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The word "cajun" is a derivative of the original French pronunciation of Acadian: "A-ca-jan".
The Cajun people are descendents of the Acadians who once settled in the French province of Acadia (now known as Nova Scotia). Not long after they settled that area in the 1600s, the area became a British possession. When France and England became involved in wartime activities in 1755 the British authorities demanded that the Acadians renounce their Roman Catholic faith and swear allegiance to the Crown. When they refused they were forced into exile, shipped to the New England colonies, the West Indies or back to France. Many died at sea, while others wandered for years before they found out about the predominantly French territory of Louisiana. In 1784, the King of Spain allowed the exiles to settle in south Louisiana. Small farms and fishing and trapping villages were established along the Mississippi River and the many bayous and swamplands of southern Louisiana. The official Cajun Country covers 22 parishes and extends from the Louisiana coast north to just south of Alexandria.
Lafayette is the unofficial capital of "Acadiana."
Cajuns are known for their "joie de vivre" (joy of living). Their music and food are both rich in tradition and flavor. The food is quite often spicy and usually makes use of regionally plentiful provisions such as seafood, wild game, and rice. Some of the more popular dishes include jambalaya, gumbo, turtle stew, andouille sausage, boudin (a pork and rice sausage), cochon du lait, boiled crabs and crawfish, and seafood etouffee and bisque. Cajun music can be lively, melancholy or both at the same time. The traditional instruments are fiddle, accordion and triangle. Like the spoken language of the Cajuns, the lyrics of their songs are part French, part English.
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