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Lesson

Rendezvous in Louisiana: Migration and Location

Cajun and Zydeco Music: Flavors of Southwest Louisiana / Rendezvous in Louisiana: Migration and Location

Louisiana has been a hub of multicultural exchange since the founding of the United States. Two of the most significant migrations to Louisiana were the arrival of the Acadians (or “Cajuns”) after Le Grand Derangement (the British exile of the Acadian people from their native Canada) and Africans and African Americans (brought there as enslaved workers). By the end of the Civil War (1865), the bayous in southwest Louisiana were populated with a mixture of Cajuns, formerly enslaved African Americans, Free People of Color, Creoles, Native Americans, German, French, Spanish, and Irish immigrants. The confluence of these diverse traditions in the same location created the ideal breeding ground for today’s Cajun and zydeco musics. Lesson Two provides historical context and musical exploration of the traditions that were present in Louisiana before the end of the Civil War. The lesson also highlights how music migrates and fosters the development of new and novel styles.

Lesson Components & Learning Objectives

  1. Rendezvous in Louisiana

    • Describe how migration affected the development of Cajun and zydeco musics in southwest Louisiana.
    • 30+ minutes

  2. Exploring Traditional Song Types

    • Describe the characteristics of the music that traveled to Louisiana along with migrant groups (e.g. ballads, reels, contredanses, waltzes, and African-derived rhythms & chants).
    • 30+ minutes

  3. Combining Influences

    • Demonstrate how the mixing of musical forms and styles can produce new musical “flavors.”
    • 30+ minutes

More +
Less -

Bibliography

Text

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Brasseaux, Carl. 1987. The Founding of New Acadia. Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press.

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Hall, Gwendolyn Midlo. 1995. Africans in Colonial Louisiana. Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press.

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Schweninger, Loren. n.d. “Free People of Color.” 64 Parishes. Accessed March 13, 2022.

"La Fille De Quatorze Ans," trad., lyrics. In Cajun Songs from Louisiana, As performed by Madame Daniel Bourke. Folkways Records, 1956. Lyrics worksheet prepared by Mollie Farr.

Audio*

Falcon, Odile. "La Reine Da La Salle." On J'ai été au bal: I Went to the Dance, Vol. 1, recorded 1930s. El Cerrito, CA: Arhoolie Records, ARH00331_119, 1990, streaming audio.

Michael Doucet dit BeauSoleil and Dennis McGee. "The Mad Reel." On The Mad Reel. El Cerrito, CA: Arhoolie Records, ARH00397_112, 1994, streaming audio.

Bourke, Madame Daniel. "La Fille De Quatorze Ans." On Cajun Songs from Louisiana. New York City, NY: Folkways Records, FW04438_104, 1956, streaming audio.

McGee, Dennis and Sady Courville. "La Réel À Fruge." On Cajun Home Music, recorded 1975. New York City, NY: Folkways Records, FW02620 _106, 1977, streaming audio.

Michael Doucet et BeauSoleil. "Contredanse De Doucet." On The Mad Reel. El Cerrito, CA: Arhoolie Records, ARH00397_116, 1994, streaming audio.

Karl Kubat and his Brass Folk Dance Band. "Der Offene Walzer (the Open Waltz)." On Folk Dances of Austria, Vol. 1, recorded 1950s. New York City, NY: Folkways Records, FW08837_105, 1959, streaming audio.

Landreneau, Cyprien. "La Valse De Choupique." On Cajun Home Music, recorded Sept. 4, 1975. New York City, NY: Folkways Records, FW02620 _103, 1977, streaming audio.

Borderau, Libera and Ti Yogan. "M'pas Bwè M'pas Mangé: Work Song." On Music of Haiti: Vol. 1, Folk Music of Haiti. New York City, NY: Folkways Records, FW04407_102, 1951, streaming audio.

The McIntosh County Shouters and Doretha Skipper. "Hold the Baby." On Slave Shout Songs from the Coast of Georgia, recorded 1983. New York City, NY: Folkways Records, FW04344_205, 1984, streaming audio.

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Video*

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“Cajun Waltz.” YouTube video, Mar. 3, 2016, 1:02. Uploaded by Dance Cajun.

“Family Storytelling with Grayhawk Perkins.” YouTube video, 2013, 58:08. Filmed at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, September 21, 2013.

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Obenhaus, Linus. “The Louisiana Purchase Explained [Turning Points in U.S. History].” YouTube video, 02:59. Uploaded by Linopa Films, March 19, 2016.

Sexton, Sharon Elizabeth, producer, and Sandra L’Herrison, director. Houmas Indians. Video, 25:40. Aired May 13, 1982, on Louisiana Public Broadcasting. Retrieved from the Louisiana Digital Media Archive.

Images*

Erskine, Reed and Susan. "Clifton Chenier," 1974, photograph. Washington, DC: Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, Smithsonian Institution. Taken at the 1974 American Folklife Festival. Provided by the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, CFCH-FAF1974_0193.

Rodrigue, George. The First Cajuns, ca. 1984-1989, painting. In "Louisiana’s Natural Beauty: An Art Contest with the Audubon Institute," by Wendy Rodrigue Magnus. Life & Legacy Foundation & Art Tour, September 2013.

Strachwitz, Chris. "Wallace Gernger - Rubboard; Paul Me Zei - Accordion," photograph. In Zydeco, Vol. 1: The Early Years 1949-62, Chris Strachwitz, liner notes. El Cerrito, CA: Arhoolie Records, 1989, p. 2.

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Bernard, François. Two Chitimacha Indians, 1870, oil on panel. Wikimedia Commons.

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Hornsby, Stephen J. "A View over Grand-Pré and Minas Basin," photograph. In Explanatory Maps of Saint Croix & Acadia: Acadian Deportation, Migration, and Resettlement, Stephen J. Hornsby, web editor. Orono, ME: Canadian-American Center, University of Maine, 2005.

Unknown maker. "Louisiana Map," map. Austin, TX: Perry-Castañeda Library (PCL) Map Collection, University of Texas Libraries, n.d. Additional drawings by Mollie Farr.

Craig, George. Deportation Grand-Pré, 1893, painting. Wikimedia Commons.

Amans, Jacques Guillaume Lucien. Creole in a Red Turban, ca. 1840, oil on canvas. New Orleans, LA: The Historic New Orleans Collection, Louisiana Digital Library, Jan. 19, 2011. Acquisition made possible by The Diana Helis Henry Fund of The Helis Foundation in Memory of Charles A. Snyder.

Hawker, Lt. Henry Samuel. The Portuguese Slaver Diligenté Captured by H.M. Sloop Pearl with 600 Slaves on Board, Taken in Charge to Nassau, 1838, watercolor on paper. Washington, DC: Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, H x W: 11 3/8 x 17 1/8 in. (28.9 x 43.5 cm).

Cronin, David Edward. Great Dismal Swamp Fugitive Slaves, Virginia, 1888, oil on canvas. Wikimedia Commons.

Unknown artist. Free Woman of Color with Quadroon Daughter, late 18th century, painting. Wikimedia Commons. Uploaded in 2011 by Infrogmation. Edited in 2014 by Zellfaze.

Johnson, William H. Toussaint L'ouverture, Haiti, ca. 1945, oil on paperboard. Washington, DC: Smithsonian American Art Museum. Gift of the Harmon Foundation.

Davies, Diana Jo. "The Balfa Brothers, Lacasine Two-Step, Recorded at the Festival of American Folklife in Washington, DC," July 4, 1969, photograph. In Dewey Balfa: Master of Cajun Music. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. Courtesy of the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage.

Unknown artist. "North American, Spanish, French, and British Territories Circa 1700," video still. In 18th Century Turning Points in U.S. History. Ambrose Video Publishing Inc./Centre Communications, 2003.

Unknown artist. "Nine Positions of the Waltz," 1816, book frontispiece. In Correct Method of German and French Waltzing, by Thomas Wilson. Wikimedia Commons. Uploaded to Wikimedia by Macdonald-Ross, edited by Church.

Morgan, Jr., Elemore. Along the Road, 2007, acrylic on masonite. New Orleans, LA: Arthur Roger Gallery. Courtesy of the artist and Arthur Roger Gallery.

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* Audio, video, and images listed in order of slideshow sequence.