Mr Norbert Salomon of the National Archives is back in the country from a cultural study tour in the Louisiana, United States.             

Speaking with Arts Page this week, Mr Salomon shared his experience and new things he had learned during his one-month stay in the town of Lafayette in the south of New Orleans.

Having left the country since September 11 and back two weeks ago, Mr Salomon took part in an international Creole festival, which he described as a magnificent display of typical Creole culture.

During his visit he said he was particularly intrigued by the way the Cajun-Creole and French culture brought by the whites and slaves for over 400 years ago is virtually intact, despite the town being surrounded by English speaking countries.

As music researcher for Seychelles he expressed his concern that compared to us Lafayette has managed to conserve what we have lost over the past 30-40 years.

Mr Salomon said that his presence at the festival, as well as the local materials he had brought with him, was greatly appreciated, especially the country's traditional kamtole, vals and kotis played with instruments such as violin, accordion and triangle that are used in Cajun-Creole traditional music as well.

According to Mr Salomon this tour has opened many doors for Seychellois artists who would like to participate in musical exchanges and learn more about Cajun-Creole culture, which is so much like ours yet so different.

He also had the opportunity to attend the Black Music Awards ceremony and visit villages with ancient architectural buildings, which he described as having an incredible likeness to our own traditional buildings.

In tasting the country's local delicacies, he also observed that many of their dishes such as black pudding are similar to our own albeit spicier.

Mr Salomon also had the privilege of meeting the oldest Cajun musician – 97-year-old accordionist Mr Alphonse also known as ‘Bwa Sek’.  

From his tour Mr Salomon learned that in order to keep the traditional music and other cultural practices alive, we should involve more young people in cultural activities.

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