Harvest Time on River Road

Today, we took a little trip to St. James Parish for the purpose of visiting the newly-renovated plantation, "Perique." Previously known as "Little Texas," the house has undergone a series of facelifts and interior re-decorations since Hurricane Katrina. Proud owner, Michael Hopping, was kind enough to give us a tour of his charming home.

Before...

http://gest.la.gov/hp/laheritage/CreoleHeritage/Color/Creole28.jpg

Click below for the "after"- as well as a marvelous write-up on the Creole-Style house...
http://countryroadsmagazine.com/Countrypolitans/michael-hoppings-unplanned-plantation

So excited to see the house and meet our gracious tour guide, I had forgotten that it's Harvest time in the sugarland. I was quickly reminded of the time of year, when our car crept onto River Road.
...I'm not entirely sure why the dates on the pictures are wrong...I'm still not as tech-savvy as I'd like to be...

We pulled over onto one of the gravel roads, for a better view-

our gravel road...

Louisiana sugarcane...good thing I wore boots! -I was careful not to run into any cane snakes...



In the background, you can see River Road and the Levee (the river is on the other side)- every inch of available land is used for planting, right up to the road!

stagnant machine...

...and it wasn't long before we saw some active harvesting

and finally, while we were in the area, we stopped at one of our favorite destinations (usually reserved for our Christmas visit)...Houmas House. At one time, it held the honor of most prolific sugar plantation.

Houmas House

For more information on River Road, might I suggest this site?: http://louisianatravel.com/river-road-plantations

A Day in the Life of a Slave girl (created by me, inspired by the life of Mary Prince)

Je suis appelé Perrine. Je suis un esclave à Orléans Plantation, sur l'île de Saint-Domingue. Je suis né sur cette terre. Je ne connais pas mon père. Ma mère dit qu'il est blanc. Maman travaille dans la maison de notre Maître est avec moi. Elle ne ménage et la cuisine pour M. Delacroix et sa famille. Chaque matin, je me réveille avec ma mère. Nous nous habillons. La mère est sûr de couvrir les cicatrices sur ses épaules et le cou du mieux qu'elle peut. Elle dit qu'ils sont de quand elle a essayé de s'enfuir dans les champs de sel à un homme marron, Mackanal. C'était avant que je suis né, avant de Mama a été vendue à M. Delacroix.



M. Delacroix a une fille. Elle est mon âge et ressemble un peu à moi, mais elle a la peau claire. Parce que je suis son compagnon, je peux aller avec elle à ses leçons quotidiennes. Je dois aider ma mère nettoyer et cuisiner, surtout quand monsieur a des visiteurs. Maman dit que nous devons être très prudents parce que nous travaillons dans la maison principale. Nous pouvons vivre de plus beaux quartiers et obtenir des privilèges spéciaux, mais nous sommes également en danger immédiat. La semaine dernière, un homme est venu visiter la maison. Il a été d'un endroit appelé Bristol, et il m'a trouvé quand j'étais seul dans la cuisine après le souper. Il se sur moi et me regarda et tira la manche de ma robe. J'ai été effrayé. Puis, j'ai entendu M. Delacroix appelle nom de l'homme. J'étais tellement content qu'il a laissé. Maman m'a dit de faire attention aux hommes comme cela. Elle s'inquiétait que qu'ils allaient me blesser comme ils l'ont blessé.



Tant de gens se blessent ici. Les hommes se promener les bras et les jambes manquent. D'autres, comme Mama ont des cicatrices. J'espère que personne ne se blesse demain. Surtout pas maman. Je n'ai pas été blessé, mais je crains que quand je suis plus âgé, je vais avoir des cicatrices comme maman, ou même perdre une partie de ma personne.


---- in english...

Good day, Journal. I am called Perrine. I am a slave at Orleans Plantation, sur the island of Saint-Domingue. I was born on this land. I do not know my father. My mother says he is white. Mama works in our Master's house with me. She does cleaning and cooking for Monsieur Delacroix and his family. Every morning, I wake up with my mother. We dress. Mother is sure to cover the scars on her shoulders and neck as best as she can. She says they are from when she tried to run away from the salt fields to a maroon man, Mackanal. That was before I was born, before Mama was sold to Monsieur Delacroix.

Monsieur Delacroix has a daughter. She is my age and looks a little like me, but she has lighter skin. Because I am her companion, I get to go with her to her daily lessons. I have to help my mother clean and cook, especially when Monsieur has visitors. Mama says that we must be very careful because we work in the main house. We may live in nicer quarters and get special priviledges, but we are also in very immediate danger. Last week, a man came to visit the house. He was a from a place called Bristol, and he found me when I was alone in the kitchen after supper. He stood over me and looked at me and tugged the sleeve of my dress. I was frightened. Then, I heard Monsieur Delacroix call the man's name. I was so glad that he left. Mama told me to watch out for men like that. She worried that they would hurt me like they hurt her.

So many people get hurt here. Men walk around missing arms and legs. Others like Mama have scars. I hope nobody gets hurt tomorrow. Especially not Mama. I have not gotten hurt yet, but I fear that when I am older, I will have scars like Mama, or even lose a part of my person.


---
I created this entry based on slave stories such as Mary Prince. Many things are insinuated here. In the caribbean, slaves were forced into manual labors, and were abused physically and mentally. Did you notice the insinuations as to Perrine's father's identity? The dangers she faced? The bleak outlook she carried, though she had one of the better situations of many- especially that she was able to pick up so much on her mistress's education?

Races of Saint-Domingue...

Conveniently enough for me, the Island of Saint-Domingue was used as an example for racial studies in our Caribbean History class! I apologize in advance for the lack of pictures, but this post is mostly for the facts...

Here's how the population breaks down numerically:

Population total: 855,000
Whites: 30,000
Freemen/Gens de couleur: 25,000
Enslaved: 800,000

notice the extreme difference in the ratio between the number of enslaved persons to the rest of the population? ...yeah.

This is why, in 1758, planters began to pass legistlation that set restrictions on the rights of others. In their minds, this would solidify a system of castes. (a major precursor to the Haitian Revolution)

Now, for the categoric breakdown of the population:

Grand Blancs: the most wealthy, all-powerful, white slave-owners.
Petit Blancs: white merchants who, though wealthy, were not quite wealthy enough to be considered "grand blancs."
Gens de Couleur: free, colored men - usually the offspring of Franco-Afro couples.
Negroes: (also known as "esclaves" or "kongos") Africans considered only as slaves.

A foremost student of islandic racial makeup was Moreau de Saint-Mery. He was born in Martinique, and educated in France. He attempted to use census papers to understand the complexities of racial categories, particularly concentrating on the "gens de couleur." He- like many- was intrigued by the striations in castes which made it acceptable for free blacks to enslave kongos.

Saint-Mery went even further in his studies, examining the different "degrees of whiteness" :
Mulatre, Quateron, Metis, Mamelouque, Quarterrone, and sans-mele. In his studies, -studies that are considered rude and racist in spots today- he seems to draw the conclusion that no matter what the degree of whiteness, these individuals were prone to promiscuous behavior and lewd, immature conduct, hinting at an instilled incivility of white creoles, african slaves, creole slaves, and freedmen. He means to say that due to the local climate, and animalistic tendancies, non-whites cannot be truststed to think beyond the pursuit of pleasure. He also mentions their physiques- concluding that Creoles are the most desirable of slaves, as they are "born with physical and moral qualities which give them superiority over [others]."

...more pictures next time!

Sources:  Saint-Mery, Moreau de. tans. by John Garrigus. "Description topographique, physique, civile, politique, et historique de le partie francais de lisle Saint-Domingue." Philadelphia, 1797.

Shaw, Jenny. "Reality of "Race" in the Caribbean." In-class Lecture. 5 October 2011.

Religious Culture...One of the more obvious links between Saint-Domingue and Southern Louisiana

In congruence with Jon Sensbach's Rebecca's Revival, many different religions came into play in the culture of Saint-Domingue. Due to the factors of missionaries, slave owners, and slave resistance, the island became a melting pot of religion (Much like Southern Louisiana- more specifically, the city of New Orleans).

Bourbon Street, New Orleans, LA

Due to the Spanish and French settlement of the island, Catholicism played an integral part in the cultural formation of the island. This is not to say, however, that there was not a protestant presence on the island.  

While some slaves converted fully to some form of Christianity, others committed half-heartedly to this organized religous movement, maintaining their own anscetral religous practices in secrecy to elude punishment by their masters for disobedience. From this, situation, Christianity began to blend with old African rituals. Most popular on the island was the practice of Vodou.

Vodoun flag (a dwapo)

Vodou is an African word which translates into english as "spirit." Those who practice voudo, or "voduisants," follow male priests (houngans) and female priestesses (mambos), and as with most African practices (as well as religious practices on other continents), voudo followers rely a great deal on the power of their anscetors. The official language of Vodou is called "Fon," and they generally worship "Papa bon dieu."

As with Christianity, there are many factions of vodou: In Jamaica, and Trinidad-and-Tobago, vodou is called "Obeah." In other places, it is refered to as "Santeria."-and now...just for Fon....i mean fun:

Another faction of Vodou is the New Orleans form, Voodoo. Again, it differs slightly, as it has assimilated to Louisiana culture. It remains the same in that it it borrows religious images from other religions for its own purposes- namely, from Catholicism. Images of Catholic Angels and Saints are altered to serve as vodoun trinkets, etc.

Voodoo has become a popular topic in many ways in today's world. New Orleans is often thought of as the hub of such practices. This is perpetuated by hollywood...

Sometimes through brightly-colored song and dance:

Other times, by grimly-etched shadowy figures...





The New Orleans AFL team is even named for Voodoo...which is ironic, considering that the NOLA NFL team is The Saints...

Voodoo (AFL) vs. Saints (NFL)

...And multiple slave-manned plantations in Louisiana (some in New Orleans, some in St. James Parish, etc.) are known for their mystical, voodoo-linked stories such as that of the French Quarter's most famous socialite (and assumed voodoo practicer), Madame Lalaurie.

Indeed, voodoo or "vodou" has made quite the impact on Southern Louisiana, as it was carried from the Caribbean isles to New Orleans by Afro-caribbean slaves and immigrants...one of many connections between Louisiana and Saint-Domingue. 

Sources: www.google.com/imghp

www.youtube.com

Corbett, Bob. "An Overview on Haitian Voodoo." Class Lecture Outline. Webster.edu: Haiti: Voodoo. http://www.webster.edu/~corbetre/haiti/voodoo/overview.htm

Shaw, Jenny. "Idigenous Caribbean Religions." Class Lecture. 28 Sept 2011.

Sensbach, Jon. Rebecca's Revival. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2006.