Local Color

By: Braydon, Chloe and Savannah

What is a “Creole?”

• A Creole is a white person that is descended from French or Spanish settlers of Louisiana and the Gulf States

• The Creoles were the majority of the white population. They had a complex social group who included Germans, Irish and Spaniards, whose names were given a French accent.

Creole Society

• There are 3 general groups that made up Creole Society

– 1.Whites who were Creoles, Americans and people of European

– 2. Free blacks, emancipated slaves and their descendants

– 3. slaves who were household property

Location: New Orleans

• New Orleans was a Creole city founded in 1718

– Americans came in 1803

• The city was divided into 3 sections, the main section was “Old Quarter.”

• Between Levee and Bourbon Streets are the best commercial and residential area.

Location: Levee and Bourbon streets

• The Houses:

– court-yards with fountains and tropical plants

– The main entrance had a wide gate that kept the family carriage

– wide windows

– iron balconies

– no cellar

– The first floor was raised above street level and used for storage

Culture: Music

• Creole music includes lullabies, love songs, ballads and even comedic songs

• Majority of Louisiana music is Creole

• Not much unlike Negro spirituals or folk music

• Came from plantations and the French Quarter of New Orleans

Culture: Music

Culture: Clothing

• Creole clothing was made of cotton, wool, or linsey woolsey.

• Common women wore homespun dresses, bonnets and homemade shoes. Common men wore cotton shirts and pants.

• Wealthy people dressed as if they lived in London or Paris.

Culture: Clothing

Culture: Food

• Creole cooking is extremely different than Cajun cooking even though both styles of cooking use ingredients found in Louisiana. The seasoning is key to authenticity.

• Creole Cooking:

– Uses lots of cream and butter

• Cajun Cooking:

– Extremely spicy

Culture: Food

• A lot of Creole food has fish as their main ingredient:

– Trout, redfish, oysters, shellfish

• Rice and coffee are extremely important ingredients in a Creole kitchen

• Creole pastries come from French pastries

– The most well known Creole pastry is petite fours

Culture: Food

Customs

• Creole customs can be divided into two groups; Religious and non religious.

– Religious: Focus on holidays; All Saints day, Mardi Gras, and Easter.

• All Saints Day: Creoles bring flowers made of white, black, and purple tissue paper to lay on the graves in the cemetery.

• Mardi Gras:

– The custom of masking on Mardi Gras was brought from France by the early settlers.

• Easter: The rabbits come out at night. The children try to stay up as late as possible, but they don’t see the rabbits. The rabbits nests are found filled with colored eggs both outside and inside the house. When the children find all the eggs, they have a contest of egg-breaking. The child who breaks the egg takes it. The child with the most eggs at the end of the game, is the winner.

Customs

Customs: Family

• In the Creole family the father is dominant. – His word was law. He was not always a faithful spouse, but he was an indulgent

parent. • A gentlemen went horseback riding, took fencing lessons, and took dancing classes.•

• Girls needed to marry before the age of 25. They had a "coming out" event during an evening to celebrate the beginning of their search for a husband. Young men who were interested in the girl would stop by the box to pay their respects. They had intermediaries talk to the father so that they would be permitted to call on the girl at home. The girl’s family made a big dinner at her house where the young man gave her an engagement ring.

• The Creoles liked to have weddings on Mondays or Tuesdays in Saint Louie Cathedral in New Orleans in the late afternoon.

• This part might not be necessary to include: When the guests began to dance, the bride and her mother went to the bridal chamber where she took Off her wedding clothes and changed into her nightgown. The bride and groom spent their honeymoon in her parents’ house. They were expected to stay in the bedroom for five days or more.

Customs: Family

Customs: Pleasures and Pastimes

• The Creoles loved to dance and they attended many balls. Society balls were usually sponsored by a group of bachelors and young married men.– Public dances were very frequent. They were inexpensive and

lasted long into the night.

• Black and White balls were held with the lowest elements of society. Dance hall girls, call girls, and kept women, usually dark or lighter skinned, would attend to dance with the white men.

• Other social evenings included the soirée dansante or dinner dance which was held quite often.

• Other entertainment includes attending operas, concerts, and parades.

Customs: Pleasures and Pastimes

How does this relate to “The Awakening?”

• The culture of a Creole family is shown though out the book by Edna and Leonce’srelationship as husband and wife.