2020
Lané a kawènn-la
(Fé pou 17im Fèstival Liv Lalwizyàn 2020/2021)
Démarsh lartistik
Mo krò çé bokou importan pou montré boté apré é komen iti çé lenvironmen natirèl de Lalwizyàn-la, ça-ki atiré otan moun isit. Sipriyè majèstik-layé é maré imens-layé çé plas-yé ayou marron brav-yé établí réfij épi kiltivé latè pou surviv. Latannyé-yé fourní motiryal pou fé kouvèrtur épi kontiñé jordi fourni motiryal pou fé panyé parmi moun Indijènn olon kot-la. Rozo fourni in bariyè pendan tempèt-yé é labri pou pwason. Sasafras dònn gou dan særtin nô méyœr manjê é ka sèrvi pou fé médikamen. Dolo çé fòs-lénérji ki nouri toukishòj dan réjyon-çila – de L’Eau est La Vie Camp a Rise St. James a Louisiana Bucket Brigade, fenm-yé té fé bokou pou protéjé nô lenvironmen é montré moun sô rélasyon a nô santé é byin-èt. Nô lakilchi Kréyol çé bati de surviv, fasèté par plènn léritaj dan minm manyè in lékay a kawènn vini formé. Nouzòt gin pou chonmbo in mashwa fòr konm sochin pou kontiñwé parlé nô langaj. Kawènn-la, konné konm hachotakni en chata, çé in kalité torti en kouri-vini, langaj kréyol de Lalwizyàn en danjé-la, é françé lalwizyàn (caouenne), en plis Krewe de Cowan ki tou-fémèl. Yê nom té oté pendan Maddi Gra akòz ça gin in doub-tendé apré paròl-la ki minn sèks fémèl osit. Malgré Lané a kawènn-la té komplété avan Koronaj-la (tem dan-ki nouzòt viv ak KOVID-19), astè ça sèrvi konm in simbòl pou tou-lê-dé 2020 é 2021 – ayou moun gin pou adrésé sô linjistis-yé kont pòpulasyon souréprézenté, in aprésyason apré rishès donné nou par Dam Natir ki pa montré mizèrikòd akòz nô sakré manyè trété li, é fenm dédiyé ki gin léritaj divèr otour moun-yé mèné nou pou répònn swañèzmen kriz lakilchi, moun, é lenvironmen.
Byin mèsi a Doktè Christophe Landry é Adrien Guillory-Chatman.
Pou konné plis apré kouri-vini, langaj kréyol de Lalwizyàn en danjé-la, vizité www.mylhcv.com.
Kolèksyon a Bibliyotèk Léta Lalwizyàn.
The Year of the Turtle
(Made for the 17th Louisiana Book Festival 2020/2021)
Artist Statement
I believe it’s important to highlight the beauty and usefulness of the natural environment of Louisiana, which draws so many people here. The majestic swamps and vast marshlands are places where brave maroons established sanctuary and cultivated earth for their survival. Palmettos provided roofing material and continue to provide material for basketry for Indigenous populations along the coast. Roseau cane, or marsh reed, creates a barrier during storms and a home for fish. Sassafras adds flavor to some of our favorite dishes and holds medicinal properties. Water is the life-blood that nourishes every being in this region – from L’Eau est La Vie Camp to Rise St. James to Louisiana Bucket Brigade, women have done their utmost to protect our environment and raise awareness about its relationship to our health and well-being. Our Creole culture is one of survival, faceted by many origins much in the same way a kawènn’s shell is formed. We have to keep a strong jaw like it does to continue speaking our language. The kawènn, known as hachotakni in Choctaw, is “alligator snapping turtle” in Kouri-Vini, the critically endangered Creole language of Louisiana, and Louisiana French (caouenne), plus the all-female Krewe de Cowan. Their name was censored during Mardi Gras due to the double-entendre of the word, whose alternative meaning is a slang term for female genetalia. Although Lané a kawènn-la (The Year of the Turtle) was finished prior to the Coronage (the time in which we live with COVID-19), it now serves as a symbol for both 2020 and 2021 – where humanity must address its injustices against underrepresented populations, an appreciation of abundance given to us by Mother Nature who shows no mercy for humanity’s reckless behavior, and steadfast women of various origins around the globe lead us to respond conscientiously to cultural, humanitarian, and environmental crises.
Special thanks to Dr. Christophe Landry and Adrien Guillory-Chatman.
To find out more about Kouri-Vini, the critically endangered Creole language of Louisiana, visit www.mylhcv.com.
Collection of the State Library of Louisiana.
Çé sèlmen posib fé kopi apré tèks é pòrtré si lartis-la donné pèmisyon ékri.
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