Texas Culture

Texas Culture

When the three of us decided to use Texas as our micro-culture, I thought it was a great idea. I am not a Texan, since by definition to be a Texan, you must have been born in Texas, no exceptions (http://www.texas-best.com), but do consider myself an honorary Texan.

My first experience with Texas was around 1983 when I visited the state. I was traveling quite extensively at that time and most of Texas was included in those travels. I had previously been in several other states in our nation but none seemed to compare to the great State of Texas. Things were just different in Texas. The people were different, the culture was different and the image of Texas, portrayed by the people, past and present is equal to no others.

Texas has a rich and long history and much of it has passed through the state over the years to become a part of its folklore. This Texas folklore is part of many cultures within the state and has even filtered outside the state. The first cultural influence on Texas was from the Paleo-American Indians. When these Indians arrived they were in a bit of a culture shock when they met the Spanish in the 16th century. In the following centuries, more people began to arrive in Texas and they brought new ways of talking, believing and doing things. The Spanish and the Mexican set the patterns south of Nueces and along the Rio Grande. Anglos brought their ways of life from the British Isles to the South and Eastern part of Texas. African Americans who came to work on the plantations on the Brazos and Trinity bottoms brought songs, stories and beliefs that came with them from Africa. Germans came directly from the Old World to the Hill Country, Cajuns came from France and eventually through Louisiana and settled in Southeast Texas. The Dutch, Danes, Polish, Czechs, Norwegians who also came here brought with them their ways of life and they all became bound together to become part of Texas. By the year 2000, Texas was made up of 54.5% Anglos, 31% Hispanic, 11.4% African Americans and another 3.1% of other ethnicities.

Much of what Texas is today is because of the people who settled her land. Crafts such as quilting and the Texas Star pattern, dance like the Cotton-Eyed Joe and even the way Texans still hunt today can be traced back to the Middle Ages. Cowboys in Texas follow the dress and work customs of the vaquero who worked cattle 300 years before the post-Civil War Texas cowboy was born. Texas dialects contain Southern Mountain, Deep South, and Southwestern, regional vocabularies as well as African Americans, Hispanics and over two dozen other ethnic groups. The arts and crafts of Texas have been preserved over the years and it is evident in the Spanish ironwork, Mexican horsehair bridles and lariats, the furniture, yard art, distinctive mail boxes, foods and adobe houses.

Texans will tell you and show you how proud they are to be Texans and you don’t even have to ask them. They are a culture that has preserved important values through the centuries that remain a part of their beliefs today. Song writers write about Texas, people from other states want to come to Texas, and those who are in Texas love living in a place they refer to as the “Great State of Texas”. Songs like Texas, When I Die and God Blessed Texas compare Texas to heaven. Lines like “When I Die, I may not go to Heaven….If they don’t just let me go to Texas, ‘cause Texas is as close as I’ve been” and “God Blessed Texas with his own hand, brought down angels from the promised land, he gave ‘em a place where they could dance, If you want to see Heaven, brother here’s your chance, I’ve been sent to spread the message, God Blessed Texas.” These are only two songs that reflect how Texas is a place of its own, with countless others I haven’t even mentioned.

Texas is just different from other parts of the country. The people in Texas are more genuine, honest and real. The beliefs and values that made Texas what it is today are still held in high regard and preserved for future generations. Most Texans feel that being a Texan makes them a Southerner, not vice-versa. They have a huge “Southern Pride” that the “Yankee’s” don’t seem to understand. Texans compare living in Texas to the North and especially the North East in a variety of ways. After all, you can see the stars in Texas, other places in the country it’s just too bright from light pollution. Texas just doesn’t have that ever present smog that the Northerners have to deal with. There’s a major weather difference in Texas compared to the North. There’s usually no major ice storms, snow to shovel, shivering in your shoes waiting for the bus or months of freezing weather. Besides a major difference in terrain and weather from most parts of the country, Texas just has it all.