One of the most eclectic and unique states in the nation, Louisiana is basically comprised of two parts: the dry country in the northern half of the state, and the wetlands, making up the southern half. The ways people lived in these places influenced their crafts. Louisiana Creoles and Cajuns continue to create traditional crafts fait à la main, a French term meaning "made by hand."
Up North
Louisiana's northern half has Protestant agrarian roots, and the region's crafts often hearken back to its farming and country lifestyles. One of the most popular crafts in this area is quilting, still practiced by many women. Their handmade quilts are sold at local craft shops and sometimes displayed in museums. Corn shuck door mats and purses, carved wooden spoons, brooms, and candles are other crafts made in rural areas. Other crafts draw from farming necessities, such as horsehair rope making, blacksmithing, and wheelwrighting.
A few places in northern Louisiana display such regional crafts. The LSUS Pioneer Heritage Center in Shreveport houses artifacts, quilts, woodcarving, soap making, blacksmithing, and other historic crafts that originated of necessity but became an art form in their own right. In the fall, it also presents the annual Pioneer Days Festival. The Louisiana State Exhibit Museum, a Smithsonian affiliate also located in Shreveport, highlights the various cultures and traditions that make up the history of the area.
Down South
Louisiana's lower half is one of the most interesting melting pots in the world. Cajun Country, as you'll often hear southern Louisiana referred to, is made up of immigrants from many different areas and ethnicities. This area is mostly Catholic, with African, French, and West Indian heritage. Additionally, Acadians, who came from Nova Scotia, are a dominant ethnicity. Adding to the mix are many Eastern Europeans, Spanish, Germans, and Asians. This unique combination of people has contributed to one of the most diverse societies in the South - the Creole State. Over the years, their different craft traditions have blended and influenced each other.
Mardi Gras Accoutrements
New Orleans is nearly synonymous with Mardi Gras, and the elaborate costumes and masks created for the Carnival are evident no matter what time of the year one visits the Big Easy. Varying cultural groups, including Native Americans, African Americans, Cajuns, Creoles, and more had their own special rituals, designs and costume styles. Besides masks and costumes, other cultural crafts are created in conjunction with Mardi Gras, including painted coconuts created by the African American Zulu groups and Choctaw Indian rattles. To find out more about Cajun and Creole heritage, including their crafts and traditions, visit the Louisiana Folk Root Heritage Day, held in Lafayette.
Visitors can learn about the origins of Mardi Gras and view some of the finery created for it at the Louisiana State Museum in New Orleans. It devotes a full gallery to the masks, ornate costumes, balls, and history associated with the area's biggest party. The Mardi Gras Museum in Lake Charles also affords a glimpse into the history of the pageantry and costuming that make this ritual so unique. Visitors to New Orleans can purchase Mardi Gras masks year round at local shops.
Voodoo Creations
New Orleans also has an enclave of voodoo practitioners located within the city. They create several types of crafts, with the voodoo doll being the most well-known. Voodoo dolls can be created from sticks and moss, clay, and other natural materials, then decorated with satins and jujus (beads and sequins). Many voodoo practitioners believe in using these for good, rather than the cinematic cliché of sticking them with pins to cause harm.
Other voodoo crafts created locally include gris-gris bags, magic oils and other botanical products, jewelry, and artwork. Visitors can take voodoo and historical tours to view and purchase voodoo crafts throughout the Vieux Carré (French Quarter). Another interesting stop in this neighborhood is the New Orleans Historic Voodoo Museum, which displays information on Marie Laveau's life and the voodoo she made famous. The most famous Voodoo Priestess in the world, Marie Laveau plied her craft in New Orleans until her death in 1881.
Cajun Crafts
For the Cajuns who lived in the rural areas, many hand made crafts were more practical. The ever-present bayous and waterways led to two of the most common crafts, boat building and decoy carving. Louisiana is well known for its wooden boats, from early Native American dugouts and to their evolution into the Cajun pirogues. Boats built from cypress are still used today, and visitors can attend the annual Madisonville Wooden Boat Festival, which benefits the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Maritime Museum. The festival attracts 30,000 visitors each October to see boat building, fishnet making, sail making, and more.
Duck decoy carving is also still practiced in southern Louisiana. Although duck decoys were originally used in rural areas, they've become popular with collectors. Older decoys were crude and simple, while many modern decoys are incredibly realistic and detailed. To see duck decoy carvers in action, visit the Gueydan Duck Festival, held in August, where decoy carvers create and paint their masterpieces right before your eyes.
Several museums and living history centers in the region showcase folk life and crafts. They include the LSU Rural Life Museum in Baton Rouge, the Bayou Lafourche Folk Life and Heritage Museum in Lockport, and Vermilionville in Lafayette.
Louisiana is an eclectic state with a unique mix of heritage and ethnicities. The local culture reflects these ethnic traditions through rituals and crafts. Visitors to the northern parts of Louisiana can see the role rural and farm life played in handmade crafts. Those who visit New Orleans and other parts of Cajun Country have the opportunity to see and purchase a myriad of traditional crafts in many different forms, each reflecting a special aspect of the local Louisiana culture. Wherever your travels in Louisiana take you, you're sure to find many treasures fait à la main.
