Member-only story
Featured
Creole Heritage Month in St. Lucia
From Kwéyòl at the barbershop to the dance floor in Babonneau, a few glimpses of Creole life in St. Lucia.
All of October is Creole Heritage Month in St. Lucia, and the last weekend of the month is when Creole Day really comes to life.
In Creole, it’s called Jounen Kwéyòl, which sounds a little like French. Starting that Friday, I see people wearing Creole patterns at schools, in government offices, at supermarkets, and even just walking down the street.
Some wear a whole outfit, while others put on a plaid accessory. The fabric is called Madras, and the colors I see most are yellow, red, green, and black.
Women wear formal traditional gowns with petticoats trimmed in delicate white lace.
Men wear black trousers and white long-sleeved cotton shirts, with a Madras neckerchief or a vest in the same pattern. There’s a sense of ceremony in the way people dress and decorate. You see it so often as you go about your day that you pick up a little about Creole culture almost without realizing it.
What does “Creole” mean?
Creole culture grew out of colonial history, trade across oceans, slavery, and migration between continents. As these histories came…
