Acadien - Blog Posts
May 17 - National Fiddlers Day - la journée nationale des violoneux
This year, I’m earnestly starting up my fiddle learning as part of my spiritual practice. For many Acadian and French Canadian families, having a violoneux (fiddler) among us was a guaranteed entertainer!
My great great grandfather Dominique Malaison, out of thirteen siblings, was the only one to pick up a musical talent! He would keep his fiddle attached to an old red ribbon, and mounted it on the staircase wall. He would play the Hangman’s Reel and the Devil’s reel to my then young great uncle Leo’s requests. Dominique’s wife Anasthasie Arsenault would be the expert podorhythmic and would turlutte the songs with great breath control! They passed on this gift to my great grandmother Angèle Malaison. She would play tunes and my mother would dance to them. I also have vague memories of dancing to her playing as well when I was really young.
Others in my family also had the penchant for the fiddle. My great great grandfather Joseph Gilbert would learn his tunes with recorded vinyls, and practice late into the night. Their house was really small and no soundproofing! His daughter, my great grandmother Florida Gilbert, would be sleeping in her room and tell him “you don’t have that part yet!” And he’d go to her bedroom door and ask her “well then sing it for me!”
My mother took violin lessons, but never really stuck with it. Although, she does keep Angèle’s fiddle displayed on the mantle in her house. I’ll inherit it one day.
Learning fiddle for me is a struggle, it being a really hard instrument to learn anyway. As I’m attempting to understand how to read music and develop my musical ear, I remind myself of those who came before me, and that I am carrying on for them. I want to bring that same joie de vivre and dancing joy to my own house with this heritage, and participate in my musical culture in full swing! I try to light a candle every time I practice, to remember them and to wish me luck at the same time!
Dominique Malaison
My mom (little kid at the right), enjoying Angèle playing tunes while her son Raymond sits nearby.
Florida and Noël on their wedding day, with Joseph Gilbert on the right.
Antonine Maillet (May 10 1929- 17 February 2025)
A great voice in Acadian letters passed away overnight. Thank you for your tireless dedication to writing our people and our folk tales, and taking us on a myriad adventure from Pélagie to la Voie St. Jean. You pushed the carts of Acadie into the light, and we will be eternally grateful. I loved your crack-whip humor and your musical turns of phrases, but your published works will always be there for us to cherish.
Folk Ways for an Acadian or French Canadian folk practitioner -The Heavens
Here are some Acadian folk beliefs tied to the skies and its celestial bodies. It is to note that Acadians lived by the tides of the ocean, and that these would create all kinds of folk sayings. The high times of the universe "les temps forts" were when powerful things could happen, such as when the moon was at its fullest and the tide at its highest (a child born at that time would be destined to become physically strong), or the night would be at its absolute darkest (when "revenants" or deadwalkers/ghosts were known to visit their family homes.)
*My painting of the Virgin Mary is in progress meanwhile.*
The Moon
When the moon is full, it's an opportune time to cut hair (it will grow back thicker), to slaughter pork (it will sell at a profit), and to split firewood (it will give off more heat), and to prune onion shoots (they will grow more full).
When the moon wanes, especially in the month of March, wood cut to make fences will not rot. It is also the best phase to sow root vegetable seeds, such as carrots. Wood cut to make sled runners need to be cut during this phase.
When the moon waxes, you must sow the other vegetables (tomatoes, peas, beans) and grain crops (wheat, barley). This phase is reputedly so strong, it can turn a post into a tree.
When the moon is new, if the horns of the moon point upwards, it won't rain, since you can hang a bucket on its horns. If the horns are pointing down, it's a sign of bad weather ahead. This is an awful rime to cut your hair, as the hair will grow too quickly.
The Stars
It is optimal to plant your garden the day after a particularly starry night.
When the stars are "creuses", or not many in the sky, it announces cold weather for the next day.
source: Dupont, Jean-Claude. Héritage d'Acadie. Collection Connaissance, editions Leméac, 1977.
