Traditions in Baton Rouge
By Maida Owens
A photo essay of traditions in Baton Rouge. Hover over a photo to learn more and click any photo to see a slideshow based on folklife genres or categories. Photos are added as fieldwork is completed.
The National Endowment for the Arts supported the fieldwork on folk arts and the Library of Congress supported documentation of occupational traditions.
Crafts
Folk and Traditional Arts in the Capital Region: Sustaining Community Values Through Handcraft
Folk and Traditional Arts in the Capital Region: Sustaining Community Values Through Handcraft
The Power of Narrative: Tradition Bearers Share Inconvenient Truths
Places Called Home: Folk Traditions among Muslim Immigrants in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Folk and Traditional Arts in the Capital Region: Sustaining Community Values Through Handcraft
Moon Cakes, Knotting, and Feng Shui: A Peek of Chinese Culture in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
The Power of Narrative: Tradition Bearers Share Inconvenient Truths
Places Called Home: Folk Traditions among Muslim Immigrants in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
The Power of Narrative: Tradition Bearers Share Inconvenient Truths
Memoirs of an African American Multicultural Self-Taught Folk Doll Artist
Stitching Community: Fiber Arts and Service
Folk and Traditional Arts in the Capital Region: Sustaining Community Values Through Handcraft
African American Traditions in Baton Rouge
Stitching Community: Fiber Arts and Service
Stitching Memories: Judith Braggs' Black Folk Art Quilts
African American Traditions in Baton Rouge
Fabricating Fun: Mardi Gras Costumes In The Capital City
Fabricating Fun: Mardi Gras Costumes In The Capital City
It's a Very Pink Day in My Neighborhood - the Spanish Town Mardi Gras
Other craft traditions: African American church hat maker. Show horse gear. Tattoo artist. Belt buckles made from industrial scrap.
Customs
A Slice of Life: “Another Reason to Eat Cake”
Louisiana Roadside Memorials: Negotiating an Emerging Tradition
Other customs: Community-based fundraisers such as those for sick children, burned homes. Memorial T-Shirts, Making gifts for veterans.
Dance
Other dance traditions: Stepping. Palestinian dancers. Cajun and Zydeco dance.
Folk Theater/Street Performance
It's a Very Pink Day in My Neighborhood - the Spanish Town Mardi Gras
In Noah's Footsteps: Traditions of Animal Rescue Groups in Baton Rouge
It's a Very Pink Day in My Neighborhood - the Spanish Town Mardi Gras
Other street performances: Marching clubs (The Dancing Girls/Southdowns). Children's parades (Mardi Gras, Christmas, St. Patrick's Day). Easter parade.
Foodways
The Power of Narrative: Tradition Bearers Share Inconvenient Truths
Boudin, Teacakes, and Specialty Grocery Stores: Small Food Businesses in Baton Rouge
Places Called Home: Folk Traditions among Muslim Immigrants in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
St. Joseph's Altars: Faith in Tradition
Other food traditions: Smoked meats, homemade sausage. Seafood markets. Plate lunch diners. Crawfish boils on Good Friday. Fish fries. Foods for fundraisers. Cooking game or fish. Rosh Hashanah meals. Greek Orthodox communion bread.
Music
My Way To Show Baton Rouge I'm Here: Latino Music and Dance in Baton Rouge
Jazz, Zydeco, Cajun and Country: Roots-Music Diversity in the Greater Baton Rouge Area
Jazz, Zydeco, Cajun and Country: Roots-Music Diversity in the Greater Baton Rouge Area
Places Called Home: Folk Traditions among Muslim Immigrants in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Singing To the Glory: Church-based Choirs and Ensembles in Baton Rouge
Sacred Sounds in Baton Rouge Churches, Synagogues, Temples, and Mosques
The Gospel Train: The Zion Travelers Spiritual Singers
Singing To the Glory: Church-based Choirs and Ensembles in Baton Rouge
Sacred Sounds in Baton Rouge Churches, Synagogues, Temples, and Mosques
Dancing in the Light: The Nine-Day Festival of Navaratri in South Louisiana
Sacred Sounds in Baton Rouge Churches, Synagogues, Temples, and Mosques
Other music traditions: Jam Sessions (Irish traditional, blues, bluegrass, Cajun, zydeco). Scottish ballads. Jewish cantor. Muslim muezzins singing calls to prayer. High school marching bands. Baptist Singing Convention. Gandy dancers. House movers' work calls.
Oral Traditions
Cajun humorist. Reciting cowboy poetry. Ghost Town legends. Liar's Bench in Beauregard Town. Toasting. Rapping. Oratory styles (sermons, politicians).
Occupational Traditions
Living in Style: The Language of Hats
Boudin, Teacakes, and Specialty Grocery Stores: Small Food Businesses in Baton Rouge
A Master's Touch: Wirt Bellue's Inventions and Reinventions in the Workplace
Boudin, Teacakes, and Specialty Grocery Stores: Small Food Businesses in Baton Rouge
Satisfying Work in Skilled Repair: Traditional Occupations in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Satisfying Work in Skilled Repair: Traditional Occupations in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Creative Pragmatism at Work: Generational Small Businesses in Baton Rouge
Satisfying Work in Skilled Repair: Traditional Occupations in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
A Slice of Life: “Another Reason to Eat Cake”
Creative Pragmatism at Work: Generational Small Businesses in Baton Rouge
Fabricating Fun: Mardi Gras Costumes In The Capital City
Satisfying Work in Skilled Repair: Traditional Occupations in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Creative Pragmatism at Work: Generational Small Businesses in Baton Rouge
Real Doctors: Folk Traditions of LSU Vet School
Creative Pragmatism at Work: Generational Small Businesses in Baton Rouge
Other occupational traditions: Outdoor cooking equipment made for tailgating and caterers. Gunmaker. Building arts (brick masons, tile masons, copper work, ironwork, millwork, plasterers, sheetrock finishers). Cemetery workers. African American braiding. Shoe shine. Training stock dogs. Dairy farm. River workers (pilots, deckhands). Hog removal. Stockyard. Auctioneers (cars, antiques, livestock). Auto body specialists. Furniture repair, upholstery, chair caning, leather repair, watch repair, Latin grocery store.
Recreational Traditions
The Folk Artistry of Sac-a-lait Fisherman Glenn Davis
Folk and Traditional Arts in the Capitol Region: Sustaining Community Values Through Handcraft
Other recreational traditions: Trail ride club. Rodeo traditions. Social clubs. Horse grooming. Mutual aid societies. Jewish Mahjong club. Equestrian traditions.
Ritual Traditions
Hair Culture among Generational Apostolic Pentecostal Women
The Moon Festival and Other Vietnamese Traditions in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
St. Joseph's Altars: Faith in Tradition
Preserving Vietnamese Culture and Language in Southern Louisiana: Altars as Symbols of Identity
Preserving Vietnamese Culture and Language in Southern Louisiana: Altars as Symbols of Identity
Other ritual traditions: Mardi Gras ball tableaux. Candle shops. Debutante traditions. Holy rooms in homes (Buddhist, Catholic). Fortunetellers. Easter traditions. Fundraisers for ill children or houses burned. Knotted rosaries. Crochet rosary holders. Church altar guild traditions.
Yards and Gardens
The Power of Narrative: Tradition Bearers Share Inconvenient Truths
Other yard and garden traditions: Prayer gardens, rosary walks. Ornamental fences, gates. Ethnic gardens (holy basil for Hindu rituals, grape arbors, vegetables not readily available). Families growing local fruit such as lemons, figs mirlitons, cooking pears, satsumas, and muscadines. Homes adapted for hunting/fishing (mud rooms, outdoor cooking spaces, boat sheds, spaces to process fish and game).
