Introducing Cajun Humor

Amusing anecdotes have long been a treasured part of the Cajuns' oral heritage. Much like the people themselves, Cajun humor has an earthy attitude --- charmingly self-deprecating, perhaps mildly wicked at times, but always with a spirit of good-natured fun.

A classic favorite is the joke about Mama and Baby Crawfish walking along the road. Baby had gone ahead of Mama and she sees him scrambling into the ditch. Mama followed and asked, "Whassa matta?" Baby says, "Dere's a monster," but she reassures him with the reply, "Dat's a dog and it won't hurt you." So they walk along the road some more until Baby scoots back down to hide. Patiently Mama asks, "Why you do dat now?" and Baby responds "Looka dat big scary ting dere." She chuckles, "Don't worry, cher, it's just a cow and she eat da grass." They continued to walk until Mama Crawfish quickly pulls herself and Baby far down into the ditch yelling, "Run, Baby, run! Dat's a CAJUN and dey eat anything!"

There's also the one involving Shrewd Cajuns and the FBI. An agent answers the phone at headquarters and hears, "Halo, statue, da FBI?" The agent replied affirmatively and asked how he could help. The caller was Adrian who said, "I'm callin' to report my neighbor Clovis is hidin' some mary-gee-wanna inside his firewood." The very next day, FBI agents arrived at Clovis' place and used big axes to split every piece of wood in the stack. But they found no marijuana and left in disgust. Adrian called Clovis and asked, "Did the FBI go to ya house?" Clovis answered, "Yeh, dey did." Adrian: "Did dey chop all ya firewood?" Clovis: "Yep!" Adrian: "OK, now it's your turn to call; I need my garden plowed tomorrow!"

Another comical picture is created by the Hell-or-High-Water story. Tee Jean had a mean wife, Marie, who always nagged. One day after a big rain, his friend Pierre paddled a pirogue up to their cabin and climbed onto the porch. Marie was sitting in a rocker and sharply eyeing the flooded front yard. Pierre noticed a baseball cap was moving back and forth on the surface of the water from the porch to the road. He asked if Tee Jean was at home. "Hmmph," said Marie, "dat man go nowheres with you right now; he promised to get that yard mowed today, come hell or high water!"

The art of story-telling is a Cajun tradition which some modern entertainers have embellished with exaggerated dialect and mannerisms. One of the best known Louisiana humorists is a self-described part-Cajun named Justin Wilson, host of a PBS Cajun cooking show. Wilson's liberal use of wine and wit, often punctuated by the phrase "I gahr-ron-tee", add a touch of levity to his culinary presentations.

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