| |
 |
Cajun Fais-Do-Do
A Fais-Do-What?
Get down the fiddle
and get down the bow
Kick off your shoes and throw 'em on the floor
Dance in the kitchen till the morning light
Louisiana Saturday night
ásong lyrics from "Louisiana Saturday Night"
The Cajuns were developing a reputation for "passing a good time" as early as the wee-1800s (at which time they were known as Acadians), when the French traveler C. C. Robin observed, "They love to dance most of all; more than any other people in the colony…. Everyone dances, even Grandmère and Grandpère…." 1
Years ago, when south Louisiana communities were isolated and traveling was difficult, Saturday night dances were held in homes or dancehalls. Whole families attended these gregarious gatherings, and once the initial visiting was over, the infants and young children were put to sleep on pallets wherever there was room around the perimeter of the dance floor, in a corner of the room, or sometimes on shelves under the bar. The parents were then free to dance the night away.
Such an occasion came to be called a fais-do-do. Most accounts attribute the name to French children's speech for dormir, meaning "to make sleep," although some believe it to be a corruption of the Cajun pronunciation of Fete de Dieu, or festival of God, from religious festivals with street dancing in medieval Europe.
Today, a fais-do-do usually refers to a street dance held at a festival or some other public event, with local bands belting out Cajun, zydeco, and swamp pop tunes. Food vendors perfume the air with gumbo, jambalaya, etouffee, boudin, fried seafood, and other Cajun specialties. Children are still included and are often seen two-stepping or waltzing with their parents, grandparents, and each other.
Cajun Fais-Do-Do Menu:
1 from Voyage to Louisiana, 1803-1805, translated by Stuart Landry, Jr., 1966
Story © Sandra Day
|
|
|
