The Cajun who went to Harvard: Identity in the Oral Tradition of South Louisiana

Recently, this joke began making the rounds in South Louisiana. It is not a new joke, nor is it specifically about the Cajuns. It has been used in reference to Aggies, Okies, hillbillys, and Southerners attending the same institution in question with identical results. But its appearance in the Caj un repertoire raises some interesting questions abou t the Caj uns and how their culture is doing these days. Jokes are funny. They are also very serious. You can tell a great deal about people by what they think is funny.' We are usually most ticklish in our most sensitive spots. Touch lightly and it makes us chuckle. Touch too hard and it makes us uncomfortable. Sometimes there is a very fine line between laughing and crying, and humor functions only when it has one foot in reality. Jokes are rarely new. There is an international repertoire of funny stories which has been around for centuries and reflects the range of human experience.' Old jokes are adapted to describe the most current events almost immediately. Compare, for example, the sudden rash of recycled "Polack" and Catholic jokes when John Paul II was elected pontiff, or the surge of adapted homosexual jokes with the news of Rock Hudson's illness. Since the 19605, Louisiana French culture and its image have undergone profound changes. Today Cajunism is generally considered to be fashionable and this social rehabilitation is reflected in much of the contemporary oral repertoire. sometimes aggressively, as in the story quoted above. Yet, this was not always the case. In the 19th century, Cajun culture was a blend of ethnic traditions thriving in a self-sufficient community.' The bulk of traditional stories has always reflected the view from the inside. Within the borders of their own context, Cajuns have never been afraid to laugh at their own foibles. Stories abound about