The Acts of Revival: CODOFIL and Cajun Music
At the same time the country was fascinated with “Cajun this” or “Cajun that” and the “Cajun style” was being commercialized in Louisiana and beyond. This commercialization of “Cajun” also brought about the branding of South Louisiana’s cultural practices such as food to “Cajun Food” and folk music to “Cajun Music.”[ii]
State Senator James Domengeaux created the Council for the Development of French in Louisiana, otherwise known by its acronym CODOFIL, for the preservation of Louisiana's French language. CODOFIL’s primarily focused on political, psychological, and educational efforts to erase the stigma of the French language that developed in Louisiana in the early twentieth century. It also jumped onto the bandwagon of “roots music” as CODOFIL realized it had a substantial cultural group that was quickly becoming a national folk demand—Cajun music.[iii]
However, misunderstandings ensued about what Cajun culture was, mistakes that have continued into the present day. With teaching of the French language, CODOFIL brought out the issue that the Parisian French language (Academic French) was not the same French language used in Cajun homes, on the radio shows, or on records.[iv]
CODOFIL soon realized that the French spoken by the Cajuns was closer to sixteenth-century French, mixed with Creole and Spanish languages, and was quite different from the French spoken. Thus coining of the term "Cajun French," was the way to describe the language CODOFIL found that was being spoken in South Louisiana.
For all the complications CODOFIL caused in its early years working for the revival of traditional Cajun French, it did, however, help with the revival of the traditional Cajun music. Many feel that CODOFIL brought an awareness of the Cajun culture that allowed the younger generations to be exposed to it properly again.[v] It was also instrumental in giving a new perception of the Cajun identity inside and outside of Louisiana that led to the rise of various festivals to preserve this identity.
The next year, Zachary Richard another musician who also felt the need to preserve and show off his pride in his Cajun (and Acadian) heritage performed at the festival. At the time, Richard recalled later, he was very proud of his newfound Acadian heritage and wanted the world to recognize it and to stop trying to snuff it out with Anglo-conformism.[vi]
Richard may have been a talented musician, but those in CODOFIL or those from the “genteel Acadian establishment” did not appreciate his “revolutionary work”. "Genteel Acadians"were the bourgeoisie Acadians near New Orleans and the large bayous that worked so hard in blending in after the Reconstruction era were coming back declaring their pure heritage in its "true" name, "Acadian." Like the poor, " backward" Cajuns proudly showed their heritage through past racial slurs such as "coonass."
Banned from many CODOFIL festivals and other events pertaining to Cajun music, Richard’s music was thought to mix too much of the counterculture values and not enough traditional elements of Cajun music.
LISTEN: One of his famous counterculture songs from 1976, “Réveille! Réveille!” (“Awaken! Awaken!”) , sang of the new attitude of his counterculture generation of Cajun musicians, dubbed cadjinitude, that expressed the preservation of the Acadian heritage against the “outsiders of Anglo-Americans.” You will HEAR that Richard does not use any instruments besides drums to chant his song.
FRENCH TRANSLATION:
Réveille! Réveille!
C’est les goddams qui viennent,
Brûler la récolte.
Réveille! Reveille!
Hommes acadiens
Pour sauver le village.
Mon grand, grand, grandpère
Est v’nu de la Bretagne,
Le sang de ma famille est mouillé l’Acadie.
Et là les maudits viennent
Nous chasser comme des bêtes,
Détruire les saintes familles,
Nous jeter tous au vent.
Réveille! Réveille!
J’ai entendu parler
De monter avec Beausoleil.
Pour prendre le fusil battre les sacrés maudits.
J’ai entendu parler
D’aller en la Louisianne,
Pour trouver de la bonne paix
Là-bas dans la Louisianne.
Réveille! Réveille!
J’ai vu mon pauvre père.
Etait fait prisonnier
Pendant que ma mère,
Ma belle mere braillait.
J’ai vu ma belle maison,
Était mise aux flammes,
Et moi, je suis resté orphelin,
Orphelin de l’Acadie.
Réveille! Réveille!
C’est les goddams qui viennent,
C’est les goddams qui viennent,
Voler les enfants.
Réveille, réveille,
Hommes acadiens
Pour sauver l’héritage.
ENGLISH TRANSLATION:
Awaken! Awaken!
The Englsih are coming
To burn the fields.
Awaken! Awaken!
Men of Acadia
To save the village.
My great, great, great grandfather
Came from Brittany,
And the blood of my family has watered Acadia.
And now these damned English come
To run us off like cattle,
To destroy our sacred families,
To cast us to the winds.
Awaken! Awaken!
I heard of talk
Of joining with Beausoleil
To take up arms against the damned intruders.
I heard of talk
Of going to Louisiana
To find peace
There in Louisiana
Awaken! Awaken!
I saw my poor father
Imprisoned while
My beautiful mother
Could not stop crying
I saw my beautiful home set afire,
And now I am left an orphan,
An orphan of Acadia.
Awaken! Awaken!
The English are coming
To steal the children
Awaken! Awaken!
Men of Acadia
To save our heritage.
