CAJUN NATION

If You’re In Southwest Louisiana, You’re In Cajun-Land. Here Are A Few Tips For Appreciating It All

Story By Brad Goins

Photos By Jesse Hitefield

Reality television has not been kind to Louisiana Cajuns. The recent depiction of Cajuns in lowest-common-denominator media may give some newcomers to the state trepidation about the Cajun residents in our coastal and southern regions.

And that’s a pity. Cajuns are just like any other group of people. They run the gamut. Of course, there are a few bad apples. But for the most part, they are friendly, more or less ordinary in their behavior and easy to get along with.

One thing that newcomers may not realize is that from the moment they settle in Southwest Louisiana, they are immersed in Cajun culture. One way to see this is to pay attention to the names in the area. Of course, there are thousands of people in Southwest Louisiana with last names such as Broussard or Fontenot or Hebert.

But there are just as many Cajuns with Anglo-Saxon last names. For generations, Cajuns with French surnames have been marrying northern settlers in Southwest Louisiana (SWLA) — and particularly the descendants of the German architects and lumber men who migrated here a century ago. It’s not at all unusual to hear a Southwest Louisianan with a perfectly Anglo-Saxon surname break out in a Cajun drawl.

As for those Cajuns with French names, one soon learns that most of them don’t have much in common with their counterparts on television. The area is full of lawyers, bankers and major business owners with names such as Broussard or Fontenot or Hebert.

The Cajun influence has filtered down and spread out through the decades. One is never far from it.

Cajun Language

Of course, Cajun French is a dialect. It’s developed into a language that’s significantly different from Parisian French.

Newcomers who are familiar with Parisian, or traditional, French may, at first, be a little thrown by differences in spelling and punctuation. One of the things that baffled me at first was that an area name — Vancherie, which, I thought, would certainly be pronounced vahn-share-ee — was routinely pronounced vahn-shee-air by locals.

I’ve since encountered many French names that have gradually taken on Anglicized pronunciations: Fornet goes from for-nay to for-nett; Frugé goes from froo-zhay to frooj.

All these changes are no doubt the result of basic linguistic processes. Cajun French changes as all languages do. Newcomers will adjust to changes in Cajun French much more easily than to the barrage of changes to mainstream English in the cyber era.

One place where spelling changes will be especially noticeable is in what is certainly the most used French phrase in the area: “Laissez les bon temps rouler” (“let the good times roll” — the unofficial Mardi Gras motto).

In your first year in Southwest Louisiana, you’ll undoubtedly see at least half a dozen different spellings of this phrase. I’ve sometimes suspected people intentionally misspell words in it just to ensure they differ from Parisian French. Some configurations of the sentence even include the term “bon ton” (for example, something like “Laissez les bon ton roule.”). Of course, in Parisian French, “bon ton” means good manners, not good times.

The “Cajun Dictionary” of boodrow.com offers this curious variation as the “state motto” — “Laisse les bons ton rouler.” If you’re a linguist or a folklorist, you won’t be bored in Cajunation.

Cajun Terms

How about specifically Cajun terms one may hear in the area? One I heard right away when I arrived was “sha,” which is a derivation of the Parisian French word “cher.” If someone says “sha” to you, it’s most likely not a romantic overture. “Sha” means something like “friend” or “buddy.” It’s worth noting that many women in coastal Louisiana routinely refer to people — even people they’re meeting for the first time — as “honey” or “sweetie.” Again, this isn’t a romantic term; it’s a term of friendship or of the desire to have a friendly conversation.

The Cajun term “cooyon” refers, as a rule, to an undesirable person; for instance, someone who’s shallow, dumb, obnoxious or what have you.

The term “coonass” indicates the sort of person one might see on reality television: a Cajun from a rural background whose hobbies revolve around outdoor sports and ATVs and who isn’t overly concerned with the fine points of English grammar or pronunciation. For a Cajun to call himself a “coonass” is tantamount to Gretchen Wilson calling herself “a redneck woman.” Many Cajuns do in fact refer to themselves with the term “coonass” and exhibit a certain pride in doing so. This willingness, and almost eagerness, to be self-deprecating, is one of the charming aspects of Cajun culture.

Other Cajun terms are likely to be heard less often. To give some the “choux rouge” is to make someone angry. “Booray” is the name of a Cajun card game; it can be used in a verbal form to indicate that a person has lost something important.

“Poo-yi” means “that stinks” or “that’s a bad thing.” A “traiteur” is a healer or a faith healer.

Then there’s the name of this magazine — Lagniappe, which means a little something extra. If a server puts a praline or small bag of cracklins in your to-go bag, he may say, “Here’s some lagniappe.”

Cajun Cooking

The aspect of Cajun culture that most Southwest Louisiana residents will come to know the best and love the most is that of Cajun cooking. Let’s start with a few basic terms that will help you navigate any menu of Cajun food:

Po-boy: A sandwich that is often large, much like a hero or sub. The thing that distinguishes a po-boy from other sandwiches is its bread, which is a loaf (or half-loaf) of French bread into which the meats and fixings are inserted. Po-boys are often judged by the quality of their bread.

Jambalaya: A rice and meat dish.

Etouffee: A meat and sauce dish.

Plate lunch: An assortment of foods served on a plate. Typically, there’s a meat (often with gravy), two sides, a piece of bread and a small piece of cake.

We’ll look at a few more terms newcomers will inevitably hear. A cut of meat that’s “smothered” is one that’s covered with gravy.

If a server asks you if you want your sandwich to be “dressed,” he’s asking if you want vegetables on your sandwich.

The Dishes

Now for the dishes themselves. Certainly the Cajun dish best known throughout the world is gumbo. If you’ve eaten gumbo in a major restaurant chain and felt that it tasted like vegetable soup and wondered what the fuss is, you’ll find out, as an SWLA newcomer, that to get properly prepared gumbo, you’ll usually have to get it in South Louisiana or East Texas.

The primary characteristic of a properly made gumbo is that it is built on a roux, which is a gravy-like soup base that’s made with white flour stirred in hot oil for a long period. A good roux has a deep, dark taste that has far more body and kick than a chicken or vegetable soup base.

After a time, newcomers will develop the ability to distinguish between a gumbo with a strong, flavorful roux and one with a weak, watery roux.

Cracklins are pieces of pig skin with some fat attached that are deep-fried. If the proportion of skin and fat is right, these can be delicious. They can run the gamut from lightly spiced to firey.

Boudin is a pate and rice mixture placed in a sausage casing. One popular way to eat it is to squeeze the mixture onto soda crackers. The famous columnist Calvin Trillin has published a couple of columns in the New Yorker about his fondness for boudin (and his belief that it should be eaten in cars in parking lots).

Dirty rice resembles the filling of boudin. It’s rice accentuated by many little bits of liver.

Crawfish pie is a great and justly celebrated Cajun delicacy. The secret of a good crawfish pie is the use of authentic French pastry. The pastry should be both rich and buttery. It should be moist on the bottom; flaky on top.

Meat pies are turnovers stuffed with seasoned fried beef. The best will, like the best crawfish pies, be made with rich, authentic French pastries. The meat pies of Natchitoches, La., are considered the finest.

Oysters — yes, these are eaten raw in many places here. Once you’ve determined you don’t have the rare allergy to raw oysters, you can eat them when you like (provided you trust the restaurant and the oysters are obviously fresh). You may also eat oysters fried, in oyster po-boys or in the delicious New Orleans specialty Oysters Rockefeller.

A pistolette is a buttery, fried French roll. Although it can certainly be eaten by itself, it is often split and filled with shrimp and sauce.

Tasso is pork muscle meat that’s prepared in South Louisiana in such a way that it’s cured, smoked and given a peppery taste. Curing periods are brief.

Andouille is a Cajun pork sausage that’s smoked both before and after it’s put in its casing. Its distinct and strong spice profile renders it similar to another Cajun sausage, the delicious hot link. Sausages of all kinds are popular throughout the area, with green onion sausage, and even everyday smoked sausage links, being particular favorites. One of the two most popular forms of gumbo is sausage and chicken (the other being seafood).

Cajuns are fond of sausage. You’ll notice many meat stores in the area. Explore these. You’ll find an immense variety of sausages as well as examples of the popular Cajun culinary device of filling cuts of meat with stuffing or even with other cuts of meat.

Controversies

There is some controversy about whether the popular notion of Cajun food as spicy hot cuisine is accurate. Is Cajun food really comparable to an American (or Americanized) cuisine with a spice profile like those of Thai or Korean food?

No, Cajun food is not essentially spicy hot. However, Cajuns are great lovers of hot sauce. Just a few minutes on Google will show you how many Louisiana hot sauces there are. Here are a few of the more distinctive hot sauce names:

— Ass In The Hot Tub Special Reserve Armageddon Hot Sauce

— Bayou Blow Torch

— Pain And Suffering XXX

— Pain Is Good

— See Dick, Jane And Spot Burn Hot Sauces

You’ll find more funny names at several local Louisiana product stores.

There’s also some debate about whether Cajun foods such as etoufees should be roux- or tomato-based. To repeat, newcomers will learn about roux tastes by eating lots of gumbo. Once the taste of a good roux can be recognized, it’s just a matter of finding the restaurants with the sauces whose tastes you prefer. (Be aware that tomato sauces are associated with Creole cooking and, in spite of rumors to the contrary, there are Creole eateries in Southwest Louisiana.)

Desserts

There is as much diversity and difference in Cajun desserts as in heartier dishes. Lovers of sweets can explore in this area as much as they like.

Bread pudding is the quintessential Cajun dessert. It comes in all varieties, from dense and bread-like to soft and creamy. Rum sauces are popular. A hot new trend is white chocolate bread pudding.

One dessert that will likely be new to those just arriving is the King Cake, which is served only in the Mardi Gras period. This is another French pastry — one with a consistency much like that of coffee cake. The cake is cooked in a large ring and looks like a giant donut. There are dozens of stuffings for King Cakes. Combinations of cream cheese and fruit are especially popular these days.

The praline is a large candy made of cream, boiled sugar and pecans. Textures can vary, as the praline will harden if it’s kept in shrink wrap for a few days. The taste will still be fine, but if you’re not sure the praline is freshly prepared, take your first bite with caution.

Less common than these desserts is the tea cake, which, like bread pudding, is a traditional English dessert. You may be more likely to find these cakes in grocery stores or mom and pop shops than in restaurants.

Crawfish Boils

I was a newcomer once. And I can tell you that when it comes to the Cajun phenomenon of the crawfish boil, the newcomer should proceed as he or she would with the untested swimming pool — jump right in.

Cajun life is a very social life. A typical crawfish boil will involve a good number of friends or relatives sitting in a circle and talking.

Many pounds of crawfish will be boiled in large pots that are generously  dosed with spices. Small potatoes and slices of ears of corn are cooked in the same spicy water. Beer from a cooler is drunk during the time-consuming food preparation process.

As for how to eat the boiled crawfish, follow my advice and have a longtime resident teach you how. I’m not going to try to describe the process in print. I’ve been here 15 years and I’m still learning.

The overwhelmingly social nature of the crawfish boil may be explained by the fact that the crawfish must be prepared in immensely large quantities. It would be a curious thing indeed for an individual to try to maneuver all the food and equipment required for a crawfish boil. The upbeat, social qualities of the crawfish boil may also serve as a compensation for what might be considered rather hard work — especially in summer-time Louisiana heat.

Cajun Music

There are many books about Cajun music and it would be a travesty to try to say anything serious about the subject in an article of this length. It is — in a very general sense — a kind of folk music that developed from forms of popular French and English music of the 19th century and earlier. Although it is marked by dominant accordion and violin (fiddle) playing, as well as French lyrics, the musical form is just too varied to describe well in a few sentences.

If you don’t want to bother with CDs or Spotify, you can listen to Cajun Music free in this area on the Cajun Radio stations in Lake Charles and Jennings. On the weekend, you can hear Cajun music, as well as zydeco, swamp pop and old school R&B on KRVS-FM. Cajun music is performed live in the Lake Area almost every night, both in casino bars and in such local venues as Yesterday’s.

Newcomers who are interested in this Cajun phenomenon will be pleased to learn about the Lake Charles chapter of The Cajun French Music Association. (cajunfrenchmusic.org.)

Newcomers may want to check out the books of Ron Yule, which are to be recommended both for their handy encyclopedia format and their vast selections of historical house. Especially good reading is Yule’s Iry Lejeune: Wailin’ The Blues Cajun Style (2007). It’s the exciting story of a Lake Charles figure who overcame terrible personal hardships to become one of the primary figures in Cajun music in spite of his tragic early death. Shane Bernard’s Swamp Pop is another interesting read. Both Louisiana product stores and local libraries will help you with these books, as well as with CD recordings of authentic Cajun music.

You can meet and talk with many local Cajun musicians both young and old in this area. They’ll be quite pleased to know you’re interested in their work.

Country Life

However prominent the Cajun influence may be in Lake Charles, you’ll find it becomes exponentially more prominent as you move out into small country towns.

Always remember that Cajun culture is very social. Locals can tell you whatever it is you need to know. They can tell you where to find antiques or a certain kind of food or engine parts or old hardware or cypress stumps. They can tell you if there is anything nearby that merits a sightseeing trip. They can tell you what restaurant serves the tastiest food.

Mapquest is not necessarily the best place to look for obscure rural locations. If locals don’t know exactly where something is, they can at least point you in the right direction.

Many small local Cajun towns have retooled themselves to make themselves tourist-friendly. Economic circumstances have forced this move. The little town you never heard of may have enough antique or specialty shops and restaurants to keep you busy all weekend.

You’ll hear a lot more French in the country. No worries. I’ve never yet met a person I couldn’t communicate with if I took my time. Accents will be stronger too. But if you listen long enough, you’ll be able to understand. It helps if the other person wants to talk to you. And the Cajun always does.