How many creoles live in louisiana

Creoles are not one entity or another, they are people and have at times lived their lives being misunderstood, misrepresented, and misinterpreted. In the past, under the white government, Creoles were not allowed to be an equal part of society. Blacks freed and slaves did not feel Creoles were part of their world either. Because of this rejection, Creoles had a strong bond with one another and had to create their own world and culture. For centuries they had to be self-sufficient and rely on each other.

The word Creole derives from the Latin word creare, meaning, "to beget" or "create. There is a small kinship and lifeline to the Gullah community found in the Lowcountry region of the U. By the nineteenth century, Black, white, and mixed-race Louisianans used the term to distinguish themselves from foreign-born and Anglo-American settlers.

It was during that century that the mixed-race Creoles of Color or gens de couleur libre, "free persons of color" came into their own as an ethnic group. Creole has multiple meanings in Louisiana. Americans considered it to suggest mixed-race, mixed-culture folks.

Race-conscious French and Spanish whites used the term exclusively for themselves. Some refugees moved on to St. Martinville, Napoleonville, and Henderson, rural areas outside New Orleans. Others traveled further north along the Mississippi waterway. In Louisiana, the term Creole came to represent children of black or racially mixed parents as well as children of French and Spanish descent with no racial mixing.

Louis began referring to themselves as Creoles after the Louisiana Purchase to set themselves apart from the Anglo-Americans who moved into the area. Today, the term Creole can be defined in a number of ways. Louisiana historian Fred B.

Kniffin, in Louisiana: Its Land and People, has asserted that the term Creole "has been loosely extended to include people of mixed blood, a dialect of French, a breed of ponies, a distinctive way of cooking, a type of house, and many other things. It is therefore no precise term and should not be defined as such. Louisiana Creoles of color were different and separate from other populations, both black and This woman is a quilter at the Amand Broussard House in Louisiana Creole Country. These Creoles of color became part of an elite society; in the nineteenth century they were leaders in business, agriculture, politics, and the arts, as well as slaveholders.

Nonetheless, as early as their legal status had been defined by the Code Noir Black Code. According to Violet Harrington Bryan in The Myth of New Orleans in Literature, Dialogues of Race and Gender, they could own slaves, hold real estate, and be recognized in the courts, but they could not vote, marry white persons, and had to designate themselves as f.

According to Virginia A. Dominguez in White By Definition, much of the written record of Creoles comes from descriptions of individuals in the baptismal, marriage, and death registers of Catholic churches of Mobile Alabama and New Orleans, two major French outposts on the Gulf Coast. The earliest entry is a death record in wherein a man was described as the first Creole in the colony.

The term also appears in a slave trial in New Orleans. Differences of opinion regarding the Creoles persist. The greatest controversy stems from the presence or absence of African ancestry.

In an lecture at These two men are presenting the Creole flag to the audience at a Creole festival. Hopkins, c. These three men were probably the most prominent Creole intellectuals of the nineteenth century. The phrase "Creole of color" was used by these proud part-Latin people to set themselves apart from American blacks. These Haitian descendants were cultured, educated, and economically prosperous as musicians, artists, teachers, writers, and doctors. Dorman has stated that the group was clearly recognized as special, productive, and worthy by the white community, citing an editorial in the New Orleans Times Picayune in that referred to them as "Creole colored people.

After the Civil War and Reconstruction, however, the Creoles of color—who had been part of the free black population before the war—were merged into a two-caste system, black and white.

The identification of a Creole was, and is, largely one of self-choice. Important criteria for Creole identity are French language and social customs, especially cuisine, regardless of racial makeup. Many young Creoles of color today live under pressure to identify themselves as African Americans. Several young white Creoles want to avoid being considered of mixed race. Therefore, both young black and white Creoles often choose an identity other than Creole.

With imported furniture, wines, books, and clothes, white Creoles were once immersed in a completely French atmosphere. Part of Creole social life has traditionally centered on the French Opera House; from to , it was the place for sumptuous gatherings and glittering receptions. The interior, graced by curved balconies and open boxes of architectural beauty, seated people.

Creoles loved the music and delighted in attendance as the operas were great social and cultural affairs. White Creoles clung to their individualistic way of life, frowned upon intermarriage with Anglo-Americans, refused to learn English, and were resentful and contemptuous of Protestants, whom they considered irreligious and wicked.

Creoles generally succeeded in remaining separate in the rural sections but they steadily lost ground in New Orleans. In , there were seven Creoles to every Anglo-American in New Orleans, but these figures dwindled to two to one by Anglo-Americans reacted by disliking the Creoles with equal enthusiasm.

Gradually, New Orleans became not one city, but two. Canal Street split them apart, dividing the old Creole city from the "uptown" section where the other Americans quickly settled. To cross Canal Street in either direction was to enter another world. These differences are still noticeable today. Older Creoles complain that many young Creoles today do not adhere to the basic rules of language propriety in speaking to others, especially to older adults.

They claim that children walk past homes of people they know without greeting an acquaintance sitting on the porch or working on the lawn. Young males are particularly criticized for greeting others quickly in an incomprehensible and inarticulate manner. Creole cooking is the distinguishing feature of Creole homes. It can be as subtle as Oysters Rockefeller, as fragrantly explicit as a jambalaya, or as down to earth as a dish of red beans and rice.

A Creole meal is a celebration, not just a means of addressing hunger pangs. Many of the dishes listed below are features of African-influenced Louisiana, that is, Creoles of color and black Creoles.

The Europeans who settled in New Orleans found not only the American Indians, whose file the ground powder of the sassafras leaf is the key ingredient of Creole gumbos, but also immense areas of inland waterways and estuaries alive with crayfish, shrimp, crab, and fish of many different varieties.

Moreover, the swampland was full of game. The settlers used what they found and produced a cuisine based on good taste, experimentation, and spices. The seasonings used are distinctive, but there is yet another essential ingredient—a heavy black iron skillet. Such dexterity produced the many faceted family of gumbos. Gumbo is a soup or a stew, yet too unique to be classified as one or the other.

It starts with a base of highly seasoned roux a cooked blend of fat and flour used as a thickening agent , scallions, and herbs, which serves as a vehicle for oysters, crabs, shrimp, chicken, ham, various game, or combinations thereof. Oysters may be consumed raw on the half-shell , sauteed and packed into hollowed-out French bread, or baked on the half-shell and served with various garnishes. Shrimp, crayfish, and crab are similarly starting points for the Creole cook who might have croquettes in mind, or a pie, or an omelette, or a stew.

Creoles are a festive people who enjoy music and dancing. In New Orleans during French rule, public balls were held twice weekly and when the Spanish took over, the practice continued. These balls were frequented by white Creoles, although wealthy Creoles of Color may also have attended.

Saturday night balls and dances were a universal institution in Creole country. The community knew about the dances by means of a flagpole denoting the site of the dance. Families arrived on horseback or in a variety of wheeled carriages. The older adults played vingt-et-un Twenty-one or other card games while the young danced and engaged in flirtations until the party dispersed near daybreak. During the special festive season, between New Year's and Mardi Gras, many brilliant balls were scheduled.

Only the most respected families were asked to attend with lists scrutinized by older members of the families to keep less prominent people away. A rich collection of Creole proverbs can be found in several references. The original language community of the Creoles was composed of French and Louisiana Creole. Morphologically and lexically Louisiana Creole resembles Saint-Domingue Creole, although there is evidence that Louisiana Creole was well established by the time Saint-Domingue refugees arrived in Louisiana.

For many years, Louisiana Creole was predominantly a language of rural blacks in southern Louisiana. In the past, Louisiana Creole was also spoken by whites, including impoverished whites who worked alongside black slaves, as well as whites raised by black nannies. French usage is no longer as widespread as it once was. As Americans from other states began to settle in Louisiana in large numbers after , they became the dominant social group.

As such, the local social groups were acculturated, and became bilingual. Eventually, however, the original language community of the Creoles, French and Louisiana Creole, began to be lost. At the end of the twentieth century, French is spoken only among the elderly, primarily in rural areas. The past sayings of the Creoles were unusual and colorful. According to Leonard V. Huber in "Reflections on the Colorful Customs of Latter-Day New Orleans Creoles," an ugly man who has a protruding jaw and lower lip had une gueule de benitier a mouth like a holy water font , and his face was une figure de pomme cuite a face like a baked apple.

A man who stayed around the house constantly was referred to as un encadrement doorframe. The expression pauvres diables poor devils was applied to poor individuals.

Anyone who bragged too much was called un bableur a hot air shooter. An amusing expression for a person who avoided work was that he had les cotes en long vertical ribs. Additional Creole colloquialisms are: un tonnerre a la voile an unruly person ; menterie lie or Often the older community members aid in the rearing of the young children in Creole families.

Traditionally, men were the heads of their household, while women dedicated their lives to home and family. The Creoles also felt it a duty to take widowed cousins and orphaned children of kinspeople into their families. Unmarried women relatives tantes lived in many households.

They provided a much-needed extra pair of hands in running the household and rearing the children. Creoles today are still closely knit and tend to marry within the group. However, many are also moving into the greater community and losing their Creole ways. In the old days, Creoles married within their own class. The young man faced the scrutiny of old aunts and cousins, who were the guardians and authorities of old family trees. The suitor had to ask a woman's father for his daughter's hand.

The gift of a ring allowed them to be formally engaged. All meetings of young people were strictly chaperoned, even after the engagement. Weddings, usually held at the St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans, were opulent affairs with Swiss Guards meeting the wedding guests and preceding them up the aisle. Behind the guests came the bride, accompanied by her father, and then the groom, escorting the bride's mother.

The groom's parents followed, and then all the relatives of both bride and groom. A relative's absence was interpreted as a silent protest against the wedding. The bride's gown was handed down through generations or purchased in Paris to become an heirloom. Unlike today's weddings, there were no ring bearers, bridesmaids, or matrons of honor, or any floral decorations in the church.

Ceremonies were held in the evenings. Louis Cathedral is still the place for New Orleans' Creole weddings, and many relatives still attend, though in fewer numbers.

Baptisms usually took place when the child was about a month old. The godfather parrain and the god-mother marraine were always relatives, usually from each side of the family. It was a decided honor to be asked to serve as a godparent. The marraine gave the infant a gift of a gold cross and chain, and the parrain offered either a silver cup or a silver knife and fork. The godfather also gave a gift to the godmother and paid for the celebration that followed the baptism.

It was an expensive honor to be chosen parrain. In the past, when someone died, each post in the Creole section of town bore a black-bordered announcement informing the public of the death and the time and place of the funeral. These notices were also placed at St.

Louis Cathedral on a death notice blackboard. The majority of these immigrants were Baptist or Methodist. They were usually small farmers with a strong Protestant work ethic, and few of them owned enslaved Africans in large numbers. They came from other Southern states and New England. These settlers established cotton plantations in the region where the Mississippi, Red, and Ouachita Rivers come together.

Their plantations depended on a large enslaved population. This is why there are so many rural blacks who live there today. Most of these settlers were Methodists, Presbyterians, or Episcopalians. There are also other ethnic groups among the Upland and Lowland South cultures. Hungarians in Tangipahoa Parish continue their dance, music, food, and costume traditions.

Also, the Hungarian language has been taught in the elementary school in an effort to save it. Czechs in Rapides Parish have revitalized their dance, song, food, and costume traditions. Some rural Italian communities also remain. One community lives around the town of Independence in Tangipahoa Parish one of the Florida Parishes , where strawberries are farmed.

People in the town of Independence often make strawberry wine. Upland South culture can be found between the Mississippi and Ouachita Rivers. In the cities of Monroe and West Monroe, these two cultures come together.

In northeast Louisiana, the Mississippi River delta which is an area around the mouth of the river has low land and a few large towns. The larger cities—Vicksburg and Natchez—are across the river, in the state of Mississippi. However, they also served the lowland Louisiana side. This is why you'll see signs in the region saying "Miss-Lou. This area has a folk culture based on open-range hogs.

These hogs were managed by Catahoula curs, a dog breed developed in the area. From the late s until the mids, settlers raised free-ranging hogs for pork and lard. These products were sold in New Orleans. Today, Catahoula curs are still valued. In fact, the Catahoula is Louisiana's state dog.

A few people in the Lowland South still raise free-ranging hogs, and pork remains an important food in their diet. Each city was, at one time, tied to large plantations. In the past, Shreveport had a significant downtown community of Italian grocers, Chinese restaurants, Jewish merchants, and a German bakery.

While few downtown merchants remain today, Shreveport is still home to their descendants. In Minden, near Shreveport, German immigrants started a colony that lasted until Founded in , Natchitoches was the earliest settlement in the Louisiana Purchase.

It was settled by the French, who wanted to tie into the Indian trade system. The influence of the French settlers is still evident in the foodways Natchitoches meat pies and the architecture. The Isle Brevelle is on the nearby Cane River. This is a rural community of Creoles who are descended from a freed slave woman. Here, commercial fishermen and their families maintain the work-related traditions of boatbuilding, trapmaking, and netmaking.

Monroe, on the east bank with rich delta soil, was settled first by Lowland South planters. They were more likely to have larger tracts of land and to allow alcohol and dancing in social settings. Upland South people settled in West Monroe.

They were farmers on the west bank, with higher land and piney woods. West Monroe is less likely to have alcohol at community and social events because of the Baptist influence. The colonial town of Los Adaes, near Robeline, was once a capital of Texas. In Los Adaes, colonial Spanish influence is evident today—in the Catholic church, and in the tamales and chilies.

There are small farms and towns in the piney woods that make up this region. The Florida Parishes were once part of the colonial Spanish territory of "Florida. Baton Rouge traditions North Louisiana craft traditions reflect the skills used on farms and plantations, which makes up the predominant economy of this region. Whipmaking, knifemaking, saddlery, trapmaking, split-oak basketmaking, and quilting are still vital and practiced by many. A few people still enjoy carving toys, blacksmithing, making lace by hand, carving walking sticks, soapmaking, and making birdhouses out of gourds.

Food traditions include many relishes to add flavor to field peas and cornbread ; jellies, jams, and preserves; vegetable crops corn, sweet potatoes, greens, beans, peas ; hogs; and cattle. Many North Louisianans still eat and hunt wild game venison, squirrel, raccoon, rabbit, and quail and fish both farm-raised catfish and gamefish such as crappie and bream.

All of these meats may be fried. Sunday dinners-at-noon, fish fries, and barbecues are common occasions for the gathering of family and friends. Ritual traditions reflect the strong Protestant heritage of the area. In a few places, there are still all-day singings and dinners-on-the-ground after church services.

Both black and white rural churches have "Homecomings," which bring together families and their distant relatives. Some rural church congregations still conduct baptisms in the same river or lake used for generations.

Locally born people began to feel threatened by the ever-growing number of newcomers, and responded by rallying around their shared bond of nativity—that is, their Creole identity. In the ensuring decades, much of life in New Orleans took the form of a tense negotiation between French-speaking Creoles and English-speaking Anglo-American factions.

The two groups did just about everything differently, starting with where they resided. Anglo-Americans tended to live in the Faubourg St. Both sides of town also had their share of immigrants, namely Irish and Germans, and each side worked to establish alliances in rivalry with the other. To this day, New Orleanians refer to all street medians as neutral grounds. By the late s, assimilation gradually prevailed, and many folkways of the ancienne population, as the Creoles were often called, would fade away in the s.

The local understanding of the word Creole has varied over the past century. Others felt that Creoles were necessarily of mixed heritage, which historically was not true either. Cajuns settled in rural south-central Louisiana, west of New Orleans, and have a distinctly more rural culture than that of urban Creoles. Today, someone who self-identifies as Creole in New Orleans is likely to be a person of mixed racial ancestry, with deep local roots, and with family members who are Catholic and probably have French-sounding surnames—that is, Franco-African Americans.

While some Creole cultural traits continue today, in foodways, in words and phrases, and in Mardi Gras festivities, other aspects, such as the French language, have largely disappeared. Yet thousands of older New Orleanians, be they white or Black, can recall elders who spoke some French well into the twentieth century, and most of them would have thought of themselves as Creole.