Louisiana Creole Flag Blanket

Kouvèt-çila çé kom Drapo Kréyol Lalwizyan-la ki çé pou lèritaj Kréyol Lalwizyan.   Prémiyé Drapo Kréyol Lalwizyan-la té kréyé par Pyær Bergeron en 1987. 

Mañær mo kroshé drapo-la çé diféran.  Mo kroshé flœr de li é shato-la pli gran paske kouvèt-la pou in bébe.  Çé kofær kouvèt di « ti Kréyol. » Çé in tap pou in krèsh.

Drapo-la gin : in flœr de li pou lèritaj Frans; drapo o Sénégal; drapo o Mali; drapo o Castille pou léritaj Spañòl; lakrwa blan pou léritaj shovaj (kat diréksyon) é pou tradisyon Katolik-la.

Plin moun té viní ensemb en Koloni Fransé, é Koloni Spañòl pou kréyé in nouvo lakilchi, Lakichi Kréyol Lalwizyan : Atakapa, Bambara, Fransé, Fulani, Shakta, Shitimatcha, Spañòl, Wolof, é plis.

Nouzòt toujou isit.

This blanket is like the Louisiana Creole Heritage Flag.  The original Louisiana Creole Flag was designed by Peter Bergeron in 1987.

I made the fleur-dê-lis and the castle a little larger because the blanket is for a baby. That is why it says ti Kréyol. It is made as a cover for a baby crib.

The flag has:  a fleur-de-lis for our French heritage; the Flag of Senegal; the Flag of Mali; the Flag of Castile for our Spanish heritage; a white cross which represents both our Native American heritage (the four winds) and our Catholic traditions.

The Attakapas, the Bambara, the Chitimacha, the Choctaw, the French, the Fulani, the Spanish, the Wolof, and others in French and Colonial Louisiana formed a new unique culture, the Louisiana Creole culture.

We are still here.

Fé dodo mô bébé

Mo té kroshé kouvèt-çila pou in zami ki çé Kréyol Lalwizyan kom mò.  Kan li té dí mò li té gin in gro vent, m’olé kroshé kishòj Kréyol pou sô bébé.  Kouvèt-la di, “Fé dodo.”  Fé dodo çé mañær pou di va dromi a piti-yé.  Mô zami té dí mò sô granmomanm mèt sôchènn momanm a lî avèk fé dodo itou. 

Astœr mô zami pe envèlopé sochènn bébé vèk lakilchi Kréyol.  Astœr, l’apé di fé dodo a piti-yé minm kom nô vyé paren-yé.

(Fé dodo çé in dans Kréyol lakompañ mé çe in kont pou in nòt kouvèt)

I crocheted this blanket for a friend who is also a Louisiana Creole.  When she told me she was pregnant, I knew I wanted to make something which expressed our shared culture.  The blanket says fé dodo ti bébé.  Fé dodo is a way to tell little children to go to sleep.  My friend told me that her grandmother tucked her own mother to sleep with the words fé dodo.

Now, my friend can wrap her own baby in the Creole culture and say “fé dodo” to her children just like our ancestors.

(Fé dodo is also a country Creole dance but that is a story for another blanket)

Strength

This is one of the patches for the baby blanket. This patch has an adinkra symbol for strength and humility. You can see two ram horns butting together in a show of strength. Sheep can be docile or strong when need be. Like sheep, people do not need to always show strength with force.

I like that the symbol does not jump out at you. Once the blanket is together, it might take a moment to realize that it is kente inspired. It makes the discovery more enjoyable.