Marie Jolie Origin Recipes Storyteller's Cabin		- Marie Jolie Origin We'll let storyteller J.J. Reneaux tell you where she first heard Marie Jolie: "This is my all time favorite story. I heard the skeleton of the tale from my grandmother. The interpretation is my own, however, a combination of personal experiences and the stories passed down by several generations of grandmothers and aunts. As a young woman, I worked for an oil seismograph crew along stretches of the Mississippi River. Sometimes when the sun was just coming up on the levee and fog lay like a shroud over the water, I thought I could hear Marie in the distance calling ol' Grandmaman Alligator. Even though I knew it was only my imagination, I'd get a shiver down my spine, and I'd just have to look over my shoulder to make sure ol' M'su Diable wasn't behind me! All of (my) stories derive from my life and experience. I heard most of them firsthand from family, neighbors, and friends in Louisiana and Southeast Texas. They were related in many different places on as many different occasions : fishing trips, fish frys, neighborhood fais-dodos school playgrounds, holiday gatherings, the old ladies' café au lait-sippin' hen parties. Others I collected over the years from Cajun friends and acquaintances, not only in Louisiana but across the country as well, in the most varied of locations - airports, dances, nursing homes, schools. Young people usually told the stories in English, spicing them with a smattering of Cajun French. Older raconteurs often spoke in their beloved Cajun French, occasionally in Black French. Like any good raconteur, I have told the tales for true as I heard them, but added personal touches, twists, and turns as the stories grew to be a natural part of my own life. For me, these tales are not museum pieces whose time was and is no more. They are alive and vigorous, brimming with joie de vivre - the zest for life that is the essence of Cajun culture. Thus each of (my) stories contains a part of me - the beliefs, experiences, and people who have shaped my life. I share these tales with love and pride. It is my hope that readers and listeners will discover the beauty and spirit of the Cajun people and - perhaps more importantly - of their own lives as well. If you enjoyed this story, then you'll love the other Cajun tales found on J.J. Reneaux's tape Cajun Fairy Tales, and in her book Cajun Folktales - available now in our Bookshop! Of course, the good time people of Louisiana are well known for two things: music and food. J.J. would like to offer you a little bit of both... Learn how to make J.J.'s Grateful Bread Pudding with Bourbon Street Sauce. Great for Mardis Gras or any time of year! Would you like to learn more about the Cajun and Creole cultures? Then check out these sites: The Gumbo Pages - Chuck Taggart, native New Orleanian and roots music programmer at KRCW in Santa Monica, CA has put together a fabulous site. It's a "musical, culinary and cultural information source about New Orleans and Acadiana (or "Cajun country"). " Well worth a visit. Encyclopedia of Cajun Culture - Academic site that contains some fascinating information on Cajun culture, and especially early Cajun music. The EOCC "exists for the purpose of preserving and promoting Cajun culture, and for disseminating accurate information about Cajun culture for educational purposes. New Orleans' Home Page - Planning a trip to New Orleans? You may want to check out this online version of New Orleans' main paper, The Times-Picayune.
	J.J. Reneaux text taken from the book Cajun Folktales, (c)1992 by J.J. Reneaux Published by August House Publishers, Inc. For more information on August House's large catalog of storytelling resources, write to them at info@augusthouse.com. Home | Feature Stories | Archives | Bookshop | Credits | FAQs | Site Map | Write to Us © 1997-2006