Cajun Crawfish Pie
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Cajun Culture
What is the culture of any group? How can one identify one culture from another? I'm not sure about other ones, but I know for a fact that Cajun culture can be defined by the food, music, language, and religion. Everywhere in Acadiana, these qualities are obvious and standard from one family to the next. They are the pieces that make up the whole puzzle. Cajun culture would not be the same without any one of them.
Cajun Food
We have already talked about a lot of great recipes in other sections, so we will keep those where they belong. This section is to explain how important the food is to the Acadians. Large gatherings with great Cajun food is a given in South Louisiana. The men will usually do the cooking, which may take half a day to complete. The gathering revolves around the meal, from the beginning to the end. The food is the focal point, the excuse we use to get together for some fun. We love our food. It's almost always spicy. It's made with a lot of care and tradition, using recipes that have been handed down for generations. There can be no doubt that Cajun food is a huge part of the culture, and most recently is has become a piece of Acadiana that is being loved around the world.
Cajun Music
We love our Cajun music almost as much as we love our food. Most of the songs are sung in Cajun French, which helps us remember our history. While we have also spoken about the great Cajun music in other pages, we also want to use this section to explain how much it means to our culture. In short, it's huge. It's hard to listen to any traditional song without a smile spreading across your face. The music is instilled in us from birth, and we can all remember good times in our lives that were tied in one way or another to a particular song. Without Cajun music, I'm not sure what our culture would be like.
Language
Of all of the facets that make up our Cajun culture, our language may be the tie that binds all Acadians together more than anything else. As we discussed in other pages, our language is Cajun French. While not every Acadian is able to speak it today (a sad trend that is reversing over the last few years), we all feel a drawing towards it. Everyone knows at least a few Cajun words in South Louisiana. Our language makes us unique in the United States, and helps us to hold close to each other. The Cajun language of the Acadians is a very significant piece of her culture.
Religion
What religion are Cajuns? The overwhelming majority of Acadians are Roman Catholics. In fact, I would be willing to bet that at least 95% of us are Catholics. You can not travel very far within Acadiana without seeing a large church. Our communities revolve around our religion. Most of us can not imagine our lives without our Catholic faith. the reason for this is simple. When our ancestors left France for Acadia, they brought their strong ties to the Catholic religion with them. That religion has not lessened over the many years, and there can be no doubt that our Cajun culture could not be the same without it.