Oh, Dem Bayou Boys! Trivia Quiz

Answer: slow moving stream or wetland and based on the Choctaw language

Not only can the term bayou mean a slow moving body of water or marsh, it can also refer to a wetland or even a marshy lake. The original word in the Native American Choctaw language from which the word is derived was "bayuk", meaning a small stream.

Answer: Canada

Acadia was an area of Canada that had originally been called "New France". It included the Maritime Provinces, Quebec and even parts of Maine in the U.S.

After the Seven Years War in North America, Britain expelled the Acadians from the area in an effort that was referred to by the Acadians as "The Great Upheaval". They then migrated southward to the Caribbean and into the southern Gulf states, at least those who were not simply deported to other British-controlled territories like Maryland, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Connecticut and other areas.

The Acadians who had resisted the British influence the most during the Seven Years War were sent to the Carolinas and Georgia, to work on plantations. The British did not deport any of the Acadians to Louisiana; they merely sent many of them back to France later. It was while they were there that the decision was made by the French to send them to Spanish-controlled Louisiana.

Acadians eventually shortened their name to the more colloquial "Cajuns".

Answer: Zydeco

Zydeco has often been mistaken for a type of polka music, but it generally tends to be more a mixture of blues and "a capella" religious music. Zydeco has stronger roots in the Creole culture than in the Cajun, but it is actually a mix of the two. Creole culture stems from the black influence that originated as a result of the mixing of European, African and Native American people, while Cajun culture has a distinctly more French basis.

The blending of the two cultures has created interesting and fun types of music, dance and foods, and rather than clashing, they have more or less melded together in many ways.

Answer: Houston, Texas

Buffalo Bayou, or Mother Bayou in Houston, Texas, flows for over 50 miles through Houston, down to Galveston and then dumps into the Gulf of Mexico. In 1972 the state of Texas sued the city of Houston for creating so much pollution and dumping it into the Bayou. A $3 billion upgrade was made to the city's sewer system as a result.

Answer: Alabama

Bayou Le Batre is located near Mobile, Alabama, in fact sharing the same county borders. Bayou Le Batre was featured in the Winston Groom book and subsequent 1994 film "Forrest Gump", although the actual filming took place in coastal South Carolina.

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina devastated the area, creating a record storm surge of 16 feet that pushed shrimping boats, a cargo ship and other watercraft inland, where some of them remained, tucked away in the woods as they were unable to be launched back into the Gulf.

Answer: German, English, French and Spanish

The language of Cajuns stems from the influence of the following languages and cultures: German, English, French and Spanish.

This dialect is spoken mostly in southern Louisiana, although some isolated pockets of it exist in other areas as well. While many Cajuns do not speak French at all, or may only speak it very poorly, it is still easy to hear the imprint and the influence of the language on the speech of many Cajuns.

Answer: to watch people catching alligators

"Swamp People", a reality-type television show, was primarily designed to allow viewers the opportunity of watching swamp people catch alligators for a living.

Alligator season in Louisiana lasts for a month, beginning in early September.
It is during this season that the majority of the swamp folks can make their money, although at other times of the year they may also be found catching shrimp, crawfish, raccoons and crabs in order to supplement their income.

Adult male American alligators can grow up to 15 feet in length, while the females are somewhat smaller.
Chinese alligators usually only grow to five feet in length.

Answer: Port Barre

Alex Charles Barre was honored with the town being named for him. He had purchased the land that housed the original trading post as well as a great deal of the surrounding land from a man named Sieur Jacques Guillaume Courtableau, who lent his name to the bayou itself.

The Barre, Nezat and Roy families have long dominated the area surrounding the bayou.

Answer: Assumption Parish

Napoleonville is actually the only incorporated town in Assumption Parish, Louisiana. Originally simply called Canal, the town was later named by a soldier who had served under Napoleon Bonaparte.

The name "Pierre Part" is thought to have derived from one of the early Acadian settlers in the region.

Answer: Bayou Bartholomew

Bayou Bartholomew runs nearly 400 miles from its point of origin until it dumps into the Ouachita River. In the days before railroad transportation, the waterway was teeming with movement as it served as a sort of water highway system.

It is now one of the most polluted of the bayous; it has trash floating in it, logs jamming the water flow, and it suffers from excess sediment build-up due in large part to the pollution.

In 1995, many individuals and government agencies began teaming together with the stated goal of eventually restoring the bayou to its original pristine condition.