What is a Cajun Traiteur?

Unless you are from South Louisiana, the word "traiteur" would sound strange to you. Cajuns are an ethnic group from the Acadiana area of Southern Louisiana. Some would call the Cajun traiteur a faith healer. This tradition has existed since the 1700's when the Acadians first migrated to Southern La. from France.

Like many traditions, traiteurs (also known as "treaters") are not as prevalent now as they once were. The traiteur is a Cajun healer who is able to "treat" different ailments such as warts, shingles, sunstroke, toothaches, bleeding and earaches.

The older generation of traiteurs mostly spoke Cajun French. This form of healing was passed down from one generation to another, usually in the form of prayers and techniques used. My great aunt tried to teach me the prayers that she used to treat sunstroke. The prayers that she learned for treating were in French and as I did not speak French, I was not able to learn these. After I took classes in energy healing years later, I wished that I had paid more attention to what she was trying to teach me.

One common ailment that many traiteurs treated was warts. I remember my mother bringing me to an elderly lady that “treated” me for warts on my hand. It was expected that the warts would go away and they did. A similar situation occurred with my son. He started having numerous warts on his hands around the cuticles and on the calf of one leg. A dermatologist told us that he could burn the warts off, but this would ruin his cuticles and the warts would probably come back anyway. At this point, I called a woman who "treated" for warts. I just gave her his name and what was wrong and she said to call back in a couple of weeks if the warts were still there. I called back a couple of times. Shortly after, the warts disappeared as easily as they had appeared.

Years later, I was treated for shingles. This was done 3 times and after that, there were no signs of shingles.

Most of the traiteurs were Catholic and so prayer was an important element in treating. Usually prayers and sometimes Novenas were said (saying a set of prayers for usually 9 days)in silence. As faith is a very important component,traiteurs are essentially "praying" for the sick. This may be considered faith healing or laying on of hands.

I now understand from my experience as an energy healer,that the energy fields that surround the body are being balanced as the traiteur uses their hands in a pattern around the body, usually doing this 3 times. Setting the intention of wanting the person to be healthy is part of their philosophy, which allows for the healing to occur.

In the marsh areas of rural parts of La. along the bayous, doctors were not that accessible nor could most people afford to go to a physician. So, the traiteurs in the past played an important part in health care for this region. A friend recalled her grandmother's life as a traiteur. She could remember as a small child, lines of people waiting outside the house with eggs or chickens as payment.

Most traiteurs do not ask for payment in exchange for their services as they consider their healing abilities a gift from God.

Traiteurs that I know today often incorporate alte
ative or energy healing methods such as Reiki or Healing touch in their treatments.

For more information about traiteurs, please visit my website http://www.SynegisticCenter.com to read more about Traiteurs-A Cajun Healer.