Kont Kréyol-yé
Kont Kréyol-yé prézent kont folklòr listorik akoté lar vijwèl kontemporin a moun kréyol Lalwizyàn. Kont-çilayé sòr in vyé tèz a Linnivèsité Léta Lalwizyàn (LSU) ékrí par Lafayette Jarreau en 1931 pélé Creole Folklore of Pointe Coupee Parish. Dapré Jarreau, li té parlé kréyol (Lalwizyàn) dépi li té piti avan li té aprenn parlé mérikin (nanglé) épi françé. Pou gardé é étidjé sô prinmyin langaj, li té fé intérvu avék plizyè Kréyol ki té rété dan toulédé parwas Lapwint-Koupé é Wès Baton-Rouj. Yé té rakonté li bokou kont é listwa ki nou sé trouvé dan dézè litérè folklorik é fantasik. Karaktè en tradisyon-yé ki fé parti folklòr Lalwizyàn trouvé dan tèks-çila inkli Bouki, Fifolé, Kokodri, Krapo, Lapin, Néléfan, Torti, Radbwa, é Shévréy. Tèmm kommun-yé inkli lamou, takinnin, voyaj, kèt é laventur ki prézent plin défi é léson pou moun ki kouté o lir kont-çilayé. Tèz a Jarreau çé minm tèks ké Dè Angélique Bergeron é Dè Clif St. Laurent té sèrví pou édé moun dan Les Créoles de Pointe Coupée, in group a moun ki sòr Shemin-Néf, kanmansé aprenn komen ékri é lir kréyol, yê prinmyin langaj, bonnin dan 21 syèk. Kont Kréyol-yé, çé in piblikasyon é in lèkspo ki gin minm nom é ki prézent minm kontini koté mizé Wès Baton-Rouj parti a 31 mê 2025 jiska 12 oktòb 2025.
Mo çé komisè d'èkspo pou Kont Kréyol-yé é latis ki té inkli çé Mary V. Jackson é sô granfiy, Chloe Cobb, pi Crystal Collins, Zora White, Heather Beaud, Judith Braggs, Lauren “Lulu” Chustz, Keith “Cartoonman” Douglas, Malaika Favorite, Henry Barconey, Measha “Mesha” Porche, George Marks, André St. Romain, Henry Watson é mò.
Pou wa lar a tou latis-layé, to ka ashté in liv koté mizé Wès Baton-Rouj o vizité lèkspo ishka 12 oktòb 2025.
Kont Kréyol-yé (Creole Folktales) presents historic folktales aside contemporary visual art from Louisiana Creoles. These tales come from an old thesis at Louisiana State University written by Lafayette Jarreau in 1931 called Creole Folklore of Pointe Coupee Parish. According to Jarreau, he spoke (Louisiana) Creole since he was little before he learned to speak mérikin (American, what some Louisiana Creoles refer to as English) and then French. To protect and study his first language, he interviewed various Creoles who lived in both Pointe Coupée and West Baton Rouge Parishes. They told him many tales and stories that one may find in the literary fields of folklore and fantasy. Traditional characters that are part of Louisiana Folklore found in these texts include Bouki, Fifolé, Kokodri, Krapo, Lapin, Néléfan, Torti, Radbwa, and Shévréy. Common themes include love, teasing and jokes, travel, quests and adventures that are full of challenges and lessons for those who listen to or read these tales. Jarreau’s thesis is the same text that Dr. Angélique Bergeron and Dr. Clif St. Laurent used to help people in Les Créoles de Pointe Coupée, a group of native speakers in New Roads, start learning how to read and write their first language early in the 21st Century. Kont Kréyol-yé is a publication and an exhibition of the same name displaying these contents at the West Baton Rouge Museum from May 31, 2025 until October 12, 2025.
I am the curator of Kont Kréyol-yé and artists include Mary V. Jackson and her granddaughter, Chloe Cobb, then Crystal Collins, Zora White, Heather Beaud, Judith Braggs, Lauren “Lulu” Chustz, Keith “Cartoonman” Douglas, Malaika Favorite, Henry Johnson, Measha “Mesha” Porche, George Marks, André St. Romain, Henry Watson, and me.
To see the art of all the artists, you can purchase a book at West Baton Rouge Museum or visit the exhibition until October 12, 2025.
