The Rougarou (alternatively spelled as roux-ga-roux , rugaroo , or rugaru ) is a legendary creature in French diaspora communities linked to traditional concepts of the werewolf .
19-452: The stories of the creature known as a rougarou are as diverse as the spelling of its name, though they are all connected to francophone cultures through a common derived belief in the loup-garou ( French pronunciation: [lu ɡaˈʁu] , / ˈ l uː ɡ ə ˈ r uː / ). Loup is French for wolf, and garou (from Frankish warulf, cognate with English werewolf) is a man who transforms into an animal . "Rougarou" represents
38-579: A "Francophone" point of view is still very doubtful, except perhaps for Senegal" (in French « Nous mettons aussi de côté quatre grands pays, le Sénégal, le Gabon, la Cochinchine, le Cambodge dont l’avenir au point de vue « francophone » est encore très douteux sauf peut-être pour le Sénégal »); and then used by geographers. During the Third Republic, the French language progressively gained importance. The Académie française ,
57-484: A French institution created in 1635 in charge of officially determining and unifying the rules and evolutions of the French language, participated in the promotion and the development of the French language. The definition of the Francophone world is distinguished by countries and territories where French is an official language, those where it is the native language of the majority of the population, and those where
76-529: A variant pronunciation and spelling of the original French loup-garou . According to Barry Jean Ancelet , an academic expert on Cajun folklore and professor at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in America, the tale of the rougarou is a common legend across French Louisiana . Both words are used interchangeably in southern Louisiana . Some people call the monster rougarou ; others refer to it as
95-519: Is "inspired by the traditional Métis story of the Rogarou—a werewolf-like creature that haunts the roads and woods of Métis communities." The show Shadow of the Rougarou (2022, APTN lumi, AppleTV+), by Métis director Jordan Waunch, was created with the guidance of Elders and Knowledge Keepers to best represent the communal oral story. Francophone The Francophonie or Francophone world
114-418: Is also the second most geographically widespread language in the world after English , with about 60 countries and territories having it as a de jure or de facto official, administrative, or cultural language. The following is a list of sovereign states and territories where French is an official or de facto language. List of countries where French is the only official language: In many countries, French
133-432: Is described as a creature with a human body and the head of a wolf or dog, similar to the werewolf legend. Often the story-telling has been used to inspire fear and obedience. One such example is stories that have been told by elders to persuade Creole and Cajun children to behave. According to another variation, the wolf-like beast will hunt down and kill Catholics who do not follow the rules of Lent . This coincides with
152-475: Is official or serves as an administrative or major secondary language, which spans 50 countries and dependencies across all inhabited continents. The vast majority of these are also member states of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF), a body uniting countries where French is spoken and taught. Francophonie , francophonie and francophone space are syntagmatic . This expression
171-446: Is relevant to countries which speak French as their national language , may it be as a mother language or a secondary language. These expressions are sometimes misunderstood or misused by English speakers. They can be synonymous but most of the time they are complementary. The term francophonie was invented by Onésime Reclus in 1880: "We also put aside four large countries, Senegal, Gabon, Cochinchina and Cambodia, whose future from
190-597: Is the whole body of people and organisations around the world who use the French language regularly for private or public purposes. The term was coined by Onésime Reclus in 1880 and became important as part of the conceptual rethinking of cultures and geography in the late 20th century. When used to refer to the French-speaking world , the Francophonie encompasses the countries and territories where French
209-416: Is used as a co-official language alongside one or more other languages. List of countries where French is a co-official language: Although a non-official minority language, French is granted certain rights in the following countries and territories: French is an official language, mostly in conjunction with English, of 36 international organisations. These include: This table shows the total populations of
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#1732781088126228-517: The loup-garou . The rougarou legend has been spread for many generations, either directly from French settlers to Louisiana (New France) or via the French Canadian immigrants centuries ago. In the Creole and Cajun legends, the creature is said to prowl the swamps around Acadiana and Greater New Orleans , and the sugar cane fields and woodlands of the regions. The rougarou most often
247-478: The French Catholic loup-garou stories, according to which the method for turning into a werewolf is to break Lent seven years in a row. A common blood sucking legend says that the rougarou is under the spell for 101 days. After that time, the curse is transferred from person to person when the rougarou draws another human's blood. During that day the creature returns to human form. Although acting sickly,
266-437: The French language and culture should not be considered as part of the Francophone world. This vocabulary -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about Romance languages is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . List of countries and territories where French is an official language French is an official language in 27 independent nations. French
285-492: The countries, not the number of French speakers – most of these countries have a majority that do not speak French. Note: Réunion , Guadeloupe , Martinique , French Guiana and Mayotte are classified as overseas departments and regions of France and are thus not a part of this list. While not de jure official, the U.S. states of Louisiana and Maine recognize the usage of French in law, governance, and commerce and allow state services and publicly funded education in
304-503: The human refrains from telling others of the situation for fear of being killed. Other stories range from the rougarou as a rabbit to the rougarou being derived from witchcraft . In the latter claim, only a witch can make a rougarou—either by turning into a wolf herself, or by cursing others with lycanthropy . The NBA team formerly known as the New Orleans Hornets filed for several new name trademarks among which
323-510: The language is used as a working language of administration or where the language still has an important cultural impact and prestige. There are 50 countries and territories which fall into this category, although in some countries the Francosphere is limited to certain regions or states. Being merely a member state of the OIF does not automatically make a country or territory "francophone" in
342-607: The sense of the language having a major role in its society, be it as a working language or a strong cultural heritage to the French language. This is in part due to the OIF increasingly admitting new members based on loose criteria such as "significant second language learning" of French or parties interested in furthering the organisation's promotion of human rights, democracy, international cooperation, sustainable development, cultural and linguistic diversity, and education and training. Therefore, member states such as Romania , Egypt , and Armenia which have minimal to no connection with
361-625: Was the Rougarous. Boxer Regis Prograis (of Creole descent) goes by the nickname Rougarou. The rougarou is incorporated into the story of an episode of the American television show NCIS: New Orleans . In the episode a victim is killed while investigating a possible sighting of the rougarou, which occurs in the 20th episode of the sixth season . The novel Empire of Wild (2019; Penguin Random House Canada) by Cherie Dimaline
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