully “attempts to portray their characters by presenting the traditional culture of Cajun country and examining the effects of tradition on modern ways. ” Although several books are available on various aspects of Cajun culture, this title offers a comprehensive survey of the history, social institutions, material culture, and recreational activities of this unique ethnic group. It is further distinguished by the sound scholarship of folklorists and historians whose writings have been gracefully assembled under one cover. References to source materials are contained within the text, avoiding the use of footnotes and broadening the book’s appeal. Researchers will appreciate a discussion of the sources in the bibliographical essay. Highly recommended.
