CCJC 00061 Audio Podcast Episode, Season 2
Alright, Cher, gather ‘round our virtual audio podcast porch! Here at Cajun Chronicles Podcast, where stories flow thicker than gumbo and the bayou wind spreads secrets only the heart can hear. We’re serving up tales steeped in Louisiana’s rich, multi-cultural roux – a blend of Acadian grit, Creole spice, Native American wisdom, and a whole lot of African and Carib soul.
If you’re hankering for more than just our regular public episodes, if you want to dive deeper into the swamp of our behind-the-scenes storytelling and get to know all of us, then it’s time to join the family! Let’s start here with our beloved J. W. Gigi, one of the founders and members of our Advisory Board. Here’s an exclusive peek into just one side of her:
Traiteuse Diaries: When Disasters Forced Me To Step Out Of The Shadow As A Healer
Remember 2008? If you are like me, not so much. So much has happened since then. Back then the news was what we thought was a never-ending buffet of global doom. There were the usual famines, floods, fiery tantrums of Mother Nature, complete with enough earthquakes to make your teeth rattle.
We’d watch the nightly news, cluck our tongues, and then? Poof! Onto the next channel mostly. Sadly, some of us were already beginning to show symptoms of “Compassion Fatigue.” A time when even donating begins to feel like a chore, and “standing in the square of compassion” was also as popular as a Spit-fired Pig BBQ at a vegan convention.
Fast forward to today, let’s get real. Any hints of a recession apocalypse back in 2008 just got a major upgrade. Now, California’s burnt to a crisp, followed by floods. But the pandemic is over, maybe . . . at least until the next one. Meanwhile, whole towns and farms in North Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee went missing and left the lives of those who survived devastated and still without their homes. Nor, how can any of us forget the wars raging around the globe.
There’s enough human-made disasters still on the menu. Doom scrolling headlines, nobody agrees about anything anymore, misinformation, deliberate disinformation, democracy at stake, and a power struggle the likes of which will have mankind rewriting history for centuries. It's enough to make you want to build an off-grid bunker and stock up on banned books, and Tabasco.
But in the middle of all this chaos, there’s a behind-the-scenes story brewing. Everything I’ve ever done has been leading up to the tale of how I, a humble half-Cajun Creole and half Irish Girl was raised to be a traiteuse – faith healer, a witch doctor, a whisperer of woes inspired survival – call me what you want. And it all started with a simple truth. Disasters are just headlines, for virtually all of us whether whie living in one or watching from afar. Regardless of ethnic background, it’s a bunch of inherited ancestral family heirloom traumas.
My Cajun Creole Curriculum: Hurricanes, Heartbreak, and Healing
See, being a traiteuse isn’t just about knowing your herbs from your elbow. It’s about feeling the weight of the world deep inside. It’s the kind of feeling that settles in your bones after generations of trauma and hardship in battling Mother Nature when she’s throwing a tantrum. There was a time when I was younger and thought my journey was just paved with the three early 1900’s disasters that hit my Cajun Creole like a cocodril in a pirogue.
It was because of that my Great-Grandpere, Emile, decided I was his spiritual heir – mostly because my Cajun mama was too busy rolling her eyes at all the old-timey remedies he and he was teaching me.
Papa, as we all called him, bless his cotton socks, lived to be a hundred. He was born in 1863 in Chacahoula, Louisiana. He arrived on earth in time for a Civil War, when hurricanes were accepted as just bad breezes. And “shelter” meant tying yourself up in a tree. He taught me about resilience, about how the choices you make when the world’s on fire can echo through the generations to come.
Now, being a traiteur is a peculiar beast. We don’t advertise. Most of us don’t charge, We just . . . feel what’s wrong. It’s a lonely gig, like being the only person at a party who, as the designated driver, can see ghosts. It requires you to have faith, a dash of folk remedies, and a sprinkle of modern medicine – a melding of cultural gumbo, if you will.
I’ll be the first to admit, some of those remedies were . . . interesting. Burying potatoes for warts? Wearing rhubarb root necklaces? Collecting spider webs for poultices? Well, let’s just say my kindergarten teacher was not impressed at show-and-tell.
My education as a budding future traiteuse didn’t just come from Papa. I also got it from my maternal grandma, and even my maternal grandfather, Vernon. He was my Curandero-whispering, Navajo-horse trader and rodeo riding guide, who said, “Prayers are best whispered into God’s busy ears, to your horse or your dog.”
He taught me healing comes from a place deeper than herbs and potions. It’s about listening to the heart, observing nature, learning resilience, and about understanding that sometimes, the biggest disasters aren’t the ones you hear about on the news, they are the ones all creatures carry inside.
So this glimpse behind-the-scenes post isn’t just a story about healing or being a traiteuse. It’s about survival, about how all the different Louisiana cultures forged in the swamps, on the prairies, and battered by the storms found ways to come together and mend themselves. And in a world drowning in headlines, sometimes the most powerful medicine is hidden in a good story, told with a little Louisiana spice blend. So grab a cup of Luzianne chicory coffee, Cher, and let’s begin.
Still Want to Know More?
If you are hankering for more than just the regular Cajun Chronicles Podcast series episodes, if you want to dive deeper into the swamp of our collective storytelling, then it’s time to officially join the family! Subscribe annually and unlock the full treasure chest. You’ll get bonus episodes that will have you laughing till your sides ache; behind-the-scenes interviews that peel back the curtain of our crazy process; early access to episodes before they hit the airwaves, and live Q&A sessions where you can swap swamp stories and ask your burning questions.
And for our extra-special patrons, well, we’ve got a little lagniappe something extra: Think personalized shout-outs, digital postcards from the bayou, and maybe even a few free e-books and recipes. All straight from the staff of Cajun Chronicles and our families kitchens. So come on in, grab a virtual beignet, and let’s make some memories to take your mind off all that stuff that overwhelms us that for right now are beyond our control.
Our tales are inspired by real Louisiana and New Orleans history, but some details may have been spiced up for a good story. While we've respected the truth, a bit of creative license could have been used. Please note that all characters may be based on real people, but their identities in some cases have been Avatar masked for privacy. Others are fictional characters with connections to Louisiana.
A Word of Wisdom:
As you read, remember history and real life is a complex mix of joy, sorrow, triumph, and tragedy. While we may have (or not) added a bit of fiction, the core message remains: the human spirit's power to endure, adapt, and overcome.
© Jerilee Wei 2025 All Rights Reserved.
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