THE ACADIANS

Of all the groups which contribute to our state's distinctive culture, it is the Cajuns of south central Louisiana who most capture the interest and imagination of travelers.  In fact, their culture has become so dominant that the region where most live has been named Acadiana in their honor.  The Cajuns are especially important because, along with the Creoles, it is they who give South Louisiana its French flair.

Although it is easy to confuse the Cajuns and the Creoles, it is important to understand that the two groups are not the same people.   Both have French origins, but there the similarity ends.  Cajuns are descendants of Frenchmen called Acadians because they originally settled a portion of Canada's eastern coast which they named Acadia.  A number of Acadians eventually migrated to Louisiana after the British expelled them from their Canadian homeland in the mid-1700s.  These people, and their descendants, eventually became known as "Cajuns" through a corruption of the French word Acadien.  (The term began appearing in print during the Reconstruction era and was in general use by 1900.)  Today, the Cajun culture is so popular and pervasive that any person born in Acadiana can be called a Cajun whether or not he or she is descended from an original Acadian migrant.

The Creoles were already in Louisiana when the Acadians arrived, and their culture dominated the area.  For purposes of distinguishing them from Cajuns, Creoles can be defined as New World-born descendants of Europeans, most of whom were French.  (Click here for a fuller explanation of Creole.)  Perhaps because of their preference for settling in isolated areas, the Acadians/Cajuns were the only ethnic group the Creoles failed to absorb.  In fact, the Cajuns themselves absorbed other ethnic groups with whom they intermarried.

One of the items associated with Cajun culture is the Acadian Cottage, which reached the form we recognize today in the nineteenth century.  This house is a smaller and less elaborate version of the Creole cottage and was adopted by the Cajuns after their trial and error efforts failed to produce a dwelling that could survive and function appropriately in South Louisiana's moist climate.  Cajuns living west of the Atchafalaya River usually placed attic staircases on their homes' front galleries, and it is these houses, whether small or moderate in size, which today are typically thought of as Acadian cottages.  Without the stair, it is often difficult to distinguish between the Acadian cottage and its similar Creole cousin.